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Best Buy Wines (June/July 2008): imports $25 and over

2005 Giancarlo Ceci Castel del Monte Rosso, Puglia (Italy), A$27.90
An organically grown wine from the  obscure Castel del Monte region, which is in fact one of the most highly regarded districts in Italy’s hot southern heel. The wine is a blend of the local, ancient uva di troia grape with montepulciano and aglianico. Uva di troia brings fleshy purple fruit weight to the middle of the wine, while the other grapes bring chewy, grainy tannins. Either drink now with some fairly robust roasted meat or leave in a cool, dark place for a year or five to mellow, then enjoy it with osso bucco.  MA

2006 Allegrini Valpolicella Classico, Veneto (Italy), A$26.50/NZ$29.50
Here’s an impressive Valpolicella Classico – an excellent wine to begin or continue a love affair with Italian reds. The Allegrini family have been at Corte Giara in the Veneto in north-eastern Italy since the 16th century. This aromatic red is made from the corvina, rondinella and molinara grapes and designed to be drunk young. It is spicily fragrant, fresh, clean and succulent, has red cherry flavours and some dry savouriness and just enough firmness to encourage you to drink it with, say, a mushroom risotto.  PF

1986 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Saint Guirons Pauillac, Bordeaux (France), A$350
This classic Pauillac is still amazingly tight and youthful – and belies its modest fifth-growth status. It’s a 70 per cent cabernet sauvignon blend with merlot and a splash of franc. Aromas of cedar, fresh vanilla pod and a whiff of wood smoke intermingle in the rich, concentrated bouquet, along with a dense compote of dark berry fruit. But it’s the palate that really excites – weighty yet taut, sinewy but certainly not mean, with a persistency that is almost infinite.  PB

2005 Guerrieri Rizzardi Pojega Valpolicella Ripasso, Veneto (Italy), A$30
Valpolicella produces some very ordinary reds, but the best are worth seeking out. This, imported by Domaine Wine Shippers, is a ripasso, which means it’s been slightly re-fermented on the spent skins of amarone wines. It’s debatable how much good this does, but there’s no doubting the excellent quality of this wine. It has a touch of dried-grape character in the bouquet, and is rich, deep and full-bodied, with loads of lush sweet-fruit flavour. The finish is generous and long.  HH

2003 E Guigal Saint-Joseph, Bordeaux (France), A$57/NZ$65
This is from the much talked about “hot” vintage, when most of Europe’s grapes ripened and were harvested in a heatwave. Guigal’s website reveals that the grapes that produced the 2003 Saint-Joseph were harvested with a potential alcohol of 14-15 per cent. It’s curious that the alcohol on the label reads 12.5 per cent. The wine is a finely textured and accessible red with little sign of being made from overripe or heat-affected fruit. It has layers of red fruit and spice/pepper flavours supported by fine, ripe tannins.  BC

2005 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Gevrey Chambertin Village, Burgundy (France), A$90
A vibrant, juicy pinot with the openness and sweetness of its vintage as well as the dusty, powdery texture and slightly sour-edged flavours of its village. Scented with a dusty, spicy fragrance of sweet red cherry, dark plum, iris and tea leaves, it slowly reveals undertones of dark chocolate and hints of meatiness. Moderately intense, it’s long, vibrant and savoury, with a creamy oakiness that smoothes out its chalkiness and supports its fresh, spotlessly clean varietal flavours.  JO