Four wines made the 2010 $10 Wine Hall of Fame and a fifth was an honorable mention, the most since the Wine Curmudgeon started the Hall almost a decade ago. Details are here. The wines are:
• A California chenin blanc from Vinum Cellars called CNW, for Chard-No-Way.
• Notorius, a white wine from Sicily.
• La Ferme de Gicon, a red blend from the Rhone that may take the place of the Solaz as my favorite red wine for $10 or less.
• vini merlot from Bulgaria, which may be the best cheap merlot I've ever tasted.
The honorable mention is the 2007 Bota Box cabernet sauvingon. Its price works out to $5 a bottle, which is a steal. However, it's not a full-fledged member of the Hall because I can't vouch for any newer vintages, and I'm not sure how long this vintage will be available.
In fact, despite the weak dollar, 2009 was a banner year for cheap wine. Besides the five inductees, we have an honorable mention and only two wines dropped out -- the legendary Osborne Solaz red blend, which is being phased out, and the Falesco Vitiano wines, which cost more than $10 because of the weak dollar.
For previous $10 Wine Hall of Fames:
Great list!
We love bargain wines.
Haven't had any of these selections yet.
I'll will give me something to look for.
Here's to a prosperous new year.
Cheers!
Posted by: Wineharlot | January 04, 2010 at 10:20 AM