Good cheap wine #1

"What's a good wine for under $10?"

Whether it's the neighborhood fishmonger, the UPS guy who lugs boxes up my walk or people I meet for the first time, I'm asked that question more than any other when people learn what I do. Can't blame them; Big Wine fails consistently to provide solid, drinkable value at the low-end and retailers can't seem to resist the deals they provide, making the search for every day wine something most consumers dread.

So as often as I find them, I'll post reviews of wines I know of or discover that exceed expectations and deliver pleasure at a bargain price.

First up: Fortant Chardonnay 2006, made with grapes sourced from southern France, mainly around Carcassonne and Montpellier in Languedoc-Roussillon, and crafted with a New World focus on fruit but without the usually brutal oak manipulation; in fact, no oak whatsoever in fermentation or aging. That means, in this case, a crisp and minerally chard, with a varietally sound array of fruits - mainly pineapple and pear - with some honeyed qualities. It tastes fresh, lightly balsamy (not to be confused with balsamic), has solid, lemony acids, moderate body and length, and a refreshing finish. Quite good for what it is, which is a wine with a suggested retail price of $6.99. You could spend a lot more to get a chardonnay that tastes like plywood has been soaked in it, and you probably have. Look also for Fortant's Malbec, quite a different animal than the rustic South American low-priced versions. (Imported by Skalli Family Wine Americas.)