A friend of mine once described Chablis as both the best- and worst-value wine in the world.
What he meant was the cheapest wines weren’t very good – but still fairly expensive in the grand scheme of things. But despite the quality of the greatest examples, the prices never (or very rarely) reached the heights of other top white Burgundies, making the best bottles excellent value for money.
You can say a similar thing about Châteauneuf-du-Pape. There are always some available in supermarkets for £15-£20 per bottle. At two to three times the average bottle price in the UK, this isn’t cheap. And while they might offer some pleasure, they almost certainly won’t be good examples of Châteauneuf. You’d probably be better off with a top Côtes du Rhône.
Scroll down for the best-value 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines to try
‘What surprised me was how many excellent Tradition bottlings there are in 2020.’
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2020 Châteauneuf revisited: Best-value wines
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