Here are the best budget wines (under $12) that I reviewed in 2016. The top score this year in the budget category was an 89
Category: Wine Reviews
Budget Wine: Banfi Chianti Superiore 2014
This is not your standard bottom shelf Chianti. It’s a riper, darker-fruited Chianti, with some raisin notes and a layer of milk chocolate–but also plenty
Wine Review: Engracia Saint Laurent Carneros 2014
Saint Laurent is a grape you probably have never heard of unless you travel to Eastern Europe. I first encountered it in Prague last summer
Budget Wine: Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc Steen Op Hout 2015
A shy nose if you’re looking for fruit. There is passion fruit and some apple but the intensity comes from matchstick and grass aromas. The
Saint Glinglin Carte Verte Cotes de Bordeaux 2011
The endless search for inexpensive, drinkable Bordeaux continues. This one is drinkable and interesting although not quite classic Bordeaux and not quite inexpensive. This wine
Budget Wine: Fetzer “Valley Oaks” Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
I was underwhelmed when I tasted the 2012. I’m still underwhelmed. On the nose the green, vegetal notes are too prominent, a distraction from the
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 