Agreed. Nothing better for dealing with 100 degree summers.

Suggest everyone try the Chateau Pontac Lynch Margaux (Bordeaux). Great value at under $40 and they carry at most Spec's. An excellent wine.

Along that same line, just about any St. Emilion Grand Cru can be had under $50, and in good years, it's a great value in Bordeaux.

Will try.

Alpha Omega II
Ghost Block
Heitz
Grgich Hills

just ordered a case of rose from Horse & Plow, our favorite little "daily drinker" winery in California. Mom and Pop operation and all their wines are organic.

I'll be ordering a case of Carol Shelton rose pretty soon.

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Great suggestions Htown I have enjoyed several of those wines, for a cheap wine my wife has enjoyed McManis Family. I like this due to the fact it is down in the $10-14/bottle ranch

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Tried McManis cab and merlot. Liked the cab. Nice oak flavor. I did not care for the merlot.

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Lots of stuff.
Chappellet mountain Cuvee
Atecca
Numanthia Termes
Mollydooker The Boxer
Anything from Ridge
Caravan
Biale Black Chicken

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I tried Atecca on recommendations from this thread.

Two thumbs up! Great value!

Any Chianti Classico recommendations?

Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico (mentioned earlier in the thread) has been out of stock my last two trips to the store.

I really like Chianti/Sangiovese but would like to branch out. What wines/varietals are similar that I should try?

If you want to try something different also made with Sangiovese, try a Rosso di Montalcino or for another similar Tuscan style try Nobile di Montepulciano.

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If you want to try something different also made with Sangiovese, try a Rosso di Montalcino or for another grape variety a Nobile di Montepulciano

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Thanks. I'll look for Rosso di Montalcino next time I go to the store. I shop mostly at Total Wine and get at least a couple bottles from their Italy section each time I go. I've tried Leone d'Oro Nobile di Montepulciano and liked it - any other Nobile di Montepulciano wines I should be sure to try?

Rubesto is a Montepulciano de Arbruzzo (sp) that normally retails in the $15-$20 range that is really nice, and pairs well with lots of Itailian dishes.

Plus one on the Ghost Block and A/O II.

Had a bottle of Ventisquero Grey Carmenere 2012 and it was fantastic. I'm not well versed in wines from Chile, but bought this one while browsing at HEB.

It's a very good wine for the $23 price tag.

recently picked up a bottle of 2011 Abadia Reituerta Especial, a Spanish blend. It was on Wine Spectator top 100 list last year I think. $30

It is still quite young, but man was it a beauty after coming to room temp and getting some air. No idea if you can find this around, it was fairly large production wine i think but Spanish wine isn't real plentiful around most of Texas outside of the standard rioja and grenache stuff that is the same at every store.

inky black in the glass, red fruit with the smoke and tobacco and herbs from the cab and syrah in the blend. I would say full bodied, but not a huge wine, but plenty tanic and acidic to enjoy with any heavy dish or meat. I only had the one bottle and I'm bummed about that lack of foresight.

Meiomi -- Pinot Noir. $19 at HEB. Very good

The choices under $50 are way too numerous to list for me.

In the $15 - $25/bottle I like the following:

Paso Creek Cabernet $13
Decoy Cabernet $18
Decoy California Red $18
Daou Cabernet $24
La Storia Cabernet $24
Meiomi Pinot Noir $18
Orin Swift Abstract $24
Justin Cabernet $18
Educated Guess $23
Freakshow $18



Above $25 you should try:

Orin Swift - Prisoner $27ish
Orin Swift Machete $45 Awesome Wine
Justin Isosceles $45 - Awesome
Duckhorn Cabernet
Silverado Cabernet
Justin Justification


For the money, very hard to beat the Paso Creek.

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Orin Swift - Prisoner $27ish

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I think Orin Swift sold off Prisoner 5 or 6 years ago, also where are you finding it in stores for $27 a bottle?

they did. its now owned by Prisoner Wine Company. The others he listed are still Orin Swift (Machete, Abstract)

http://www.theprisonerwinecompany.com/

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Orin Swift - Prisoner $27ish

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I think Orin Swift sold off Prisoner 5 or 6 years ago, also where are you finding it in stores for $27 a bottle?

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This. IIRC it's been closer to $50 the last couple of times I've bought it.

HEB Bunker had OS Papillon for $48 a while back, usually around $70

We drink the piss out of that. The lady digs the swift stuff

Of the Orin Swift wines, I think my favorite bang for the buck (around $30-35 at Heights Kroger) is D66.

It's a very juicy GSM that was always a crowd-pleaser when I worked in restaurants

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Orin Swift - Prisoner $27ish

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I think Orin Swift sold off Prisoner 5 or 6 years ago, also where are you finding it in stores for $27 a bottle?

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HEB

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OLOf the Orin Swift wines, I think my favorite bang for the buck (around $30-35 at Heights Kroger) is D66.

It's a very juicy GSM that was always a crowd-pleaser when I worked in restaurants

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Haven't tried D66. I'll start looking today. Thanks.

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Of the Orin Swift wines, I think my favorite bang for the buck (around $30-35 at Heights Kroger) is D66.

It's a very juicy GSM that was always a crowd-pleaser when I worked in restaurants

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Mercury Head FTW.

If you like a Syrah, try 6th sense. I got it from HEB last week for something like $12/bottle. I like it.

the popularity of Orin Swift at its price point(s) always surprises me. always likable wines, but I feel I can find that same flavor profile for so much cheaper.

give us an example

I love that HTown suggested the Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs. My go to every day red wine is Pinot Noir and that region has just been putting out great stuff at a good price point.

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the popularity of Orin Swift at its price point(s) always surprises me. always likable wines, but I feel I can find that same flavor profile for so much cheaper.

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Orin Swift is basically the Mollydooker of the US: dense, rich wines with some complexity. That being said, I haven't found a wine that matches Orin Swift here.