Here's a bottle from an area that semi flies under the radar of many California wine drinkers, and it's an area that I wasn't too familiar with either, so I figured I'd give it a shot and report my thoughts.
Livermore Valley is about 70 miles south of Napa, closer to San Jose. Wente and Concannon are two of the big names from the area that you may have heard of before, and those are pretty much the only two that I knew before getting into this wine.
This bottle from Murrieta's Well is a Bordeaux blend that consists of 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 22% Petite Sirah, 9% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec. I was hoping that it would be more of an assembled and elegant Bordeaux in style rather than a mixed hodge podge of different grapes with an identity crisis, and thankfully it proved to be the former.
The wine pours semi-dark with a fruity nose of dried black fruit and perfume. It's a super juicy wine, medium in body with black fruit flavor and hints of vanilla; it reminded me of a blueberry cream pie dusted with dark chocolate flakes. Fairly acidic, elegant and complex. The finish is super dry, and feels great in the mouth.
Suckling went 93 points which is pretty high, and the retail price seems to be around $35, so Costco bringing it in at $20 is a pretty good deal.
Overall, I'm impressed. I expected an ok wine but after tasting this one, I'm even more interested to sample and explore other wines from the area. Thanks to Costco for turning me on to them.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 89 points
Costco item number: 17280
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA
Alc 13.5%
Costco Insider says
FYI Murrieta’s Well is actually owned by Wente. If you see their white blend The Whip you should give that a try too. Other wineries making good wines are Steven Kent and Nottingham.
Editor says
Thanks for the info. Would definitely like to try more from here.
mogambo says
total wine near me has this listed at $18.97.
Rick Grooms says
Livermore was the premier wine region in CA before Napa. The most famous Chardonnay vineyards are planted to the Wente clone. Over seventy percent of Napa's great cab vineyards are planted with the Concannon clone which came from cuttings from Chateau Margaux.
Kent says
"the retail price seems to be around $35, "
Wine-searcher is showing average pricing about $19. Seems like Costco's pricing isn't that impressive.
Catherine Schafer says
Fun fact - Murrieta's Well winemaker, Robbie Meyer, is a Marietta, Georgia native. The entire lineup of Murrieta's Well is worth seeking out. Nice to see it at Costco.