I admit I'm a sucker for top wine lists. I have to look at them, and that's what locked me into buying this wine. I noticed it was listed as the #5 wine on Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 wines of 2018 and I thought that was pretty interesting for an Oregon Pinot Blanc priced this reasonably.
That is, until I opened it and tasted the wine. It's absolutely amazing and an incredible buy at Costco for only $13.99 (retail is around $19). Wine Enthusiast ended up awarding the wine 92 points.
The wine is light, see through clear on the pour with an aromatic nose of citrus fruit; it is medium in body and packed with flavors of pear, white peach and green apple. Excellent finish that is subtle and elegant.
This is a very nice effort all around, and a wine that caught us a little off guard. The label and branding looks to me like it would belong on more a generic inexpensive wine from Aldi. And I don't always agree with the critics, but they picked a winner here, and I don't care what kind of package this wine is wrapped in.
Fans of Oregon whites of all sorts will love this wine. Fans of other whites should give it a try too. I'll be adding to the Top Picks list, and love the price to value ratio on this bottle.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 90 points (a CostcoWineBlog Top Pick)
Costco item number: 194131
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA
Alc. 13%
Linda D. Garland says
This is one of my favorite wines @Costco also.
We will be serving it during the 2019 Holiday Season.
Cameron says
If you can get it I highly recommend their Pinot Noir. I have been picking up the 2016 from my local Costco for months. Recommend an hour decant or more. The wine has been best on day 2-3 for me.
Kim says
I really like your wine blog. Unfortunately, almost none of the wines reviewed are available at the Northern Virginia Costco locations where I shop. I’m surprised that the selection is so different than what you have in the Greater Atlanta area.
Tom McCoy says
I totally agree w/Kim. Would love it if you could coordinate w/Costco to print a list of stores where they ship these wines. Very few make it to Greensboro, NC or Winston-Salem where I shop
steve says
Also agree with Kim - would like to know if any in my area.
I live in San Diego. I did not see it when I was in my local Costco 2 days ago. You would think wine from Oregon would make it here - their pinot noir does.
I have had a prior vintage of this that I special ordered and loved it. Hoping it shows in in SD.
Art Wallis says
Elk Grove has been making excellent wines for a long time and not deserving of your deprecation. Nice to see Pinot Blanc rather than its (my opinion) lesser sister Pinot Gris from Oregon. Would that there were more.
David Wagoner says
This Elk Cove Pinot Blanc was one of the first wines that I bought at Costco and it was AMAZING! My local store is in Cary, NC and I had not seen a review on this blog before I bought it, just the notes on the card at the wine bin. Unfortunately, that Pinot Blanc did not last long and I have not seen it since. But, last week I noticed an Elk Cove Pinot Gris and I snagged a bottle, based on the high quality and value of the last bottle. It was also delicious! I now think that anything from Elk Cove is probably wonderful and I will continue to buy them immediately when they arrive at Costco.