Last Saturday TastedOnline.com celebrated it’s ninth anniversary and again during the past year we posted more than 160 new wine reviews. This was a unique year with Covid-19 and we were in North Carolina the entire year. As a result our wine drinking did change. We found we were drinking many of the wines we liked best instead of having a different wine every night. Also, our purchasing routine began to changing too. We began buying wine from a wide variety of wine shops around the country and in response to comments received we also purchased wine from grocery stores when it was on sale.
At the end of each year there are always some wines that we remember as being exceptional out of the hundreds we have tasted and reviewed. These are the ones we call the best value wines of 2021 and the purpose for compiling the list is so you can be on the watch for them as you buy wine in 2022. Our year end review format for the best value wines of 2021 includes: 1. An alphabetical listing of the wines we thought were the best value and priced less than $20. It is from this list that we made the selection for THE BEST VALUE WINE OF 2021…La Vieille Ferme Recolte Blanc 2019. 2. A second list includes wines, in alphabetical order, we thought were exceptional quality. These tend to be the more expensive wines we reviewed and don’t fit into everyone’s definition of “best value wines”. It is from this list we selected the single MOST MEMORABLE 2021 WINE…Rajat Parr Wines Zinfandel RAAHI Kirschenmann Vineyard 2018.
(in alphabetical order)
Cantalapiedra Arenisca Tinto 2016 (Spain; $16.20).
Chateau Pilet Blanc 2019 (France; $13.50).
La Vieille Ferme Recolte Blanc 2019 (France; $5.99).
La Vieille Ferme Recolte Rose 2020 (2nd Tasting) (France; $5.99).
Les Chemins de Bassac Cotes de Thongue RAIZ blanc 2018 (France; $16.00).
Les Chemins de Bassac Sagarana Cotes de Thongue 2017 (France; $20.00).
Terre del Vescovo Campania Aglianico “Marra” 2013 (Italy; $18.00).
Vallana e Figlio Spanna 2016 (Italy; $18.90).
Vallana e Figlio Spanna Campi Raudii 2018 (Italy; $16.20).
(in alphabetical order)
AR.PE.PE. Rosso di Valtellina 2016 (Italy $33.00).
Au Bon Climat Lala Panzi Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016 (California; $28.00).
Château Malescot St. Exupéry 2005 (France; $100.00).
Clendenen Family Vineyards (Au Bon Climat) Chardonnay Bien Nacido 2016 (Central Coast, California; $40.00).
Diochon Moulin-a-Vent Vieilles Vignes 2017 (France; $22.50).
Domaine de Durban Gigondas 2018 (France; $25.20).
Fratelli Alessandria Langhe Nebbiolo Prinsiot 2017 (Italy; $24.00).
Laura Lorenzo DaTerra Viticultores Azos da Vila 2016 (Spin; $32.40).
Laura Lorenzo DaTerra Viticultores Portela do Vento 2017 (Spain; $29.70).
Rajat Parr Wine Club Merlot Never Say Never Black Vineyard 2017 (California; $78.00).
Rajat Parr Wines Zinfandel RAAHI Kirschenmann Vineyard 2018 (California; $30.00).
Tablas Creek Panoplie 2014 (California; $76.00).
Texier Cotes du Rhone Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban Vieille Serine Domaine de Pergaud 2014 (France; $25.20).
Thierry Germain des Roches Neuves Saumur-Champigny La Marginale 2015 (France; $48.60).