BOURGUEIL, FRANCE — Why is it that so many of the great red wines start with the letter “B”?

In France, the list begins with Bordeaux and Burgundy. Italy has Barolo, Barbaresco and Brunello, while Spain has Bierzo. Australia offers Barossa, the German-speaking wine world Blauburgunder and Blaufränkisch.

And then there is Bourgueil.

Bourgueil? That Paris cafe staple, the one that gets pushed across countless zinc bars in open pitchers, sometimes chilled to within a half degree of freezing, to mask its harsh tannins, its vegetal aromas, its lack of fruit?

Well, sort of. Yes, the wines I’m talking about come from the village of Bourgueil, in the Loire Valley of France. But no, they are nothing like the cheap carafe wines that used to give Bourgueil and other Loire reds a bad name.

Now, a handful of producers in Bourgueil and its next-door neighbor, Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, are making wines that belong on any short list of great reds, at least when value is taken into account. Plenty of delicious bottles are available for €10 or so, and few of these wines cost more than €20.