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Red wines for taxing times

As you contemplate your tax return — or lack of it — and before winter is a complete memory, I'm suggesting some late-season red wine therapy, as in, some of the best value red wines on the market.
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As you contemplate your tax return — or lack of it — and before winter is a complete memory, I'm suggesting some late-season red wine therapy, as in, some of the best value red wines on the market.

I've come to appreciate value at all price points. In one of my many other wine lives, I taste some 3,000 wines a year in search of best value wines. Along with notes, I keep track of the score I give each wine, all of which leads to an impressive database from which to choose my favourite values of the week, month or year.

The complex calculation takes into account the score (out of 100) awarded to the wine and its retail price, as well as when it was last tasted and how long it has been in the market. The resulting e-valuator numerical quotient, or EQ, measures and ranks the performance of each wine I taste.

In the wake of the 34th Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, where Chile was celebrating its claim to be a value wine producer, I decided to run the computer through its paces to see which other countries could lay claim to the "best buy" moniker in this market over the past six months.

Suffice to say, there is something for everyone no matter how big or small your tax return may be this year, and all of today's picks are sold in government wine stores.

Spain remains an excellent place to prowl for bargain reds, beginning with Winemaker Daniel Castano's interpretation of Australia's coveted grenache/syrah/mourvèdre or GSM blend. The La Casona de Castaño Old Vines G-S-M 2009 ($9.50) from Yecla, finally listed in government stores, is fresh and tight, even somewhat lean on the palate with white pepper, orange, plum, rooty, savoury, mineral flavours. A simple, well-made tasty barbecue red you can buy for a song.

A slightly richer red from Mendoza, Argentina is the Punto Final Malbec 2009 ($16). I like the supple, fresh peppery palate and its mineral, savoury bay leaf and licorice notes that undercut its black cherry flavours and warm black raspberry aftertaste. Grilled meat seems an obvious choice, but try serving your steak with a fresh chimichurri sauce for the ultimate match.

Much has been written about the '09 Cote du Rhone vintage, as in, it's excellent. Certainly, the Delas Saint Esprit Côtes du Rhône 2009 ($18), a syrah/grenache blend, would attest to that if it could speak. The attack is soft and smooth with fresh acidity and light tannins. Black cherry, peppery, licorice and chocolate mixes with meaty, savoury, thyme flavours to entertain. A solid, fruity red wine that works for dinner most nights.

Still in the Rhone, I would also suggest you check out the Réserve Perrin Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2009 ($18) that mixes grenache, syrah, mourvèdre and cinsault from the southern Rhone Valley to see just how good the 2009 vintage is from the Rhone. The fruit is ripe and round in '09 with a fresh, open peppery, meaty nose flecked with the famous scent of wild herbs or garrigue. The palate is almost glossy with fine texture and rich, ripe, plummy, black cherry flavours flecked with mandarin skin. Super value. Stock up.

Merlot doesn't get a lot of love these days but when it's right it has its place at the table, as evidenced by the Casa Lapostolle Merlot Cuvée Alexandre 2007 ($28). At four years of age this wine is well developed yet still youthful, with fine fruit intensity and the softness that attracts many to the merlot grape. The price of the Cuvée Alexandre wine has dropped substantially in the last few years adding to its value for money prowess. Try this one with some of your favourite soft cheeses.

If merlot and shiraz have their nemesis it is malbec. Rich, soft, juicy and savoury malbec loves grilled meat and, lately, most people love malbec. A favourite of mine is Terrazas de los Andes Malbec Reserva 2009 ($21) a Mendoza-based red with a strong French sensibility. You will love its peppery, savoury, floral, black cherry flavours now, and it will cellar equally as well for five years.

Speaking of France, Les Clos de Paulilles 2007 ($35) a syrah/mourvèdre blend comes from Roussillon, which is sometimes referred to as the Spain of France. At 90 hectares, Les Clos de Paulilles is the largest vineyard in the Collioure/Banyuls appellation pushed up against the Spanish border. The steeply terraced site is planted to syrah, mourvèdre and grenache noir. Not all Languedoc wine is inexpensive but Paulilles over-delivers at $35 with it 's spicy minerality and powerful savoury black fruit aromas. The slate soil seems to sharpen and clarify its bright black fruit, cinnamon, coffee, licorice underbelly and mineral vanilla finish. Sophisticated and long, and yet it is still a baby. Stunning quality.

Next, we head west to Spain and the granitic hills of the Priorat. Hundreds of small vineyards in seven different municipalities come together under the maestro Alvaro Palacios to be Alvaro Palacios Les Terrasses Velles Vinyes 2008 ($49). The steep, old, north-facing sites that escape the hottest sun are the secret to Les Terrasses' great flavours. It spends 14 months in barrels, and only 15 per cent are new. The result is a sweet, supple, spicy red with slate and floral/mineral undertones. I love the aromatic black fruit notes. Nothing but terroir. Lamb shanks, grilled lamb, lamb chops — well, you get the message that lamb is the ticket here.

Now, I know what you're thinking: can $50 wines be considered best value? They can and they are, but if your budget is more modest I will leave you with a lower priced option.

The Goats do Roam Red 2010 ($15) is a tasty syrah, cinsault, mourvèdre, carignan and grenache from South Africa. It fits the soft and easy drinking mould with smoky, meaty, cherry flavours that call for stews or grilled meats.

Anthony Gismondi is a globetrotting wine writer who makes his home in nearby West Vancouver. For more about these wines and many others check out www.gismondionwine.com.