Yes, You Can Get Really Good Bordeaux and Burgundy Under $50 — Here Are 10 Top Bottles to Try
With the holidays around the corner, it's time to stock up on these budget-friendly special bottles your guests will be delighted to toast with.
Too often, wine lovers assume that buying reds and whites from the most famous regions in France is out of the question because of the amount of money that so many of them cost…but there are options! Indeed, while prices have been climbing for many years now when it comes to, say, the classed growths of Bordeaux and the Grand Crus and top villages of Burgundy, that doesn’t mean that great deals can’t still be found.
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The truth is that you can find fantastic wines for under $50 from both of these regions. That’s still a good deal of money, but it proves that you can absolutely experience what makes each of those regions so special without having to refinance your mortgage. The ten below can all be found for around or under $50, and they each embody what makes their respective parts of France so exciting and historically important.
2018 Albert Bichot Secret de Famille Bourgogne Côte d’Or
Taut and savory, this wine boasts terrific structure even after five years of age. The medium-grained tannins remain assertive, yet they’ve softened a bit, and frame flavors of wild cherries, blackberries, tobacco, and leather. This is a wine for the table, and it’ll shine particularly well with roasted duck.
2019 Domaine du Cellier aux Moines Givry 1er Cru Clos du Cellier aux Moines
Shimmering with notes of pomegranate syrup and kirsch, this wine is kissed with candied rose petals, orange peels, red and black raspberries. It also has a savory note that reminds me of sweetly roasted red beets in the best possible sense. Flashes of cardamom and tobacco mark the long, savory yet still fruit-forward finish.
Related: 17 Best Pinot Noirs for $25 or Less
2020 Georges Duboeuf Domaine Béranger Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Pouilly
Rich, spiced, and carried on a silky texture with lots of lovely tropical fruit like pineapples and mangoes, this is a generous, effusive Chardonnay that embodies much of the joy that Pouilly-Fuissé is capable of providing. With air, notes of white tea and lemon verbena emerge, yet they’re always anchored by slightly saline minerality through the lengthy, cashew-kissed finish.
2019 Louis Jadot Pinot Noir Bourgogne
This Pinot Noir's remarkably floral nose is anchored by savory aromas of mineral and orange peel, both of which precede a lively palate with mouthwatering acidity and flavors of mountain berries and cherries. The woodsy spices of the finish linger beautifully, with cinnamon sticks most prominent.
2019 Prosper Maufoux Bourgogne Hauts - Côtes de Beaune Blanc
This unexpectedly toasty wine has benefited from a few years of age to showcase hazelnuts, mashed almonds, lemon oils, baked apples, honeycomb and fennel. Expect a drying, mineral finish that calls out for richer dishes like chicken piccata or blanquette de veau.
2020 Simonnet-Febvre Petit Chablis
From one of the most widely available producers in Chablis, this is a textbook example of the appellation, with notes of oyster shells, slate, and lemon pith lending spine to hard pears, green apples, and springtime blossoms.
2021 Château de Ferrand Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé
Effusive plum and cherry fruit leap from the glass and set the stage for a wine of freshness and depth. The interplay of concentration, length, brightness, and structure is terrific here. Vibrant flavors of cassis and purple plums are complicated with allspice and an unexpected hit of grilled-lemon acidity. This is a fantastic buy for under $40.
2015 Château Fonplegade Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé
Fully mature yet still full of life, this excellent wine mixes cassis and blackberry liqueur with dashes of brown-sugar caramel, cured meat, cedar, and caramelized plums. It’s anchored by assertive tannins, but they’ve begun to melt into something sweeter and more generously spiced. At eight years of age, this is a wine at its peak, though it can certainly age for another decade. Personally, I don’t think it’s necessary to wait.
2019 Château Royaumont Lalande de Pomerol
This fresh, savory Right Bank blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc is plush in texture, yet its tannic framing will allow it to age. Right now, this wine threads the needle between peppery spice and a savory sense of earthiness, alongside black currants, plums, and black figs. It’s even more generous after an hour in the decanter, and will age beautifully for the next several years with ease.
2016 Les Fiefs de Lagrange Saint-Julien
This is the second wine of Château Lagrange, but that doesn’t really sum up how impressive it is: Even though it’s produced from younger vines, for example, their average age is still 30 years. Structured tannins are a great counterpoint to the round and upfront texture. Black cherries are backed by notes of licorice root and cacao nibs, which lend this wine a serious sense of promise in the cellar, though there’s absolutely no reason you can’t enjoy it right now, too.
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