Kyle Meyer’s wine picks

So now that he’s gotten used to drinking down, what is Kyle Meyer drinking at home?

Spanish wines. The best values, he says, are in smaller, less-known regions — Jumilla and Campo de Borja, Calatayud or Montsant. “You dig out these little satellite areas to find a progressive guy who maybe didn’t put it in too much new wood, so you get this pure expression of the grape.” One example is the 2010 Bodegas Borsao red from Campo di Borja region in Spain, which sells for about $8 to $10 (widely available).” Also: “I’m constantly entranced by how they can put a cleanly vinified 50-year-old Grenache into the bottle for $10.”

Argentinian Malbecs. “Big, juicy, yummy blasts of wine,” such as the 2010 Vistalba Corte “C” Malbec-Cabernet blend, which sells for about $12 (Wine Club, Wine Exchange and Southern Hemisphere Wine Center) and the 2009 Aguijon de Abeja Malbec, which sells for $10 to $11 (Wine Exchange and Wine Country).

French Côtes du Rhône. Some less-preferred locations still have these great old vines and can deliver compelling wines for $10 to $20. He particularly likes the 2010 Janasse Côtes du Rhône from the Rhone Valley, about $18 (K&L Wine Merchants).

Washington State: The 2010 Hedges Cellars Cabernet-Merlot-Syrah blend from Columbia Valley, which sells for about $12 (Lincoln Fine Wines, Wine House, K&L Wine Merchants, Fine Wine House).

Fine Wine House in Upland (877) 981-6555, https://www.finewinehouse.com; K&L Wine Merchants, Hollywood, 323-464-9463, klwines.com; Lincoln Fine Wines in Venice (310) 392-7816; Southern Hemisphere Wine Center in Huntington Beach, (800) 504-9463; Wine Club in Santa Ana, (714) 835-6485, https://www.thewineclub.com; Wine Country in Signal Hill (562) 597-8303, https://www.thewinecountry.com; Wine Exchange in Orange, (714) 974-1454 https://www.winex.com; Wine House in West Los Angeles, (310) 479-3731, https://www.winehouse.com.

—S. Irene Virbila