I went to Spain a couple of months ago. By way of Celaya in Central Mexico. Enjoyed the trip immensely. Thanks to an amazing tour guide called Costco. The retailer did an extraordinarily good job of finding the very best values from all over the country. With only one dud in the lot that I bought.

So, please join me as I recall the journey, tell you a little about each stop, and how I rated them.

My ratings system, by the way, is a little different from the professional wine critics. They put a lot of emphasis on the aroma; about the only time I stick my nose in a glass is to make sure it isn’t “off”. They put emphasis on things like balance and acidity; I don’t. And, generally speaking, the serious critics don’t take price into consideration. I very much do.

16. Rotllan Torra Reserva  $259  0

Unfortunately, undrinkable. Possibly corked.

15. Rioja Vega 2018 Reserva  $379  84

This comes from one of the first Spanish vineyards to employ French techniques with locally grown grapes. I remember it as one of if not the very first Riojas I ever tasted.

Costco is selling Vega’s Reserva edition, which is aged two years in oak and at least a year in the bottle. Typical of wine from the Rioja Alta area, it combines Tempranillo with smaller quantities of Mazuelo and Graciano grapes.

The nose and taste are also very typical of Riojas with ripe cherries and plums, toast, toffee and vanilla. It paired well with coq au vin. 

It scored decently on everything but price.

14. Cadalso 2018  $349  85

Cadalso comes from the Madrid area and is 100% Garnacha that is aged in concrete tanks.

In addition to the red fruit flavors typical of Garnacha, there is a hint of citrus peel which helped it pair with a shrimp pasta.

I like this wine a lot but not sure it’s worth the 100 plus pesos more versus other very similar Garnachas.

13. Pavina 2018  $339  86

Just when I thought I’d seen everything in wine, I saw this label with its blend of Pinot Noir and Tempranillo. I’d heard of the Spaniards making Pinot Noir but never blending it with that country’s signature grape.

I went to the internet. I found a website for Alta Pavina, the makers of the wine. It said they’re based in Valladolid in the Castilla y León region. About all they said about the wine was this:

Have you ever tried a similar coupage? No? Don’t worry, neither had we. But now you have found it.

Pavina Tinto is the greatest of Alta Pavina’s challenges and the greatest of our satisfactions. Yet people tell us that such a mixture does not make much sense. Try it before saying anything please.

As I like my Pinot Noir quite chilled, I put it into the fridge for ten minutes before opening it. I would have never guessed the grape if I hadn’t seen the label…might have even guessed the totally wrong Garnacha.

The taste was very pleasant and it went fine with La Nueva Aurora’s Italian sausage but it didn’t have quite enough fruit or interesting nuances for me. And the price didn’t help it in the scoring.

12. Abadía de San Quirce Crianza 2018  $379  86

I liked this Tinta del País (the local name for Tempranillo) from Ribera Del Duero a lot but, as one of the most expensive wines, it just wasn’t worth the extra pesos.

There are some spicy notes plus almonds and a little chocolate in the taste and a nice freshness. The only real problem is there’s just as good for less pesos.

11. Campo Viejo Gran Reserva  2015  $329  87

This one comes from one of the smartest and most successful beverage marketers, Pernod Ricard. They’re smart enough that I’ve probably seen more Campo Viejo bottles on more shelves than any other Spanish brand. 

Sometimes though, I thing the corporations don’t get the respect they deserve versus the little guys and, for the price, I don’t think you can do much better than Campo Viejo.

It has all of the smoothness and balance you would want in a Rioja that’s been aged for five years. In addition to the plummy fruitness, there’s all of those much desired tobacco, coffee and chocolate tastes.

The only excuse I have for not scoring it higher is that, despite years of practice, I don’t think my palate is sophisticated enough to appreciate Gran Reservas.

10. Barón de Ley Gran Reserva Rioja  $379  88

This wine is a big star in my second home of Toronto where it’s priced considerably higher.

Barón de Ley has all the desirable characteristics of a Rioja Gran Reserva which must spend at least two years in oak and three in the bottle. There’s cherry and blackcurrant on the nose and tobacco and licorice on the palate.

If, perhaps, you’ve never gone for a Gran Reserva (they’re normally beyond my budget), go for this one just to experience all of the nuances in the taste.

9. Cune Ribera del Douro 2020  $269  89

I’ve been drinking Cune Ribera for decades but this bottle seemed fresher and fruitier than in the past.

The Tempranillo grapes are grown at high altitude in north central Spain. They’re fermented in stainless steel and aged for five months in oak. It went well with spaghetti in a sausage and sage cream sauce.

If, like me, you’ve wondered why it used to be spelled Cvne and sometimes Cune, I recently discovered why. CVNE was originally an acronym that once got misspelled CUNE via a typo and it stuck.

8. Ostatu Crianza 2018  $229   89

This one’s reminiscent of a jar of English blackcurrant jam. And I love blackcurrant jam. I might have detected even a little taste of the toast I eat with jam. If you like those big, young, fruity Californians like Apothic Red, you’ll probably love this wine.

It’s from the heart of Rioja country and combines the two great Spanish grapes, Tempranillo and Garnacha along with Graciano and Mazuelo.

The best part is it’s priced one peso below my everyday max so I get to buy more.

7. Zerran  $299  90

This wine comes from the Montsant region, a few kilometres southwest of Barcelona. It’s a 50/40/10 blend of Garnacha/Mazuelo (known as Carignan throughout most of the world/Syrah. It spends ten months in French oak barrels. The year it was bottled is, surprisingly, not included on the label.

There’s a deep, rich plum and cherry taste with a peppery hint reminiscent of Shiraz. Another winner.

6. Laya  2021 $289  90

This comes from Bodegas Atalaya in the province of Albacete, just in from the southeast corner of the country. The 70% Garnacha/30% Monastrell blend spends four months in French oak.

It was one of the hottest (in a good way) sweetest, fruitiest (blackcurrant) wines of them all.

I had it with some grilled robalo helping to prove that a young, fresh red can work well with fish.

5. Kirkland Signature Rioja 2017  $179  91

This one got the highest mark of all for the value portion of the scoring. All I could think of, when I read on the label that it spends 36 months in oak (only 12 is required to be called a Reserva), was how can they even cover the cost of the barrels.

The label also reveals that the wine bearing Costco’s private label was bottled by Bodegas Eguia. They are headquartered in the town of Elciego in the Rioja Alavesa region so one can assume that’s where the grapes in this wine come from. It’s also the home to some of Spain’s most expensive wines.

Kirkland Signature is 100% Tempranillo with more of a spicy, vanilla and cola note than you traditionally find in a Rioja Reserva. If I didn’t prefer my wines a little fruitier, this would have received an enormous score.

4. Condado de Haza Crianza 2019  $339  92

After a couple of decades of struggling to find local lamb (other than at a barbacoa stand), we finally have a source. City Market, of all places. On this particular night, we were having it ground into burgers. A special meat deserves a special wine.

I’ve been drinking Condado de Haza for more than a couple of decades. And it’s never let me down. It’s smokier, meatier than most Ribera Del Douros.

It’s another 100% Tempranillo, from the hot in summer, cold in winter Ribera Del Douro region in northern Spain. It’s priced a titch over my daily allowance but definitely worth the splurge. I justified it by saying, “…but think of the money we’re saving by buying the Mexican lamb at half the price of the New Zealand”.

3. Coto de Imaz Reserva. 2017  $299  92

This one is oomphy. A favorite of the 100% Tempranillos. A Rioja that was perfect with the Wagyu cross arrachera (pricey but worth it at $468 a kilo from City Market).

There was cherry, plum, cola and what the wine writers call barnyard. Wished I had a second bottle to open. But must behave myself.

Possibly the best bargain of all on the list.

2. Dehesa La Granja 2018  $269  92

This one comes from winemaker, Alejandro Fernández, the man known as the “Master of Tempranillo” in the Castilla y León region in the Western part of Spain.

The wine spends a year in American oak barrels then at least three years in the bottle. There’s raspberries and vanilla on the nose and cherries and leather on the tongue.

It went perfectly with some truffled Manchego cheese that I splurged on at City Market.

1. Breca  $259  93

This one is another Garnacha. And if you’ve read this far, you probably already know that, generally speaking, I prefer the fresh fruitiness of Garnacha to the nuances of Tempranillo. It comes from Ébre in the north, bordering France.

I used to see the nicely textured black and gold (but barely readable) label of this at my local liquor store in Toronto but it was just a titch too pricey. In Mexico though (thank you, again, Costco) it made the cut.

The winemaker, Bodegas Jorge Ordoñez, once told me that the vines might even be older than I am. Respect your elders, my grandfather always told me.

This is about as good as a wine gets for my palate and my budget. I suggest you order a case. And, yes, of course I got my order in first.

As those signs say, “prices subject to change without notice” and, as I tend to stock up when Costco has things on sale and, as it took me a while to get through all 16 of these bottles, you may find many of the prices of these wines higher than when I purchased them. You may also find that some are, unfortunately, no longer available.