It's also worth noting that a wine doesn't have to be cheap to offer value. Yes, it's more difficult for an expensive wine to do this, given that too many expensive wines are expensive because their reason for being is to be expensive. But it is certainly possible, and it happens more often than I acknowledge here.
One producer who consistently does this is New Zealand's Spy Valley, which as been making $15 and $20 wines that taste like they cost much more for as long as I have been writing about wine. I had one of those sublime, geeky wine experiences with the sauvignon blanc last year, and it's not even my favorite Spy Valley wine.
That would be the riesling ($18, purchased, 12.5%), which is as enjoyable as it is difficult to find. I only see it in Dallas every couple of years, given the vagaries of the three-tier system, so when I do see it, I buy it, even if it's a previous vintage. The producer is good enough so that doesn't matter.
The 2011 didn't let me down. It's not riesling like most consumers know it -- no sweet tea-like sugar or fruit flavors that taste like they came out of a can. Instead, it's a dry riesling, complex with layers of flavor that range from petrol on the nose (a classic riesling characteristic) to citrus and tropical in the front and middle. It's still fresh and almost aggressive after almost two years in bottle, which is a sign that it's only going to get better with age.
Serve this to someone who doesn't think they like riesling, and see if they change their mind. Highly recommended, and well worth the money.
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