Perrin Family L’Oustalet, Rhône Valley (France) 2011

This is a perfect example of how the price / quality ratio often makes little sense when it comes to wine. This enticing example, made from certified organic grapes, has a medium-light body and elegant bright fruity flavors with just a hint of that earthiness (some might say “funkiness”) that can be characteristic of wine from France’s Rhône region.  It is fairly complex and has surprisingly good length. L’Oustalet is a delicious accompaniment to informal foods such as burgers, pizza, pulled pork or pasta (I had it recently with Pasta Bolognese which was an unbeatable pairing).  This tastes like a wine that might cost at least twice as much as the ten dollars it generally goes for.