Guy Bossard Domaine de L’Écu Muscadet de Sévre-et-Maine Expression d’Orthogneiss 2010

Muscadet is perennially a great value, and the Muscadets from Guy Bossard’s Domaine de l’Écu are among the best. He makes three cuvées named after different soils, which, if you care to compare them, offer a quick lesson in terroir. The Expression d’Orthogneiss is pure and limpid, with an ample richness that belies its sheer texture. Yes, it’s delicious now, but (lean in close) good Muscadet like this one will age and improve for years. CHARTRAND IMPORTS, ROCKLAND, ME

Gilbert Picq et Ses Fils Chablis 2010

I love Chablis and am grateful that it remains perhaps the best value in Burgundy. Few wines are as instantly identifiable as Chablis, with its austere, chalky flavors that seem derived (in the imagination, at least) from the zillions of fossilized shells found in its soils. As a simple Chablis, this wine naturally doesn’t have the richness and intensity that you might find in a premier cru, the next step up, but it nonetheless offers an excellent introduction. POLANER SELECTIONS, MOUNT KISCO, N.Y.

La Rioja Alta Rioja Reserva Viña Alberdi Selección Especial 2005

Most of the wines on this list are of recent vintage, but the Viña Alberdi Reserva is aged before its release, as was once traditional with Rioja Reservas. The result is a seven-year-old wine, delicious now but capable of further aging. Unlike La Rioja Alta’s other cuvées, the Alberdi is 100 percent tempranillo and offers a classic profile of mellow fruit framed by vanilla from American oak. Beautifully integrated, lively and lovely. MICHAEL SKURNIK WINES

Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo 2010

Produttori del Barbaresco is one of the world’s finest wine co-ops, offering great values throughout its range. The Langhe nebbiolo is generally made from the grapes of young vines, or grapes that for one reason or another don’t go into the Barbarescos. This is a lighter gauge than a true Barbaresco but still offers all the classic leather, floral and red fruit flavors. VIAS IMPORTS, NEW YORK

Olivier Lemasson Vin de France Poivre et Sel 2011

Vibrant and spicy, light, bright and pure. Poivre et Sel hails from the Touraine region of the Loire Valley, source of many great values, and is made of the obscure pineau d’aunis grape, with a little gamay thrown in. Like all of Olivier Lemasson’s wines, it is produced with no added sulfur as a stabilizer, so store in a cool area. Better yet, drink up, lightly chilled. LOUIS/DRESSNER SELECTIONS

Argyros Santorini Assyrtiko 2010

Over the last few years I’ve fallen in love with the dry assyrtiko wines from the Greek island of Santorini. These wines, made from grapes trained to hug the volcanic soils as protection from the fierce ocean winds, offer an almost tactile sensation that prickles the mouth, as if the liquid were condensed from millions of microscopic sea pebbles. This one is fresh and fragrant, with a touch of citrus and tropical fruit flavor. ATHENEE IMPORTERS, HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.

Domaine Vico Corsica 2010

You’d expect a wine from Corsica to be a little rough-hewn, no? This is made of the nielluciu grape, sometimes rendered nielluccio, said to be a Corsican synonym for sangiovese. But this wine tastes nothing like Tuscan sangiovese. It’s deep, rich and mouth-filling, with an aroma of licorice; tannic yet expressive and pleasing. While it cries out for scrubby hillsides and the Mediterranean, I’ll settle for spit-roasted lamb. WINEBERRY AMERICA, VALLEY COTTAGE, N.Y.