Long time readers will know that we love these sub $20 Ribera del Duero bottles when they hit Costco stores.  Almost as much as we like some of the off shoot Bordeaux bottles that occasionally grace the “cheap seats” (wine stacked in aisles, not in wood bins).

And we’ve had plenty of Ribera winners over the years.  This bottle however, I found to be pretty middle of road.  It was $15 so the price was right, but it left something to be desired for me.

We are writing a book about Spanish wines right now, so I’ve tasted quite a few of these wines recently, but despite a label that says almost everything you want to see for $15, the juice was a little on the light side.

Obviously, there’s a big competitor for this wine in the Costco aisles with the introduction of the Kirkland Ribera del Duero, which we really enjoyed.  At only $13, it remains our current pick for Ribera wines at Costco right now.

But back to this one; it pours dark but is rather light in the mouth, which is fine, but it lacked some of the power that I like in Ribera wines.  This bottle is clearly sliding towards the elegance side, but even then, the flavor was pretty flat.

There’s hints of spice, a little Dr Pepper, black fruit with dark chocolate notes, it’s toasty with a little campfire smoke.  I guess I feel it’s just missing the depth I hoped for and have had from Ribera wines, and of course, many times from Rioja.

(Wine Enthusiast went 91 points on this wine but I just don’t see it)

CostoWineBlog.com Rating: 86 Points

Costco item number: 462177

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA

Alc. 14%