I always love seeing an inexpensive ($12.99) white pop up at Costco that's outside the standard Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Sauv Blanc realms. In this case, I was even more pumped to find a white Rioja, which turned out to be a delicious wine and an excellent value buy.
If only this had shown up earlier for the warm months. Regardless, it's out there, and I hope you see it near you.
The wine pours light in the glass, almost see through, leading you to believe it might be super light in flavor, but that's definitely not the case. The nose was a bit muted with hints of pear.
In the mouth though, this wine has medium plus body; it's bright and crisp with green apple and pear flavors, good, biting acidity and a touch of oak leading into the finish which is dry and tarty.
I found this to be a nice buy at $12.99 (closer to $17 online) and a nice change of pace from the usual field of white varietals. Make-up here by the way is 60% Viura, 30% Malvasia and 10% Garnacha Blanca. Viura is another name for Macabeo as it's commonly known, one of the most widely planted white grapes in the Rioja region. This one is worth exploring.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 87 points
Costco item number: 1167239
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)
Alc. 14%
