I confidently affirm Mr. Jackson's recommendation of Château Bellefont-Belcier. It is a very nice wine that is easly to drink today. I have purchased many bottle recently while I let age his other recommendation of Chateau Laroque. I also enjoy the Contino white Rioja. I find the Contino is a very elegant and delicate wine. It is a welcome change to classic Napa Chardonnay's and Premier Cru Burgundy's. I like what Attorney Somm drinks!
I was once lost. Now I have found. I once was blind; now I can see, all the best wines Attorney Somm has recommended to me. Just bought the last remaining two bottles of 2019 Laroque at my local store last weekend. Good value for the comparitive quality. Great recommendation. Now I have my eye on Tertre Roteboeuf 2016 on special and also eager to try getting into a first taste of Burgundy with a 2020 Chassange-Montrachet.
Great stuff John. Brining my Spanish hat to the table I have to say that there are a huge amount of great Spanish wines at this price point and many of them are flying way under the radar as they are natural and low intervention wines. I'd love to see you do a show about this subject as I believe it's a massive part of the modern wine atlas. WT
Thanks very much! Yes, I completely agree. Just did a dedicated Spanish wine video a few weeks ago, but am always on the lookout for more excellent Spanish wines and will definitely feature my favorites here!
Thank you for this fresh list of excellent cellar defenders and great-value wines. I don’t think I have any of these wines, but I hope to rectify that by starting to shop around and search online. For sure, the prices here are much higher, but I’m sure they are still superb value and with good Quality to Price Ratio. Thank you for doing all the research for us, and for putting together your materials in such a great presentation video that’s a pleasure to watch and to learn from. This is a very useful video for all wine enthusiasts, regardless of their levels or preferences. Cheers, John!
Thanks very much, Margaux! Glad you enjoyed the selections! Hope that you can track some down and that you enjoy them as much as I do! Appreciate the thoughtful feedback and support! Cheers!
@@AttorneySomm I think it’s only the Bellefont-Belcier that I have tried. I should try to get another bottle. I was just at my favorite cellar a few hours ago, and they probably still have a bottle or two. I’ll definitely be shopping this month, using this list. Thank you, John! And you’re very welcome!
Good research. Talking of right bank Bordeaux, have you tried the Fonbel, 2016? I have half a case, which I will have delivered next year. Incidentally, I can recommend Angludet 2014 (Margaux) the first bottle from half a case of which I opened last night: very reasonably priced for a top left bank CB. It should be easy to source in the US, I would have thought. NZ pinot noir can be excellent - Martinborough is my usual go-to region.
Thanks very much! Yes, the Fonbel certainly overdelivers at its price point as well! A nice buy. Appreciate the tip re: the Angludet. I'll keep an eye out and hopefully try it soon. Yes, lots of excellent Pinot from Martinborough too! Cheers!
the Amici Rsv Cab is no joke either. If I remember correctly, what's leftover from their higher end bottlings gets blended into that. great video as usual
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video. Completely agree with you re: the Amici Reserve. I have featured that wine in other videos. That one costs around $100, but is also a compelling value at that price point and one that compares favorably to many Napa Valley wines that cost much more.
Hi Attorney Somm, thank you for the fine recommendations. A really fine cold climate Syrah that i've tried recently is the Chateau Rouanne (Vinsobres) owned by Saint Cosmé. We visited gigondas in april and tried this at their cellar door and we found it to be the best out of the standard wines. Also it's price here in EU is really cheap compared to the quality, we paid "only" 18 euros. I think they bought the vinsobres estate recently so only a few vintages are available.
Thanks very much! Unfortunately, other than ice wine, very few Canadian wines make it to Texas. I will need to visit again to be able to try some of them! Cheers!
I notated all your recommendations into my wishlist. These selections are more in my price point, although I enjoy hearing you talk about the very Creme de la Creme ones, too.
How would you compare Bellefont-Belcier to Chateau Laroque? I've recently had my first bottle, a 2019, so quite young in the grand scheme of things - intresting part I've enjoyed it the most when it was at it's freshest. Very smooth tannins and red fruit. I let a portion sit in a nice glass over 2h to let it decant while tasting every 15min to see how it develops pver time but even though I tried to control it's temperature the best I could I found it got worse and worse over time to the point it just became alcoholic. Still, besides this misshap with a portion of it it wasn't a bad wine and it was my first Saint Emillion, which was nice experience. I think I enjoy the smooth tannins on Merlot wines. Would like to give another one a go and was thinking of your recommendation?
Great question! I'm a big fan of both and have featured Laroque many times on my channel as well. Laroque is almost all Merlot - 97% for 2019 and they use more new French oak for maturation, whereas Bellefont Belcier is 70% Merlot, has almost 1/4 Cab Franc and also some Cab Sauvignon and uses less new French oak. Both will definitely improve with age and gain more complexity and finesse. 2 hours may have been so long in a glass that the fruit faded, but was a good idea to try that way to see how it evolved. It may be interesting to get a bottle of each and have someone present them to you blind so you could determine if you like one better. Both will have some high-level similarities, but also some differences as well due to the different blend and the oak regimen.
A couple more at $40 are Tour Saint Christophe and Barde Haut. I would also buy the 2022 Bellefont-Belcier(for the critics, better than 2020), arrives late 2025. Up a notch at $60-65 is Beau-Sejour Becot(2022 is even better, but a Big jump in price to $85). Critics liked the 2023, back to $60.
@@ronmcmartin4513 Thank you! Some very worthy additions! Yes the 2022s will be outstanding! I’ve done a separate video on that vintage. Looking forward to those releases.
