Need a good (inexpensive, oximoron?) French wine...?

Question

Need a good, but inexpensive French wine (red, preferably) to compliment my menu, celebrating Bastille Day next monday. Any ideas? I am serving a pepper-crusted beef tenderloin with a chocolate-port sauce over a bed of wild rice, with an arugula raspberry-walnut salad and french-onion soup for starters. Any suggestions? I am mostly familiar with italian red wine, and I love chianti--but I know that it certainly will not go with my menu. Any suggestions? Keep in mind that I am a poor college student and I will be spending most of my money on the food SO anything under $20/bottle would be nice.

Answer 1

The center of your meal is the meat in a thick-bitter-sweet sauce - the wine must be chosen around the meat dish -

It must be a thick and structured black wine in moderate prices :

Soooooo !!! If you can find them in your country I would suggest :

               - Madirans rouges

               - Gaillac rouges

               - St Joseph South Rhone Wine

               - Gigondas south rhone wine

               - Languedoc Vins de Pays new generations

               - Vacqueyras or Coteaux du Ventoux rouge

               - Coteaux du Lubéron rouge

               - Or any syrah ( as you like to call that ) slightly

                 chilled - french or not - syrah is nothing

               - My problem is to guess what you can find in

                 your country

Of course I think about great bourgogne or north rhone but then you will have a budget problem -

If the first course is an onion-soup, wait the meat to serve the wine - and if there is vinegar in your salad people will be served only on their request -

Answer 2

I love Fat B@stard also, and anything by Louis Jadot is very nice for the price.

Answer 3

Fat b*****d wine (Yes, that's the real name) I believe is a french wine. Not too expensive and is very good.