Shopping bargain wines from email offerings: if you know and trust your retailer try it. I recently did and found some value wines that will please both the frugal and fussy.

France: Value Wines

You’ve got mail—and it might have a nice nose, palate and fruit profile to it. Email is an effective tool for wine retailers. I receive emails about sales and specials from wine merchants I deal with, and I often respond with an order. I like buying wines that are recommended by retailers I trust, especially when it seems that they might have gotten a good deal on the wholesale level and are passing on some savings.

A recent email from Michael Cinque at Amagansett Wine & Spirits offered wines from the Southern Rhone region, most notably several from Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The Southern Rhone area is different from its northern neighbors (though both make excellent wines) with warmer summer days and soil that contains massive heat-holding rocks known as “galets.” The grapes grown there ultimately produce rich, full-bodied and spicy wines.

I needed everyday reds so I skipped the more expensive Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and chose a mixed case of two wines from Domaine de la Garrigue, an old and respected producer. Their 2004 Cuvée Romaine Cotes du Rhone is a blend of 60 percent grenache and 40 percent syrah, with a big, sweet bouquet. It’s good for sipping and excellent with food, and was on sale at $12.

A 2004 Vacqueyras from Garrigue was serious and sumptuous. A blend of 75 per cent grenache (from 50 to 100 year-old vines) and 25 per cent syrah, mourvedre, and cinsault, it has earned 91 points from Robert Parker. It is an exceptional wine, both in taste and in price. Try it with an important dinner. It was on sale when I bought it at a reasonable $17.

Domaine Wines & Spirits has recently begun sending monthly email specials, and I was intrigued with the January offering of a mixed case of three French wines for $99. They all turned out to be first-rate, expressive wines as well as terrific buys.

It is almost impossible to find a bargain pinot noir that you really want to drink. I’ve found very few worthwhile ones under $30, so I usually choose to spend more or go for a different grape varietal. I had to try a 2004 Louis Latour Valmoissine for $10 in the Domaine offering. Latour makes expensive Grand Cru Burgundy so the pedigree is there. Valmoissine is not from Burgundy at that price, of course, but from a small appellation in Provence. My expectations were realistic—and the results were a delight: an easy, smooth, subtle, medium-bodied pinot noir with plenty of soft fruit and taste.

Bordeaux produces a vast amount of reasonably priced everyday wines alongside its famous estate labels. The trick is to find the best from among the many. Domaine scored a hit with a 2003 Chateau Les Pins de Boussuet for $8.50. A blend of 80 percent merlot, and 20 percent each of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc, it is a well balanced and fairly nuanced wine. It is not a Chateau Big Deal, but you’d never guess the price. It is just right for a winter meal now that the weather is colder.

The third wine was a 2005 vintage with the fascinating name, Secret de Campane, Principaute d’Orange. We associate the House of Orange with Holland, but the Dutch claim to nobility, even now, comes from the principality of Orange in the Southern Rhone. The principality had its going-out-of-business sale about 350 years ago, but those royals have long memories.

The principality was gobbled up by Louis XIV in 1673 as smoothly as a slice of foie gras and became part of France. It is known today—except by the occasional nostalgic prince or duke or other aristo—mostly as an active winemaking appellation. The history of the area might be more complex than its wines, but I thoroughly enjoyed drinking the Campane and was thrilled by its price of $6.25.

It is a blend of 60 percent grenache, 30 percent old vine carignon and 10 percent cinsault. Like a good Cotes du Rhone, it is rich, spicy and flavorful, without pretension, royal or otherwise. The fruit and flavor are exuberant. It’s simply one of the best values I’ve come across. Don’t let the low price of this or any of the wines I’ve mentioned scare you off. I recommend all of them. And read your emails.