As you all know, I am a self-proclaimed Costco disciple. From the wine section to the cheese aisle, I’m all in! During my last visit, I stopped by a different Costco and found a variety of new items including a 2016 Chablis Grand Premier Cru for $17.99. With a price tag like that, I had to try it.

The Chardonnay grapes are sourced from two Premier Cru vineyard sites in Vau Lignaeau and Vaugiraut. The Kimmeridgian soil, a blend of limestone and clay, give the wines a minerality. The wine is aged for 12 months in stainless steel tanks.

The winemaker is Odile van der Moere. I unfortunately couldn’t find much information about him, but read that in 2015, he was working for Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard. When I looked them up, I noticed that the snail shell (they call it an “ammonite”) logo from the Kirkland bottle was the same on their website, leading me to believe that they produce the wine. The ammonite represents life force—the spiral is naturally present in nature, a symbol of creation and fulfillment, it characterizes their commitment to continuous improvement of their business approach.

It was pale gold in color. On the nose, I noted apple, starfruit, citrus, and orange blossom. On the palate, it’s ripe yellow apple, pear, lemon, minerality. It had a nice balance of acidity and was a light wine. No oak at all, which is my preference with Chardonnay. I’m not going to lie, I drank half the bottle in a sitting. It’s not a wine that changes your life, but is certainly an affordable and delightful weeknight sipper. You can’t go wrong for the price. Cheers!