Picture Credit: Chris Yarzab/FlickrChris Yarzab/Flickr

When I look for high quality wines under $25, I find it hard to beat imported wine. The usual suspects that come to my mind include Cotes du Rhone, Rioja, Piedmont and Kamptal. Each of these offer many great options in that price range, whereas, while one can find great wines under $25 from nearly anywhere in the world, the wealth of options tend to be more limited elsewhere.

However, I’ve received a few samples of what I found to be high value wines that come from slightly off those beaten paths I mentioned above, yet still in the Old Word style, despite a set of them coming from New Zealand. So, I decided to wait until I had tried them all to run a piece on value old school wines from off the beaten path. Below are the reviews, and if you’re so inclined, each is hyperlinked to their wine-searcher.com page.

Of all of these, the two clear standouts include the 2012 Bodegas Godelia Mencia, which gives any wine in the world a possibly winning challenge for best value, and the 2013 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Barriques, which just crushes the texture category. What’s more, finding wines that are six and five years, respectively, post-vintage at these prices is insane. They’ve clearly benefited from the aging, and frankly a gift that the wineries are offering them at these prices. If I were recommending a white and red for a big event like a wedding, I’d happily suggest these two as both are not only stellar values, but suggest wide adaptability in food pairing and seemingly universal appeal.

Bierzo, Spain:

2015 Bodegas Godelia Bierzo Blanco – Quite the aromatic nose, it offers high toned yellow and green citrus, honeysuckle and peach pit. The body is medium in weight, with a lushness entering early and a more streaky acidic finish coming out towards the end. There’s a undercurrent of bitter greens to go with Meyer lemon, stony minerality, white peach and vanilla. It’s a pretty easy drinking, easy enjoying wine. 88 points. Value: B

2012 Bodegas Godelia Bierzo – Made from the Mencia grape. It begins to blossom from the first pour, but it does benefit from decanting. The nose is a cornucopia of berry aromas, featuring crushed blackberry, raspberry, dark cherry and brambleberry. The bouquet also offers hints of sweet tobacco, pastel Spring flowers and black pepper. It strikes a medium weight on the palate, and despite some age still offers thorough fine grained tannin to go along with juicy acidity. There is a similar berry flavors that is augmented by strong orange juice and black plum, darker tobacco, moist soil, slight mushroom and strong cocoa. This is a compelling, strong wine and that is drinking beautifully. The value is off the charts. 92 points. Value: A+

Wairau Valley, New Zealand:

2016 Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc – Classic modern sauvignon blanc nose: racy minerality, lemon-lime, cantaloupe, white smoke, white pepper and just a hint of mint. The body strikes a crisp and lean profile, with nice acid and some grit offering some texture. Flavors touch on bitter lemon, apricot, white peach, buttered white bread toast and gravel. 87 points. Value: C-

2015 Wairau River Pinot Gris – The nose, moderate in strength, is stoney and mineral-driven with slate, smoky flint, under ripe white peach, sour lemon, parsley and marzipan. The body has nice weight and balances creaminess and acid with skill. It brings Meyer lemon, white pepper, apricot, lime zest, salty minerals and just a bit of honeysuckle. A nice, serviceable, lean and crisp pinot gris. 89 points. Value: B+

2015 Wairau River Pinot Noir – No mistaking this as anything other than a Marlborough pinot. The nose is very high toned with red plum, bitter cherry, orange rind and fungal underbrush. The palate is fairly slight but the flavors are deep enough. There’s slightly sour cherry, cherry pit, huckleberry, orange rind, dandelion green and a bit of rose. A nice, easy drinking pinot that is very food friendly with its bright acidity and slightly grippy texture. 88 points. Value: B+

Alsace, France:

NV Domaine Allimant-Laugner Crémant d’Alsace Rosé – Fairly delicate bubbles for a cremant, it pours a very pale pink. The nose is clean, crisp and reticent. Bit of lees on the nose along with crushed raspberry, white pepper, dandelion greens and fresh Spring flowers. The palate is medium bodied with crisp and slightly bitter acid that harmonizes well with the slightly sweet fruit. Raspberry, huckleberry, cranberry and strawberry. There are hints of lavender and rose as well as a nice streak of limestone minerality. Overall a fun bubbler that is sure to be a crowd pleaser no matter the room. 89 points. Value A

2013 Trimbach Gewurztraminer – An extremely aromatic wine, the tropics burst out of the glass: pineapple, mango, papaya, starfruit and guava. Vanilla custard, white florals and some slate. The body is medium in stature, the acid is lean but crisp and balances the modest residual sugar. Clean minerality forms the core of the straightforward profile, which is filled out with tart pineapple juice, bitter apples, bitter greens and white pepper. It starts out sweet and finishes bitter, though the variance isn’t entirely resolved. A fine and perfectly pleasant simple table gewurztraminer. 87 points. Value: C-

2014 Louis Sipp Pinot Blanc Nature S – Pretty quiet nose, offering white peach, Granny Smith apple, lime zest, white flowers and loads of slate. The palate is very fresh with juicy acidity, offering Granny Smith apple, starfruit, grapefruit, sweet Meyer lemon, slate, white pepper and dill. Overall a very pleasant, enjoyable wine with an interesting, if not relatively simple, profile. 89 points. Value: B+

2013 Paul & Phillippe Zinck Riesling – No fooling anyone with the nose, this is all riesling. It kicks tennis ball can gas, straw, cut grass, pineapple, sweet lemon and honeysuckle. The body is medium and the acid very, very bright and sharp. There’s plenty of heft to the structure. It boasts flavors of Meyer lemon, white pepper, Evergreen, dandelion, peach and apricot. Overall a really nice, bright riesling with a sneaky personality – the more you engage it, the more it gives you. 89 points. Value: B+

2013 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Barriques – This has plenty of life ahead of it, it’s just coming into its own. Driven by minerality, the nose offers flinty crushed gravel, chalk, lemon zest, smokey white pepper and dandelion. The palate is full bodied with a lushness that belies the lean nose, though there’s a just a bit of chalky texture that adds depth. The texture takes center stage, and that’s a good thing. The juicy acid is nicely integrated and cuts any mount of residual sugar that might otherwise show it’s sweet face. The flavors boast big guava, mango, pineapple, Meyer lemon, creamy Granny Smith apple and honeysuckle. A very fun wine, this has the stuffing to evolve for a few additional years into a serious wine. It already has an immense friendliness with food. 91 points. Value: A-