Best Values: Right Here, Right Now

You have just found a wad of money on the street and you’ve decided to celebrate with a bottle of wine. So you pop into your local wine shop and ask the merchant, “What’s the best wine you have for under $15?” (We didn’t say you found a lot of money.)

By asking for a recommendation on the spot, you are pretty sure the owner didn’t have time to remember that old clunker he has been trying to unload. And by limiting him to one wine, you get his best shot.

The Times decided to do the same thing. On Wednesday, April 22, I called 25 Southern California wine shops and asked: “Name the best wine value you have under $15.” The ground rules prohibited call-backs, so merchants couldn’t lower a price just for this article. Also, merchants had to have a reasonable supply of the wine on their shelves.

Below are the results of this survey. Shops are listed alphabetically. And since the choice of a wine is such a personal thing, the name of the merchant making the selection is also listed.

Interestingly, only one wine was mentioned more than once: the 1990 Rosemount Shiraz, mentioned by three merchants. Since the Wine Club in Santa Ana was called first, I asked Steve Zanotti of the Wine Exchange and John Lindsay of Vintage Wine Limited to make a second selection.

* Bel-Air Wine Merchant (Bob Golbahar), 1985 Tinto Pesquera ($14.99)-- “This is a Spanish red wine that’s similar to a fine Bordeaux, a St.-Julien perhaps. It’s soft and approachable, but it will age for another two to five years.” Golbahar said he was selling the 1988 vintage when the importer discovered 25 cases of the 1985 in a warehouse. “So we bought it all.” 10421 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles; ( 213) 474-9518.

* Beverage Warehouse (Ed Masciana), 1989 Gainey Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc “Special Selection” ($11.99)-- “An exotic kiwi and quince fruit component with an almost lemon-lime finish, with a bit of mineral quality and bright, up-front melon, pear, apple fruit.” 4935 McConnell Ave., West Los Angeles; ( 310) 306-2822 .

* Bristol Farms (Jeff Nicholl), 1990 Macon, Jean-Claude Thevenet ($9.99)-- “Relatively ‘minerally’ with traces of grapefruit, a hint of butterscotch and a little oak. This is a subtle wine that’s easy-drinking, and it goes well with food.” 606 Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena; (818) 441-5450 .

* Conejo Valley Wine and Provision (Tim Coles), 1987 Wildwood ($10.99) --”This is half Cabernet Sauvignon and half Cabernet Franc from Sebastiani, and the grapes are from the Kunde family, who are great growers. The wine is more cherries than you usually get in a Cabernet, with medium weight and a little spice. It’s a softer Cabernet that tastes great.” 1321 Thousand Oaks Blvd. (Northstar Plaza), Thousand Oaks; (805) 496-1324 .

* Duke of Bourbon (David Breitstein), 1989 Louis M. Martini Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve “Duke’s 25th Anniversary Cuvee” ($9.99) --”This is an outstanding wine that was made for our anniversary and we think it’s worth a whole lot more money. We’re going to charge $16 for it, but for the month of May it’s going to be $9.99. This is an intense, rich Napa Valley Cabernet that’s loaded with fruit. It’s a blockbuster.” 20908 Roscoe Blvd., Canoga Park; (818) 341-1234 .

* The Flask (Marty Petersil), 1990 Meridian Cellars Chardonnay ($8.69) --”Fat, rich and buttery, it’s gorgeous and a hell of a value.” 12194 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; (818-761-5373) .

* Greenblatt’s Deli (Jeff Kavin), 1989 Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune, Laboure-Roi (5.95)-- “The quality is very, very high; 1989 was an exceptional vintage for white Burgundy. If you lined up a bunch of $12 retail white Burgundies, and we have a lot of them, this one would really stand out.” 8017 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood; (213) 656-0606.

* Hi-Time Cellars (Chuck Hanson), 1986 Grgich Hills Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon ($14.99)-- “A rich, intense wine with a soft lusciousness to it. There’s a little oak and some vanilla, but it’s fairly complex and concentrated, so it will age a long time. But you can enjoy it now.” 250 Ogle St., Costa Mesa; (714) 650-8463 .

* Los Angeles Wine Co. (Steve Bialek), 1988 Charbaut Brut Rose ($8.99)-- “Predominantly Pinot Noir, this wine has a clean, crisp finish and a touch of yeast. The aroma is like strawberries. It’s just what Champagne lovers are looking for at a lot lower price.” 4935 McConnell, Unit 8, Los Angeles; (213) 306-9463 .

* Montana Wine Co. (Robert Rogness), 1988 Rosso di Montalcino, Castelli Martinozzi ($11.99)-- “There are traces of cigar and tobacco, tar, deep rich fruit flavors as if it’s a 12-year-old Barolo. The 1988s were so good that this Rosso tasted like a Brunello. But because it’s called ‘Rosso,’ it didn’t sell at its suggested price ($18); Rossos aren’t supposed to sell for that much. So it was discounted, and then we bought it.” 625 Montana Ave., Suite B, Santa Monica; (310) 451-4553 .

* Northridge Hills Liquor and Wine Warehouse (Paul Smith), 1990 Dehlinger Winery Chardonnay ($11.99)-- “This is a very full, rich wine with great acidity and good aging potential. A textbook example of a great California Chardonnay.” 11249 Tampa Ave., Northridge; (818) 368-7330 .

* Red Carpet Wine and Spirits (David Dobbs), 1988 Domaine Michel Chardonnay ($8.99)-- “A good, rich, buttery styled wine with layers of apple and pear fruit. The wine isn’t over-oaked. Give this winery a second chance, they’re making very good wines.” 400 E. Glenoaks Blvd., Glendale; (818) 247-5544 .

* Topline Wine & Spirit (Eugene Bialek and Robert Hilton), Bouvet Brut Rose ($7.99)-- “This is exactly what it says--a dry rose sparkling wine. The main thing is it’s made by Taittinger in the traditional method of Champagne.” 4718 San Fernando Road, Glendale; (213) 665-8484.

* Trader Joe’s stores (Bob Berning), 1989 San Simeon Cabernet Sauvignon ($3.99)-- “This is a fairly full-bodied wine on the palate with a light touch of oak in the finish. We loved it.” Berning had to promise he wouldn’t reveal who made it because under the primary brand, it would sell for more than $11 a bottle. However, the bottling location of this wine is Creston, Calif., so I’m guessing it’s from Creston Manor, whose 1987 Cabernet was a stunning success. Locations throughout California.

* Twenty-Twenty Wines (Ralph Noe), 1990 Peter McCoy Vineyards Chardonnay ($14.99)-- “Very much like a white Burgundy, as close as you can come in a California wine--buttery and complex. Only 900 cases were made.” 2020 Cotner Ave., West Los Angeles; (310) 447-2020 .

* Vintage Wines Limited (John Lindsay), 1986 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($9.99)-- “This is a big, massive, earthy, meaty Cabernet, with lots of cherry and currant fruit, and it has a good level of oak.” 6904 Miramar Road, Suite 101, San Diego; (619) 549-2112 .

* Wally’s (Gary Fishman), 1989 Joseph Phelps Vineyards Late-Harvest Johannisberg Riesling ($6.99/half bottle)-- “This tastes like the stuff you would have paid $20 for 10 years ago. It has 10% alcohol and 12.5% residual sugar. An entire fruit bowl of aromas of peaches and honey. (Phelps winemaker) Craig Williams did a brilliant job with this wine.” 2107 Westwood Blvd., Westwood; (310) 475-0606 .

* Wine Cask (David Russell), 1990 Barbera D’Alba “Vigna Giachini,” Giovanni Corino ($14.95)-- “There’s sumptuous succulence to the fruit and a lot of concentration without brutal lashings of tannin. This is a new property that promises great things to come.” 813 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara; (805) 966-9463 .

* The Wine Club (Ron Loutherback), 1990 Rosemount Estate Shiraz ($5.99)-- “This wine is teaching my customers that there is something besides Cabernet. I like it because of its forward fruitiness, and it has plenty of depth of character and body, but the tannins are very mellow. This is a mouthful of wine that doesn’t fight you. And you get all that for six bucks.” 2110 E. McFadden Ave., Suite E, Santa Ana; (714) 835-6485 .

* Wine Exchange (Steve Zanotti), 1989 Chansa Chardonnay ($5.99) --”It’s got everything that the rich Central Coast Chardonnays have at half the price. It’s got classic fruit and it will go with a wide variety of foods.” 2291 N. Tustin Ave., Orange; (714) 974-1454 .

* The Wine House (Larry Seibel), 1989 Vina Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon ($5.49) --”Medium-bodied wine that is very smooth with elegant fruit and an absolutely superb finish that lingers for quite a while. The fun thing is that the 1990 is even better.” 2311 Cotner Ave., Los Angeles; (213) 479-3731) .

* The Wine Merchant (Dennis Overstreet), 1989 Chateau Prieure-Lichine ($14.95)-- “It’s packed; it has good fruit and is well balanced. To me this is what a benchmark Margaux is all about--in other words, it seduces you.” 9701 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; (213) 278-7322 .

* Wine Reserve (Barry Herbst), 1989 Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Remy Diffonty ($9.99) --”Peppery, spicy, a wine made in a big style, but despite medium-to-high tannins, still approachable now.” 929 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale; (818) 500-8400 .

* Winesellar and Brasserie (Gary Parker), 1989 Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine du Haut des Terres Blanches ($10.99)-- “Rich, fruity, round and full-bodied and well-balanced--almost sweet. It tastes great today.” 9550 Waples St., Suite 115, San Diego; (619) 450-9557 .

* The Wine Shop (Andrew and Carolyne Murray), 1990 Silver Canyon Chardonnay “Paso Robles” ($13.50) --”Nice, lush, rich Chardonnay. It’s not a buttery wine; it has more citric flavors.” 223 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles; (213) 466-1621 .