Best Red Wines Under $20

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

Our selection of red wines for our tasting - all priced under $20 at the LCBO

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.  

Our red wine tasting group

Shiraz Versus Syrah Tasting

It’ my turn to host Wine Babes, our fun and informative group of six women who love tasting, drinking and learning about wine. It’s like book club but instead of talking about books, we talk about wine and drink lots of it!

Tonight I’m hosting a Shiraz/Syrah tasting focusing on three Shiraz wines from Southern Australia, one Syrah from Crozes Hermitage in the Rhône Valley in France and one Syrah from Columbia Valley in Washington State, U.S.

Although Shiraz and Syrah are in fact the same grape with different names (Syrah is the French name for its Australian counterpart, Shiraz), as with all wines the varietal/grape can present quite different tastes depending on the climate in which it’s grown and the way the wine is made. I love the big fruit, peppery and chocolate aromas and flavours in a Shiraz. For tonight I think it will be interesting to taste some big Australian Shiraz wines against the more subtle Syrah wine from the Rhône and Washington State.

Syrah or Shiraz grapes are dark purple, almost black in colour, strong and thick-skinned. The grape can grow well in both hot and cool climates.

Cool Climate Syrah:

A cooler climate allows for a longer growing season with a more subtle ripening process than the hotter climates. The grapes yield deeper, more mature and nuanced flavours of red and dark berries, pepper and spice and can develop the added complexity of meaty, smoke and leathery aromas and flavours. You might think leather, smoke and meaty aromas in wine sounds crazy but trust me – nose or smell a good Syrah from the Northern Rhône and you’ll remember me telling you this.

Cool climate Syrah regions include:

France: The Northern Côte du Rhône including Côte Rôtie, Saint-Joseph and Crozes Hermitage (this is not the same as the smaller region simply called Hermitage which produces some of the most expensive and finest Syrah wines in France).

Washington State, Oregon, the Sonoma Coast in California and Santa Ynez in Chile.

Warm Climate Shiraz:

Shiraz or Syrah grown in hotter climates ripens quickly on the vine. The sun and hot temperatures develop higher sugar levels in the grapes which eventually means higher alcohol content in the wine. These wines tend to be bigger and riper with flavours of dark berry fruits, chocolate, licorice, anise and pepper. You can almost smell the sun on the grapes in a hot-climate Shiraz – the big jammy fruit and pepper aromas jump out when you nose or smell the wine. The taste is big and spicy and the wine goes really well with grilled/bbq steak and burgers and creamy, stinky cheeses – yummy!

Warm climate Shiraz regions include:

Australia: Best regions in South Australia include Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, and McLaren Vale.

Spain, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, and Napa California.

Shiraz and Syrah Wines Tasted (all available for under $35 at Vinatages)

Shiraz versus Syrah Wine Tasting

I have to give a shout out to the amazing product consultants in Vintages – each time I prepare a tasting like this I always ask for their guidance and their advice is always excellent. We loved all the wines we tasted so it was tough to rate them.  Here’s what I selected along with the help of the Vintages product consultant:

1)  Laurus Crozes Hermitage, Gabriel Meffre 2014:  $32.95

This was our favourite because of the subtle and smooth flavour and texture. I decanted this wine almost three hours before we tasted it to allow the wine to breathe and relax. We also noted that it’s lighter in dark purple colour than the other Australian Shiraz wines. It’s a fruity wine with aromas of raspberry, blackberry, pepper and spice. It went well with the roast pork with caramelized onions and raisins – the meat softened the tannins in the wine (the tannins are compounds in the wine that create the leathery, tart kind of coating in your mouth when you drink the wine). The Laurus Crozes Hermitage by Gabriel Meffre is a beautiful Côte du Rhône and a great example of Syrah wine from this region.  I would definitely buy it again.

2)  Black Chook Shiraz/Viognier 2016: $18.95

Wow, this was a big change from the Frvench Syrah. This wine comes from the McLaren Vale in South Australia with a Mediterranean-style warm climate. The Black Chook Shiraz/Viognier gives big aromas and tastes of blackberry jam, licorice and pepper.  It would be great with steak. 

3)  Two Hands Fields of Joy Shiraz 2015:  $29.95

I really enjoyed the contrast of this wine to the French Syrah.  This wine from Clare Valley gives off a lot of pepper and spice, chocolate, vanilla, black licorice and dark berry fruits and a big, powerful mouth of wine.  We could tell right away that it’s a hot climate Shiraz by the way the fruit and pepper jump out. The wine also gives off a smoked, oaky aroma and taste. It’s a big wine that would be perfect with a big juicy burger or peppery/spicy steak.

Two Hands produces other great Shiraz wines with fun names like Gnarly Dudes and Angels’ Share.

I love that  Michael Twelftree, founder (one of the Two Hands) and winemaker says this:

“I have walked every vineyard, made every picking decision and tasted every individual barrel of each wine we’ve ever produced. I can’t imagine there are too many winery owners around the world that take the pursuit of quality that personally.”

4) Yalumba Patchwork, Barossa Shiraz:  $21.95

This wine is fantastic and on par with #2 listed above (Black Chook Shiraz). Yalumba is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery. “Patchwork” is made using grapes selected from areas of land in both the very hot and cooler regions of the Barossa Valley. Like the others, this is a full-bodied and chewy big red wine and could be even better if decanted. We got aromas of blueberries, raspberries, cherries, spice, chocolate and pepper. 

5)  The Hogue Genesis Syrah, Columbia Valley Washington:  $18.95

This was another interesting contrast to the Australian wines. It tastes a little smoother and the flavours are more savory and subtle.  It’s more like the Syrah from the Rhône Valley than the Australian wines. We still tasted the typical Syrah fruits – blackberry and cherry with smoked, spicy aromas and a little less pepper than the other wines. We all enjoyed it but preferred the Crozes Hermitage.

Hope this is helpful for the next time you go to select a big fruity Shiraz. As always, I’d love to hear your comments.

The Syrah and some of the Shiraz Wines we tasted.