Your $10 Recession Wine of the Week: Domaine Gaujal de Saint Bon Coteaux de Languedoc

I don't know about you, but the financial collapse of the world economy has hit this household pretty hard. The days of laying down $30 for daily-use wine are gone for the time being. And even though I know the great values in the wine world are to be found in the $15-$25 range, I am keeping a sharp eye out for $10-and-under gems these day. It's not easy work, what with the wicked currency imbalance between the U.S. and most everyone else, but not impossible.

Here's a Coteaux du Languedoc I found at Acker, Merrall & Condit Wine Merchants on 72nd Street on the Upper West Side. It's a bit of a cheat, since it's priced at $10.99, but I'm including it anyway, since it's so good and it's a Polaner Selections import. How often do you find a Polaner for $11?

The grape on the Domaine Gaujal de Saint Bon is the Picpoul, a varietal of the Rhone valley and the Languedoc (where this wine hails from). It's the work of winemaker Arnaud Gaujal. It's a wonderful wine for the price. It has a mineral, grassy, grapey nose, with hints of white peach and apricot. The light-to-medium body wine has a light viscosity and a stony, mineral base. Notes of unripe pear and goosebergy hover atop. Great acidity. Use for any of your white wine needs.