This weekend I wanted to pick a great selection of red wines all priced under $20, open them up and compare them all in a tasting at a family gathering. There are many red wines priced at $20 and under at the LCBO and Vintages, the trick is to find the really good ones worthy of re-purchase.

When I’m looking for a good value red I often look at the Chilean, Spanish, Californian, Australian and New Zealand wines. Chile has a reputation for producing amazing Bordeaux-style red wines with the Cabernet Sauvignon grape and priced at excellent value for quality. I also like Tempranillo wine grown most predominantly in the Rioja region in Spain – the wines are similar to Cabernet Sauvignon but with distinctive cherry and leathery/earthy aromas.  

Australia has great Shiraz wines and New Zealand great Pinot Noir wines priced at less than $20. Here’s a good tip for when you next buy a Shiraz wine from Australia – make sure the bottle label specifies the particular region the wine comes from and you’ll get a much better wine. So instead of buying a bottle with “South Eastern Australia” or “South Australia” on the label (which means the grapes are collected from across a wide region), go for a bottle that names the exact region in South Australia where the grapes are picked – this could be Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley etc. (See my blog on Shiraz vs Syrah for more on this).

There are some good red wines from California in this price range especially the Pinot Noirs, and I thought about tasting some of the “red blends” but, I know from experience that while they are lovely and smooth, they also tend to be higher in alcohol content and sugar than other wines and can be very sweet and heavy.  

For this wine tasting I wanted to select wines that I hadn’t tried from a broad range of regions. I picked from the LCBO General List and from the Vintages Essential Collection which means the wine is always listed and in stock.

Our lineup for this weekend included:

• An entry-level wine from Bordeaux, France:   2014 Château Argadens Bordeaux
• Chianti Classico from Italy:  Peppoli Chianti Classico, 2015
• Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile:  Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, Vina Perez
• Tempranillo from the Rioja wine region in Spain: Beronia Rioja Tempranillo El Aboracion
• And a light red wine from Niagara:  Malivoire Gamay

Two wines tied for top picks from our selection:

Beronia Rioja Tempranillo El Aboracion 2014:  $16.90

I selected this Spanish wine because I wanted to find a nice alternative to the very popular wines from California and Australia. The dry and hot climate Rioja wine producing region is in North-central Spain. Rioja wines are known for their combination of fruity flavours balanced with earthy and leathery aromas that come from the wine being aged in oak barrels for varying amounts of time.  

The wines are classified based on how much time they spend in oak barrels which is what gives the wine added richness, smoothness and earthy, oaky flavour. The longer the aging process, the better quality the wine. Crianza Rioja wines spend one year aging in oak barrels (often in American oak barrels) and one year in the bottle before being released. Reserva Rioja wines spend at least a year in oak barrels and must be aged for three years before being released for sale. Gran Reserva Rioja wines are the very best Riojas using grapes from only the best vintages (harvests) and must be aged for up to five years with two years in oak barrels before being released for sale.

This wine is aged in special American and French oak barrels – hence the name “Elaboracion Especial” (special production). We really enjoyed it – deep red colour with aromas of cooked berry pie, red fruits, a bit of licorice and leathery notes. It has a really nice, smooth taste – slightly sweet with plums. It’s complex enough to serve with red meats and really tasty. This was my favourite and took first place followed by the Bordeaux I talk about next.

Château Argadens Bordeaux Supérieur 2014:  $17.95

This Bordeaux wine from Château Argadens is your on-budget bring-to-dinner wine. It’s a very good entry-level Bordeaux made with a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. The grapes are all picked by hand, the wine is then aged in French oak barrels for up to 14 months. I would recommend decanting this wine before serving. We liked the aromas of plums, blackberries, minerals and clay – these are all aromas that come from the soil in which the vines are planted and from the wine-making and aging process. I think the different aromas and tastes a wine offers is one of the fascinating things we learn to appreciate in wine. 

Perez Cruz Chile Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2015:  $14.95

Chile produces some fantastic Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon wines and blends for excellent value.  When selecting your wines, look for Maipo Valley, Colchagua and Chaapoal in the Rapel Valley. For $14.95 this Perez Cruz is your value, acceptable Chilean wine and came in as our number three choice. We nosed aromas of licorice, cloves and oak with raspberries and plum. I think this one offers better aromas than taste but it’s still a passable wine.  

Peppoli Chianti 2015:  $19.95

This was our number two favourite of the selection. Peppoli Chianti is made with the Sangiovese grape, we got aromas of cherry, pepper mocha, oak and spice. Smooth texture, with a woody and spicy after-taste  and smooth tannins. If you’re looking for an Italian wine for dinner, give this one a try.

Malivoire Gamay 2016: $17.95

This is a light ruby red wine from Niagara with a taste of strawberry, cranberry and cherry – reminds me of other Gamay Beaujolias from France. It’s an easy, light and uncomplicated wine with a smooth and non-acidic aftertaste. We gave it a 7 out of 10. 

Our tops were the Rioja from Spain and the Château Argadens from Bordeaux. Give them a try and let me know what you think.