CheapWineFinder Podcast
Talking about remarkable wines that pair nicely with your wallet! Because we like to keep it cheap but excellent.
CheapWineFinder Podcast
The $35 Chardonnay You Can Get for Just $10
Wine bargain alert! I've just discovered what might be the steal of the year hiding in plain sight at Trader Joe's. The evaluna Mendocino Chardonnay 2023 is quietly sitting on shelves for a mere $9.99, while the same bottle commands $30-50 at other retailers nationwide.
This isn't just any budget wine—it's a certified organic, sustainably farmed Chardonnay from Mendocino County crafted by the prestigious Boisset Collection. Jean-Charles Boisset, the renowned French-American wine entrepreneur behind brands like JCB, Deloach, and Raymond, clearly put serious care into this bottling before apparently discontinuing the Evaluna line. Their loss is our tremendous gain.
What struck me most was how this wine defies typical California Chardonnay stereotypes. Instead of overwhelming butter and oak, you'll discover a more elegant, French-inspired style—lean, complex, and beautifully balanced with moderate 13.5% alcohol. Each sip reveals different flavor notes, from subtle toasty brioche to bright fruit, creating a sophisticated experience that would feel right at home alongside bottles three times the price. The cooler Mendocino climate gives this wine remarkable restraint and nuance.
The current wine market downturn has created amazing opportunities just like this, reminiscent of 2008 when premium bottles were suddenly available at fantastic discounts. If you appreciate high-quality, organic wine and love a genuine bargain, grab several bottles while you can—this deal won't last forever. Have you discovered any exceptional wine values recently? I'd love to hear about your finds!
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Hey, welcome Domain Dave, here from CheapWineFindercom again. We write up three value price wine reviews a week on the CheapWineFindercom website and then we plug in the microphone and there we are. Right now and today we've got a wine that is actually it's cheaper at Trader Joe's by a lot than everywhere else, so it's the place to be. It's the Ivaluna Mendocino Chardonnay 2023. Ivaluna is referring to the phases of the moon and while this doesn't say this is a biodynamic wine, there's nothing on the bottle that says anything about that. It is an organic, certified organic wine and certified sustainably farmed wine from Mendocino and it's from Boisette Collection, who is JCB JC Boisette, who is a big-time wine guy from France and from California. They have about 50 different brands. You see the JCBs in the stores. They do Deloge, they do Raymond.
Speaker 1:This Evaluna wine seems to be a closeout. It's no longer supported on their website. You can't. If you go on the web to look for it, the only picture has a banner on it that says get it while you can, or that sort of thing. When it was new, it sold for over $40. And you can still see listings in wine shops for people who still have the wine.
Speaker 1:2023 is not old at all. It's a current, selling it for over $30. In most of the places it's $30 to $50. This is not a $9.99 wine, but it is a Trader Joe's, so it's 30 to 50 dollars. This is not a 9.99 wine, but it is a Trader Joe's. So it's one of those things that if you Trader Joe's has the Evaluna Mendocino Chardonnay and my Trader Joe's doesn't say anything about it just one of the wines in the Chardonnay section and you'd figure that they would want people to know, but they don't. So this is a organic, high-end Chardonnay from a big-time wine producer at a cutout price.
Speaker 1:And let's take a sip and is it any good? And the answer is yeah, it is. It's delicious. Actually, it's more in the French style, which is more subtle, more balanced, full of flavor. But you might get I mean value-priced California Chardonnays which tend to be from warmer climates. Mendocino is north of Sonoma. It starts getting cooler and the coast gets colder up that way. So it's 13.5 in the alcohol, which is kind of balanced these days for a Chardonnay, but the more body, the bigger the flavors. And this one is subtle.
Speaker 1:This is Even though it's California grapes. It's not French grapes. It's kind of in the French style where it's longer and it's leaner and it's complicated and complex and they don't go for the big finish and they don't go for like the butter I think it's oat. There are some tasting notes on the back label. Otherwise there is no written documents for it. That mentioned the toasty brioche and that's something that would come from a barrel, but you're not getting that buttery, caramelized thing going on at all. What you do get is this wide array of interesting flavors. The borders aren on complex. I mean it actually does. You take a sip and you're going to get a different mouthful of flavors there, which is really a nice thing.
Speaker 1:This is a wine. You put a nice little chill on it, you kick back. You know this is a wine over two-thirds off. I mean you buy a couple bottles of this. You buy three bottles. You're getting a hundred bucks worth of wine for $30. And keep that. You know when you want to show off, your friends come over when it starts to warm up and anybody want wine. You're sitting out there, it's a cool evening and you're pulling out the good stuff. Yeah, it's long, it's lean. It's a cool evening and you're pulling out the good stuff. Yeah, it's long, it's lean, it's balanced, good acidity, good finish and two thirds off. I mean, I don't know what to tell you on this.
Speaker 1:This is the Evaluna Mendocino Chardonnay 2023. It's a bargain. They kind of erase the brand from their website the Cabernet Sauvignon, which is $45 on their website, the Eva Luna Cabernet Sauvignon, that's $45. And there's not much on it anymore. It's just a brand.
Speaker 1:Like I said, I've been talking about this recently. There's been a downturn in the wine market worldwide and they're getting rid of brands that aren't producing. They're getting rid of ones that are in the wrong price range. They're getting rid of contracts for vineyards that they don't need, and I don't know if that's the reason for any of this, but it could be. And this is the time to look for bargains. In 2008, there were $60 wines going for $10. And this, I believe, is like a $35 wine going for $10. It's getting there.
Speaker 1:You don't really want to profit too much from people's mishaps and hardships, but when it comes to wine, yeah, I'll do that. So there we go again, the Evaluna. It's a small E-E-V-O-L-U-N-A Organic, certified organic Mendocino Chardonnay 2023. From a very good producer, in the French style. At Trader Joe's. It's just sitting on their shelves. I don't know who's running their wine department anymore, but these people are not on the ball. So, adios, keep it cheap. This is a go. If you find a, buy it one, so keep it cheap. We'll get more wine. If you find a, buy it one, so keep it cheap. We'll get more wine after Easter and I'll be talking to everybody. Hopefully it'll be warmed up on a full-time basis. So, adios, keep it cheap, stay cool, warm or whatever, and dry and I'll be talking to you. Bye-bye.