Dive into the wonderful world of affordable French wine with our latest discovery: the Bouchard Aîné & Fils Chardonnay 2024, a remarkable $9.99 Costco find that proves exceptional quality doesn’t require a hefty price tag.
When I first spotted this bottle, I thought I’d stumbled upon an impossibly cheap Burgundian wine. While it’s technically categorized as “wine of France” (their entry-level classification), this Chardonnay comes from Bouchard, a winery established in the early 1800s and now part of the prestigious Boisset Collection led by Jean-Charles Boisset – recently named Wine Enthusiast’s Man of the Year. Talk about pedigree!
What makes this wine special? The careful sourcing from southern and western French vineyards, with select higher-quality Burgundian Chardonnay blended in for complexity. The winemaking shows impressive attention to detail – four separate vineyard plots fermented individually, with one portion aged four months in oak and the remainder in stainless steel on lees. The result? A bright, juicy Chardonnay with delicate creaminess, tropical fruit notes, and balanced acidity that allows the flavors to unfold beautifully. Unlike California Chardonnays, you won’t find pronounced butter notes here – just clean, refreshing, French elegance.
The 2024 vintage’s freshness is a significant advantage. Having been harvested last fall and quickly brought to market, this wine exemplifies why certain styles benefit from youth rather than age. Perfect for summer sipping, it pairs wonderfully with light fare like salads or seafood tacos, though it truly shines as a standalone pleasure. At just $9.99 at Costco ($12 elsewhere), this bottle demonstrates why exploring value wines can be so rewarding. Try it yourself and discover how “keeping it cheap” can still mean drinking very, very well!
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Introduction to CheapWineFinder Podcast
Speaker 1
0:03
Hello
,
it's
Domain
Dave
.
Again
CheapWineFindercom
,
another
podcast
.
We
write
up
three
value-priced
wines
a
week
on
the
CheapWineFindercom
website
and
after
each
one
we
plug
in
the
microphone
and
there
we
go
.
And
that's
where
we're
at
the
moment
Bouchard Chardonnay from Costco
Speaker 1
0:24
.
And
we've
got
a
wine
I
picked
up
at
Costco
for
$9.99
.
I
initially
thought
it
was
a
$10
Burgundian
wine
,
which
is
really
cheap
.
They
don't
usually
go
that
cheap
.
And
this
is
the
Bouchard
Annie
and
Phil's
.
I
think
that's
in
Suns
,
chardonnay
2024
.
I
think
that's
in
Sons
,
chardonnay
2024
.
Winery Background and Credentials
Speaker 1
0:51
Bouchard
E
is
a
winery
that's
been
around
since
the
early
1800s
in
Burgundy
.
They're
a
big
deal
in
France
.
They
are
now
part
of
the
Boisset
Collection
,
which
is
run
by
Jean-Charles
Boisset
,
jcb
,
as
he
is
known
,
and
he
just
recently
won
Wine
Enthusiasm
man
of
the
Year
Award
.
So
this
is
a
very
good
vineyard
from
a
very
distinguished
wine
company
.
And
so
there
you
go
.
This
is
their
everyday
wine
.
This
is
not
AOC
,
this
is
a
wine
of
France
,
which
is
their
lowest
denominator
.
But
it
used
to
be
table
wine
at
Wine Production Details
Speaker 1
1:40
one
point
,
and
now
they
can
make
it
kind
of
like
California
does
,
where
California
can
have
California
in
a
label
,
or
it
can
be
Sonoma
one
point
,
and
now
they
can
make
it
kind
of
like
the
friend
,
like
california
does
,
where
california
can
have
california
in
a
label
,
or
,
you
know
,
it
can
be
sonoma
,
it
could
be
lodi
,
or
if
you
put
those
two
together
it's
california
.
So
this
is
.
They
can
now
make
wine
,
kind
of
like
the
california
winemakers
do
.
I'm
gonna
take
a
sip
of
this
one
.
This
is
made
to
be
drink
it
.
Now
.
This
is
a
,
a
wine
,
that
is
,
it's
a
2024
,
which
we'll
get
in
that
just
a
second
,
and
it's
made
to
drink
it
this
summer
.
Speaker 1
2:20
The
vineyards
were
from
the
south
and
the
west
of
France
,
which
is
interesting
because
the
cheap
.
The
Languedoc
is
where
a
lot
of
the
value
price
wines
come
from
,
and
that's
on
the
east
,
and
so
they
said
they
came
from
the
south
and
the
west
,
and
I'm
not
quite
sure
what
that
is
,
but
there's
a
lot
of
,
Tasting Notes and Flavor Profile
Speaker 1
2:40
there's
a
lot
of
wine
in
France
,
there's
a
lot
of
vineyards
in
France
.
And
they
also
said
that
they
added
some
Burgundian
Chardonnay
,
some
higher-priced
ones
,
just
for
sweetener
to
add
it
to
,
which
that
does
work
when
you
have
value-priced
wine
,
to
give
it
a
little
bit
of
something
that's
a
little
bit
above
this
price
range
in
there
.
It
does
do
something
to
the
wine
.
They
fermented
the
different
plots
separately
.
I
think
there
are
four
different
plots
.
One
of
the
plots
of
wine
was
aged
for
four
months
in
oak
On
oak
they
always
say
on
oak
.
Speaker 1
3:20
I
never
know
what
that
means
.
The
other
three
in
stainless
steel
on
lees
.
Anlis
is
the
dead
yeast
.
If
you
stir
it
it
makes
the
wine
just
a
touch
creamy
.
I'm
going
to
take
another
sip
of
this
wine
,
and
this
wine
is
bright
and
shiny
Final Thoughts and Value Assessment
Speaker 1
3:35
and
new
and
tasty
.
I'm
going
to
take
another
sip
.
So
they
um
,
so
they
harv
this
wine
.
Harvest
this
wine
.
Maybe
last
september
,
october
went
through
the
fermentation
process
four
months
from
there
we're
talking
about
Maybe
it's
done
in
February
,
and
then
there's
get
it
over
to
the
United
States
and
it's
just
almost
June
.
Speaker 1
4:14
This
thing's
brand
new
,
which
is
what
you
want
.
If
you
go
somewhere
and
you
see
the
2023
and
the
2024
is
available
,
grab
the
2024
.
Sometimes
you
want
a
wine
to
have
a
little
age
.
This
is
one
of
those
times
.
You
don't
.
You
want
it
to
be
bright
and
juicy
and
alive
,
and
this
thing
is
.
Speaker 1
4:32
It's
got
a
really
nice
nose
.
It's
got
very
good
taste
.
There's
a
little
bit
of
that
oak
in
there
.
You
don't
get
butter
on
French
Chardonnay
like
you
do
in
California
.
They
don't
do
that
.
So
this
is
just
really
nice
flavors
I'm
getting
.
I
got
a
little
bit
of
cream
,
which
could
be
from
stirring
the
leaves
,
if
they
did
do
that
,
or
it
could
just
be
one
of
the
flavors
.
I'm
also
been
getting
coconut
milk
from
these
things
too
,
because
you
get
tropical
fruit
and
sometimes
you
get
just
a
touch
of
creaminess
that
lends
itself
.
So
I'm
take
another
sip
.
You
know
,
like
I
always
say
,
I
don't
give
numbers
,
I
don't
give
grades
,
but
I
do
take
sips
.
This
was
$9.99
at
Costco
and
it's
from
what
I
can
tell
just
looking
at
the
internet
wine
shops
.
It's
about
$12
everywhere
else
.
So
you
know
,
so
Costco's
got
a
nice
price
,
but
it's
not
crazy
.
Speaker 1
5:35
And
this
isn't
a
wine
trying
to
be
super
fancy
and
not
being
super
fancy
.
This
is
just
a
solid
,
everyday
Chardonnay
that
tastes
good
,
has
good
acidity
,
it's
well-made
,
you
know
.
It's
got
some
length
to
it
.
The
acidity
allows
the
flavors
to
unfold
.
It
just
does
a
nice
job
and
it
tastes
good
.
I
mean
,
if
you
just
want
a
summer
sipper
and
I
don't
know
if
this
is
eh
,
you
could
have
a
salad
,
and
this
would
be
fine
.
Or
maybe
cold
shrimp
,
that'd
be
great
too
.
And
,
oh
you
know
,
tacos
maybe
,
as
long
as
they're
not
too
spicy
or
anything
.
Maybe
chicken
tacos
or
maybe
seafood
tacos
,
but
basically
this
is
a
sipping
wine
.
Speaker 1
6:16
This
is
made
just
to
sit
around
,
put
a
chill
on
it
and
just
have
a
good
time
and
sip
it
.
It's
going
to
go
down
really
easy
.
You're
going
to
want
to
share
it
with
your
friends
.
Ten
bucks
a
French
Chardonnay
from
a
really
good
winery
and
a
good
wine
company
JCB
.
You
see
their
wines
all
over
the
place
.
I'm
going
to
take
my
last
sip
and
we'll
close
this
up
.
Yep
,
so
there
you
go
.
It's
the
Bouchard
and
Eve
and
Phil
Chardonnay
2024
.
It
tastes
really
good
.
It's
well
worth
10
bucks
.
It's
a
bargain
.
And
uh
,
that's
it
for
me
.
Domain
Dave
,
keep
it
cheap
.
We'll
come
back
with
some
more
wines
in
a
couple
days
,
in
June
,
but
so
far
the
summer
wines
have
been
doing
really
well
.
So
,
adios
,
keep
it
cheap
and
I'll
be
talking
to
you
Bye-bye
.
