[Cancuk]

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well, my first and foremost rec would be, check out the 05 montes alpha syrah from chile. It's between 14-18 depending on your area, and it seriously rocks.

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Great for the price. Have you tried their M?

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Next I would move over to australia(since unfortunetly I don't know nearly enough about spain to give that many solid recs at this time)

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IMO, Spain >>>>>>>> Australia. I really don't like Australia at all, and only have the Amon Ra that I mentioned earlier for monetary reasons. Spain, on the other hand, is outstanding and you don't feel like you just ate a jar of jam after enjoying a bottle.

For value reds, look at wines out of Monstant and Jumilla. If you find any '01 Riojas, buy them! Drinking beautifully right now. Great vintage!

White: I love Albarino out of Rias Baxias, such a great white and for the money, IMO, 10000x better than your average Chardonnay (especially if it's a Cali.. buttered toast anyone?). Also for whites: Viura varietal out of Rioja. Much like a cool climate sav blanc without the cat pee and bite. Very nice grape that, if people were willing to try something different, would be a huge success.

Other great value areas for reds: Languedoc (France), Rosso de Montalcino (Italy), Sicily (Italy).

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but this is a insane QPR(quality price ratio) and IMO is grand theft larceny at around 22-26.

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Not saying this isn't a great deal (I personally haven't tried it) but really stay away from stuff like QPR... it's such ridiculousness. It's retarded.

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as far as cabernets go, if you are willing to spend up to about 50, you can get some sick stuff. I'm a big fan of Don Melchor , and they make cabs that if they were produced in america would easily cost upwards of 100 a bottle.

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I know that everybody has their tastes and opinions, but Chile to me is the worst major wine producing country in the world. They do offer great values, but the style of wine they produce: sweet/residual, super fruit forward... blah. I can never get into it, and if i'm spending over 20 bucks, not worth it IMO. I had a bottle of the Don Melchor in question a couple of weeks back. For 50 bucks and Cab, i'd def go in a different direction... but again, that's just me. I think you should buy a couple of recommendations from different wine producing countries that are cheap and do a tasting. See what styles you like. That's the great thing about wine: No matter what anybody says, how many points here or there, it's all about your palatte.

KDawg:

Vosnee-Romanee's are sick. I haven't really got into the '03's, but maybe I should be. I can probably find some great deals in there, as nobody is going after them because of the 2002's and 2005's... any recommendations? what area have you found the best?

I LOVE WINE

Brunellos anyone?