QPR 2002

As I often do on New Year's Day, I've spent a little time looking back over my wine experiences of the past year, a year filled with lots of wine-related travel and meeting friends around the world in places as widespread as Northeastern Italy (twice), the Bay Area and Northern California, Boston, Detroit and Ann Arbor, and an eye-opening tour to Slovenia in the former Yugoslavia, where I'm delighted to be planning a return trip in March.

Thanks to winery visits, trade shows, wine shows and sociable dinners with online friends, and the usual near-daily sampling of wines at home for both business and pleasure, and I've logged notes on some 1,000 wines again this year.

As in the past, for my year-end report I focused entirely on the wines that I buy and sample at home with some analytical care, both with and without food, for the specific purpose of reviewing and making recommendations. On this page I have singled out about three dozen wines that I considered best for value or "quality-price ratio" (an online wine-slang term often abbreviated to "QPR") in the range of $12 or less.

In a quick breakdown - probably saying as much about my personal tastes as about the intrinsic value of these wine styles and regions - I ended up with 26 red wines, nine whites, one rosé and a single Sherry on the QPR list. Eighteen of them, almost exactly half, came from France (and all but four of those were from the Rhone, Languedoc or Provence). Nine were Italian, four Spanish, two from the U.S. (California) and one each from Austria, Germany, Portugal and South Africa.

The wines below are listed in ascending order of price; wines at the same price point are listed alphabetically. For another 44 wines I considered particularly excellent in the higher-price ranges, see "2001: The Year's Best wines over $12," http://www.wineloverspage.com/qpr/2001top.shtml.

Casal Thaulero 1999 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo ($5.49)
Full and warm, plummy and pruney with an edge of spice. Bright and juicy fruit on an acidic backbone. A bit "rustic," needs food to tame its rough edges, but as good a value as you'll find in this price range.

Cuvee des Galets 1999 Vin de Pays des Coteaux du Pont du Gard ($5.99)
Crisp and tart, juicy and refreshing cherry-berry fruit laced up with a lemon-squirt of acidity.

Wisdom & Warter Ltd. non-vintage Fino Pale Dry Sherry ($7.49)
Pecans with a back note of tropical fruit; snappy and bone-dry, intriguing complexity and cleansing acidity. Fine, characteristic Fino at a bargain price.

Casa Castillo 1999 Jumilla Monastrell ($7.99)
Opaque, with ripe cherry-berry fruit aromas backed by dried herbs, rosemary and sage. Juicy and fresh, structured with fresh-fruit acidity and soft tannins.

Chateau Mas Neuf 1998 Costières de Nîmes ($7.99)
Bright red-berry fruit, raspberry and strawberry. A juicy bowl-of-fruit flavor with zippy citric acidity on the finish. Good quaff, good food wine and an exceptional value.

Domaine de la Mordorée 2000 Côtes-du-Rhône Rosé ($7.99)
Simple and refreshing fruit flavors are as pure as fresh strawberries, dry and tart.

Domaine Saint Gayan 1998 Cotes du Rhone ($7.99)
Fragrant black pepper limns ripe, plummy fruit aromas; bright black-fruit and spicy pepper, fresh and long. Very good food wine and an outstanding value.

Hugues Beaulieu 1999 Picpoul de Pinet Coteaux du Languedoc ($7.99)
Delicate, distictively lemon-scented, full yet crisp, with a pleasant, almost oily touch of freshly grated lemon peel in the finish.

Las Brisas 2000 Rueda ($7.99)
Intriguing floral and herbal aromas, honeysuckle and hay. Bright and citric, evoking fresh lemons. A great value and an exceptional seafood wine.

Taurino 1997 Salice Salentino Rosso Riserva ($7.99)
Warm and earthy fruit, plums and leather and lemon-squirt acidity. A full, structured wine, excellent with food.

Zenato 2000 Pinot Grigio delle Venezie ($7.99)
Fresh melon and citrus, lemons and limes. Simple but appealing, an excellent seafood wine at a price that's right.

Chateau le Devoy Martine 1999 Lirac ($8.99)
Light and fresh, lemons and intriguing flowery-herbal honeysuckle. Crisp and tart, snappy citrus fruit and acidity make it sing with food.

Domaine Salvat 1997 Fenouill ($8.99)
Peppery red-fruit aromas and tart, juicy fruit flavors, simple but refreshing sour-cherry and herbal notes and fresh-fruit acidity to give it structure.

Fairview 2000 Goats Do Roam Western Cape Red Table Wine ($8.99)
Earth and leather and ripe red fruit, juicy and earthy. Interesting and balanced wine, at a very good price.

Kris 2000 Pinot Grigio delle Venezie ($8.99)
Fresh tropical-fruit, kiwi and starfruit and a distant hint of banana; delicate, clean and crisp, adds hints of wool and almonds as it warms in the glass.

Speri 1998 Vigneto la Roverina Valpolicella Classico Superiore ($8.99)
Full dried-cherry aroma; juicy and ripe flavor, intense and earthy black-cherry fruit with a pleasant, delicately bitter finish. Exceptional Valpolicella at a bargain price.

Alfred Merkelbach 1999er Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Kabinett ($9.99)
Delicate wildflowers, tangerine and mineral notes, light and crisp; fresh-fruit sweetness is balanced by a tart, citric snap.

Allegrini 1999 Valpolicella Classico ($9.99)
Full black-cherry and spice and crisp acidity make it a natural at the table.

Altano 1999 Douro ($9.99)
Deep and intense black plums and dried fruit. Ripe and full in flavor, robust and dry.

Chateau Gaudrelle 1999 Vouvray Val de Loire ($9.99)
Crisp and fresh, scents of pears and melons; a hint of sweetness and the attractive, elusive earthiness that's the hallmark of Vouvray.

Chateau La Roque 1998 Pic Saint Loup Cuvee Les Vieilles Vignes de Mourvèdre Coteaux de Languedoc ($9.99)
Full and ripe, earthy and complex Mourvèdre notes, "tree bark" and "forest floor," with fresh fruit too, raspberry and black-cherry, with lemony acidity to give it structure.

Domaine de Périllière 1998 Cotes-du-Rhone Villages ($9.99)
Plummy cherry-berry fruit, smoke and "grilled meat," amazing Rhone aromas in a budget-price wine.

Domaine la Réméjeanne 1999 "Les Arbousiers" Côtes du Rhône ($9.99)
Ripe red fruit and spicy oak with hints of berries and fragrant pepper. Full, juicy cherry-berry fruit and lemon-squirt acidity over soft tannins.

Falesco 1999 "Vitiano" Umbria ($9.99)
Natural earthy scents of mushroom, truffle and "forest-floor" blend with dried-cherry fruit.

Louis M. Martini 1998 California Cabernet Sauvignon ($9.99)
Ripe, appealing Cabernet aromas - blackcurrant and cedar - and juicy black-fruit flavors over a good acidic structure and soft but perceptible tannins.

M-C et J-L Poudou 1999 "Marielle et Frederique" Chateau Tour Boisée Minervois ($9.99)
Plums and leather and minty notes dominate a mouth-filling flavor in a wine that will last and improve for years.

Mas de Gourgonnier 1999 Les Baux de Provence ($9.99)
Peppery red fruit aromas with pleasant hints of tar and smoke, earthy and ripe. Good food wine.

Penfolds 1999 Bin 2 Southeastern Australia Shiraz-Mourvedre-Cabernet Sauvignon ($9.99)
Ripe berry fruit with an earthy, "resinous" edge. Good fruit and acid, full and jammy wine with a distinct edge of tannin.

Perrin Réserve 1998 Cotes du Rhone ($9.99)
Peppery black-fruit with a whiff of "barnyard." Bright, full fruit well structured with twangy acidity. Balanced and surprisingly complex.

Taurino 1995 Notarpanaro Rosso del Salento ($9.99)
Black fruit and tart acidity with distinct tannins; a cleansing quality makes it a winner with food.

Anne-Marie Perret 1999 Morgon Grand Cras ($10.99)
Delicious and complex aromas of cherries, raspberries and earthy notes of dried tobacco and cocoa. Crisp and tart raspberry and juicy plum flavors with soft tannins surprising in a Beaujolais.

Borsao 2000 "Tres Picos" Campo de Borja Garnacha ($10.99)
Fresh and appealing ripe raspberry scents; round and ripe, fruity berries and soft but sufficient fresh-fruit acidity in a wine that's easy to quaff but deserves a moment's contemplation.

Domaine Réméjeanne 1999 Cotes du Rhone Villages "Genevriers" ($10.99)
Deep black fruit aromas, plums and prunes, and an odd, pleasant herbal scent. Big, mouth-filling and acidic, a bit monolithic, but abundant fruit and soft tannins in balance show its aging potential.

Bertani 2000 Veneto "Due Uve" ($11.99)
Intriguing, delicate floral and herbal scents are backed by a pleasant whiff of green olives. Crisp, citric and tart, lemon and tangerine flavors open into ripe peaches as it warms in the glass.

Chateau de la Terriere 1998 Beaujolais-Villages Vieilles Vignes ($11.99)
Fresh and delicate strawberry aromas and flavors, ripe and juicy, "dry" but deliciously fruity, with tart acidity and light peppery spice in a long finish. Exceptional Beaujolais.

Nigl 1999 Kremser Freiheit Qualitatswein Trocken Grüner Veltliner ($11.99)
Delicate, fresh herbal scents and tropical white fruit, starfruit and kiwi. Crisp acidity frames fresh, juicy flavors with "stony" minerality. Long and clean with a citric snap of white grapefruit.

Schuetz Oles 1999 "SO ZIN" California Zinfandel ($11.99)
Ripe blackberry and raspberry aromas, full and fresh. Mixed-berry fruit flavors are juicy and strong. A hint of alcoholic heat, but the wine's lush, exuberant fruit keeps things in balance.

A word about availability: I purchased all these wines at retail wine shops in and around Louisville, Ky., and the prices listed are the actual retail price I paid; pricing may vary in other parts of the world.

I have no way of knowing their availability in other parts of the world or from online merchants; but in seeking any wine of interest, I always recommend starting with a good wine shop in your own community. Don't be shy about asking the management for help. A friendly and knowledgeable wine merchant can be your best friend in your effort to find any wine of interest or, failing that, to find a good similar alternative.