12 under $12

The 2024 Grand Bateau is wonderfully aromatic, fresh and vibrant, opening with citrus, white peach and tropical fruit along with delicate white flowers.

The palate is bright and energetic, driven by mouthwatering acidity, but there is also a lovely fleshy quality to the fruit that gives the wine substance and texture without sacrificing freshness. Citrus and stone fruit carry through the palate, with a subtle tropical note and a clean, refreshing finish.

What we particularly like about the 2024 is the balance.

It is bright and energetic, but not thin. Fresh, but not austere. Fruity and expressive, yet beautifully balanced by its acidity.

In short, it is the kind of white wine that makes you want another glass.

91 Points! The young entry-level 2024 Laya was produced with 70% Garnacha Tintorera and 30% Monastrell from dry-farmed 30-year-old vines on limestone and stony soils. It fermented in 20,000-liter open-top stainless steel vats with neutral yeasts and matured for four months in used French oak barrels, where it also underwent malolactic. It's heady, with notes of very ripe dark berries and is young and primary, fruit-driven, easy to drink and juicy, with velvety tannins, 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.76 and 5.4 grams of acidity. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

92 Points! A restrained wine that’s typical for this grape, with aromas of dark fruit, chocolate and graphite. Medium-bodied with crisp yet slightly lifted acidity and firm, chalky tannins that are well balanced in the finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com