I was lucky to snag a bottle of this wine before it quickly sold out a couple of years ago in 2004. The 2002 vintage in Burgundy for reds was being heavily hyped in the wine press then, surprising many winemakers in Burgundy. Because they felt it was certainly a good vintage but not necessarily a great one, they were somewhat mystified and not altogether pleased with wine writers the world over for creating inflated expectations for wines of the 2002 vintage.

This bottle is a lovely example of pinot noir’s delicate, complex, changeable character. Upon opening the bottle, the wine was incredibly ethereal, almost wispy, with just the barest hints of tart cherry and leafy, damp earth notes. With 15-20 minutes of exposure to air, it took on considerable weight and interest. Exquisite balance and poise, tart cherry notes vying with leafy and strongly mineral notes. Really fetching, about $20 a bottle.

I love red Burgundy with duck of pretty much any description – the heavenly duckleg confit (D’Artagnan of New Jersey makes great ones–making these at home is very time-consuming) is particularly great, with pan-fried fingerling potatoes and braised greens.

Note: more recent vintages are likely to be available. The year 2003 was a scorcher all through France, and for the most part, the 2003 reds from Burgundy have been unfairly panned. They are generally shockingly fruit-forward and low in acidity but often still exhibit admirable structure and regional character. 2004 was a generally strong vintage; Clair’s 2004 Les Vaudenelles bears a lot of resemblance to the 2002, and it should still be available.

A treat from southwestern France, Alain Brumont’s entry-level cuvee called “Torus” is a striking wine with serious, really deep black fruit notes and a strong but supple tannic backbone. Brumont, owner of Chateau Montus, is one of the stars of the Madiran area, focusing his growing efforts primarily on Madiran’s signature Tannat grape. The Torus cuvee is half Tannat, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc making up the remainder. Brumont’s flagship efforts under the Chateau Montus name are very impressive and intriguing, lean but muscular, with plenty of fruit to balance the notable tannins, and that fruit has a deep, brooding quality, definitely cassis. Not your everyday bottle of red, but surprisingly accessible and easy to pair with lighter fare. We tried it with a delicious vegetarian lasagne made by a friend of ours that included: handmade noodles, a tomato, caper and red wine sauce, Parmigiano Reggiano, mozzarella, ricotta—it was a fine match. I think the capers were able to handle the wine’s spicy, somewhat bitter side, and the wine in the sauce tempered the sweetness of the tomatoes. Ratatouille would probably also work well, as would any southwestern French chicken dish, or lamb and the other obvious red meat pairings. Check out Paula Wolfert’s superb The Cooking of Southwest France for recipe ideas. (Or just buy the book anyway if you enjoy cooking because it’s one of the most thorough and uncompromising explorations of a region’s cuisine that I have ever encountered. The recipes are time-consuming but always, always delicious and memorable.)

About $15/bottle.

Another de Grazia wine (source of some of my favorite Italians lately), and one of my all-time favorite affordable Piedmontese reds. Dolcetto in general can be really frustrating: potentially lovely but more often brusquely tannic, with shrill and unpleasantly aggressive fruit. This wine is an example of the grape at its best, where earth and blackberry notes greet the nose with firm mineral notes that underlay the fruit. While there are some similarities to good cru Beaujolais in overall character with generous, intriguing black fruit and spice notes held teasingly in check by bracing acidity and framed by firm but fine tannins, this wine is firmly Italian. Serve it with slow-stewed beef or pork shoulder, mushroom risotto (or really any flavorful mushroom dish). The 2000 vintage of this wine was so memorable (and the wine itself rare enough) that finding some recent vintages felt like running into a particularly interesting old friend. Worth savoring. Around $19-$20/bottle.

I recently tried this charming but commanding Chianti Classico again. It’s exported by Marc de Grazia, who carefully chooses small estates who produce wines with much regional character–some of them a bit too oaky/alcoholic for my taste, but this Chianti has much to offer. Dense, muscular and somewhat impenetrable when first opened, brightly acidic with crisply articulated fruit and spice notes after about three hours of aeration. Loads of black cherry fruit, some earthy, almost evergreen notes, licorice, minerals. 14 months in old barriques provides a subtle, unobtrusive smoky undertone for the fruit. Really interesting stuff. Try it with steak au poivre, grilled venison or other slightly gamey meat paired with a mushroom risotto. I broke my under-$20 rule right off the bat, but this one’s worth it. Around $30/bottle.