After justifiably patting yourself on the back for how much money you just saved with Black Friday deals, you should toast your shopping savvy with a great-valued wine.
Here are seven that qualify under that great price-to-quality banner.
Negrar Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico 2016 – Veneto, Italy ($29.95)
Not your typical Amarone—certainly not price-wise anyway at under $30. The 15.5% alcohol isn’t as in your face as is typical of an Amarone either. Nor is the fruit as reductively sweet and intense. But if you just think of it as a fine Italian wine, it’s rock solid with rich flavours of anise, dense red currant, dark cherries and stewed plums, with a garnish of forest herbs, tea leaves and cedar. Strong value from an exceptional vintage. 90
Negrar Appassimento 2017 – Veneto, Italy ($14.80)
A red blend reduction but without the typical associated sweetness. Instead, there’s a bright acidity and textured mesh of Sangiovese and other grapes. Red fruit dominates on the tastebuds, leading with raspberry and red currants. Dry and lightly spiced dry, it rates high on the sip-on-its-own yummy metre while still carrying lots of food-matching qualities. Really good value here. But it’s the strikingly unique label that might leave an even longer impression, depicting Ulysses’ 10-year journey from Troy to Ithaca and his encounters with characters ranging from sirens to the one-eyed Cyclops. 88
Villa Annaberta Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore 2017 – Veneto, Italy ($18.30)
Deep, dark, almost medicinal black cherry. Cedar smoke and tanned leather. Despite two years of oak to add structure, it’s still a tad raw, but evocative in its beautiful forest berry flavours. And it’s just perfect with dark chocolate and aged cheeses. 89.5
Emiliana Novas Carmenere / Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 – Maipo Valle, Chile ($15.95)
A juicy, dry, earthy, herb-laden organic wine here. An aromatic bed of blackberries and blueberries with a smile of plum to add seduction. It straddles somewhere between medium and full bodied. Medium tannins and medium-plus acidity makes it an easy food-pairing wine (try it with roast beef). Holds together great right through its lengthy finish. Great value. 89.5
Honoro Vera White 2018 – Rueda, Spain ($12)
Certified vegan, this Spanish Verdejo offers subtle aromas of orange and lemon rind and other modest tropical notes. The body and mouthfeel are quite smooth. Decent acidity and a nice minerality. Although the alcohol is a little up there at 13.5%, it’s well integrated. The only thing I’m not loving is the slightly metallic finish atop the palate. But for $12, man, it’s awfully hard to complain. 87
Honoro Vera Garnacha 2017 – Calatayud, Spain ($13.70)
From the gravelly hillsides of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range of northeast Spain comes this fruity Grenache. The nose suggests sweet cherries and strawberries, with a dusting of white pepper. This one, while not complex, should be fairly universally appealing, and a great pizza wine. Quite quaffable, as they say, but beware the 14.5% alcohol if you’re quaffing a little too quickly this holiday season. 87
Humante Garnacha 2018 – Navarra, Spain ($12.65)
Nothing elaborate, but nothing to be critical about either. Medium-bodied and dry with 14% abv, it features smoked dark cherries and elderberries and a little morning-after bonfire on the nose. Yet another good value. 86.5
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