In Ontario you can find plenty of under $20 wines. How long that will last given the high cost of energy and supply chain issues is unknown.
Wines from France’s Côtes du Rhône are most often reasonably priced and of good quality. We try the Louis Bernard Louis 2020 Côtes du Rhône-Villages. That almost overly ripe strawberry on the nose is a telltale sign of Grenache in the blend. There is also blueberry, cassis and blackberry jam with a touch of raw oak. On the palate some middling tannins with black cherry, cactus pear and heat on the palate. It is a bit flat on the finish and lacks complexity. The 14.5% alcohol has thrown the wine off stride. Best wait another a year to open hoping it will calm down and meld. Higher alcohol wines make food a better plan than simple quaffing. I would say rare beef or duck and on the vegetarian side some spicy Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili. This is a NYT recipe. I would use organic sweet potatoes from California for the recipe. I find non-organic sweet potatoes tasteless.
(Louis Bernard Louis 2020 Côtes du Rhône-Villages, Louis Bernard, Vaucluse, France, $16.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 561290, 750 mL, 14.5%, RKS Wine Rating 88/100).
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