Ready to discover a tasty and affordable wine that rivals more expensive options? Join Domain Dave from Cheap Wine Finder as we explore the Kirkland Signature Rioja Reserva 2018, available at Costco for just $7.89! We’ll discuss how this gem is produced by Vina Eugea, a veteran in the Rioja wine scene, and how the aging process for this wine sets it apart from others in its price range.
With insights on the differences between American and French oak, and how the Rioja’s oak aging imparts crowd-pleasing flavors like chocolate and vanilla, you’ll see why this bright and juicy wine is a fantastic change of pace for those who typically enjoy value-priced California wines. So grab a glass, keep it cheap, and join us for this enjoyable conversation on the Kirkland Signature Rioja Reserva 2018. Cheers!
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Speaker 1
0:04
Welcome again . It's domain day from cheap wine fightercom with another podcast for you . What we always do We write up a wine on the cheap wine bettercom website , you know , put some information about it , put some tasty notes on it and maybe pictures of the bottle and the label and all that type of thing , and then we plug in the microphone and that's what we're here . We are now pretty much all at the same time . Well , everything is still fresh in our memory And what we have today is the Kirkland signature Rioja Reserva 2018 , which is $7.89 at Costco .
Speaker 1
0:43
The winery that made it . There's a winery in Rioja that's been around for like 40 years or so Vina Eugea , i think . Eugeola . It's not a winery I've heard of before . I don't recall seeing their wines in the stores around here , but they've been around for 40 years . They're legit and their Reserva sells for between $13 and $18 online . So this wine is basically 50% off for the exact same thing .
Speaker 1
1:15
Rioja has standards , and most of their standards that we know about and talk about are the aging . They do oak aging . If it's just a says Rioja and the label nothing else , then there is no aging standards . If it's a creanza , then it has to be at least a year in the barrel and six months in the bottle . And this is a Reserva and this one needs a mandatory member because they change it in 18 . I used to have a drinker rise . This wine has been in oak barrel for 30 months and they added six months in the bottle , which gives it three years , which I think meets the requirements or maybe exceeds the requirements . And then there's the Grand Reserva and that's like five years altogether , which is a lot of oak , especially for American wine drinkers . In this price range you don't get under $20 , or maybe Sonoma calves and a Paso Robocass . You might get 12 months in oak . You don't get a lot of oak aging in the lower categories because it doesn't really need it . That's not what the wines do . Putting more oak just adds to the longer time it takes for the wine to be released . So something like this , where you get some aging , is kind of different for the price range . So this is something I'm going to take a sip and we're going to talk about it , because Rio Highs are always good , fun wines .
Speaker 1
3:02
You know , my sweet spot for Rioja is always Priyanka , which the oak is more like I'm used to . So it kind of is a sweet spot for me . Sometimes wine with more oak has more tannins . It might be a little bit not as bright and stuff . But this one's nice and bright and juicy . But Priyanka is kind of like , makes it as the closest to American wines . You know I'm not that sophisticated . Okay , i like what I like . But Priyanka is closest to American wines .
Speaker 1
3:32
It's kind of doesn't take as long to produce I mean it still takes some three years for they sell it but it doesn't get over-oaked . They also use American oak a lot and they also use used oak because if it's a new oak for that until like the time it's going to be , you're going to give your cotton mouth . It's going to be that bad . But American oak and it's something that's used a lot in Rioja gives you vanilla and chocolate And the flavors you get from California wines . A lot of times French oak is more subtle in the flavoring and American oak is more crowd pleasing . So if you like that little bit of chocolate in there and that little bit of vanilla in there , that's the American oak . It's usually not . It's used for wine a lot but it's basically the oak for whiskey because it has a wider grain . Wine barrels are toasted , whiskey barrels are charred and it can take a char and it has more flavor and that type of stuff .
Speaker 1
4:30
But I'm going to take another sip because this is a kind of a 789 . It's a good wine , yeah . I mean it tastes like . It tastes like you spent more than you did , which is a good thing .
Speaker 1
4:52
A bottle of wine And you can't you know , and you ask somebody what's that bottle cost And they're not going to tell you 789 . It's silky , smooth and palpated . Then it kind of it can get roughed up . It can get some rough edge spice and you get some tart flavors and sour flavors . But that's all good because it all just flows together . Tannins are not don't buy . Tannins are there , gives a structure and this acidity allows the flavors to unfold .
Speaker 1
5:18
It's a good , well-made wine and even though it's been 36 months in aging it's still bright and juicy . I mean that's one thing a lot of people like about value-priced California wines and other places that make the value-priced wines too , because the wines are all bright and alive and juicy and flavorful and and sometimes aged wines oak aged wines can be a little challenging . It's kind of like the . It's kind of backwards , where you know the easy to drink ones are cheap and the harder ones with drink are the more expensive wines . But you know it's wine for you . So there you go .
Speaker 1
5:58
We got the Kirkland Rioja Reserva 2018 , it's $7.89 . It's a legit Rioja Reserva . It has oak aging , which is something that if you're you know , if you're not buying expensive wines , you're spending a lot of time with American value-priced wines , which is fine . That's what I do . It'll be a nice change of pace and we all need to change the pace once in a while , you know . So that's it for me . Domain Dave from cheapwinefightercom . And what do we have again ? the Kirkland Signature Rioja Reserva 2018 , $7.89 . You know , buy it . What do you got to lose ? So there you go . Like us , we like your podcast , if you will Keep it cheap and be cool and safe , and I'll be talking to everybody in a couple of days . Adios , bye-bye .
