I Found a 96-Point Albariño at Costco, and Apparently Spain Is Calling Me

To know me is to know that I am mildly, completely, perhaps irrationally obsessed with eventually retiring to Spain.

Preferably somewhere beautiful, walkable, filled with excellent food, and within reasonable stumbling distance of a wine bar.

So when I wandered into Costco and spotted a Spanish Albariño with a 96-point Decanter World Wine Awards sticker on the bottle, naturally I considered this important retirement research.

The wine was 2024 Vía Barrosa Albariño from Rías Baixas, in Galicia, that gorgeous green corner of northwestern Spain sitting right along the Atlantic.

And then there was the label.

A stag. Smoking a pipe.

Frankly, he looked like he knew something.

I believe I paid somewhere around $15 for the bottle, which made the 96-point sticker even more interesting. Because there are few things I enjoy more than discovering a wine that tastes considerably more expensive than it is.

And this one was delicious.

What Vía Barrosa Albariño Tastes Like

Albariño is one of those wines I reach for when it’s hot outside and I want something crisp without drinking a wine that tastes like chilled lemon water.

This had plenty going on.

There was fresh lemon and lemon peel, followed by orange zest and just a little passion fruit. I also got the stone-fruit character you often find in Albariño, somewhere around white peach and ripe pear, without the wine becoming sweet or overly fruity.

Then came my favorite part.

That wonderful saline, slightly mineral quality that good Albariño can have.

Rías Baixas is heavily influenced by the Atlantic, and the wines often seem to carry a little suggestion of the sea with them. Not “I accidentally swallowed ocean water” salty. More like a clean, savory edge underneath all that citrus and fruit.

There was also enough acidity to keep everything bright and ridiculously drinkable.

Perhaps too drinkable.

The bottle did not survive the evening.

What to Eat With Albariño

If you’re wondering what to serve with Albariño, the easiest answer is:

Seafood. Almost all of it.

Galicia is famous for seafood, and Albariño seems practically designed for it.

Oysters would be beautiful with this. So would shrimp, crab, grilled fish, mussels, scallops or ceviche.

I’d also drink it with sushi, salty Spanish tapas, fresh cheeses, grilled chicken with lemon and herbs, or anything with enough acidity and freshness that a heavy wine would bully it into submission.

Personally, I wouldn’t overcomplicate matters.

A chilled bottle of Albariño, some good shrimp, crusty bread and perhaps a plate of cheese sounds suspiciously close to dinner.

The Last Wine of Summer

Technically, Labor Day has come and gone.

Unfortunately, Tennessee has not received the memo.

It’s still hot.

So while everyone else begins performing the annual pumpkin-spice ritual, I am hanging onto chilled white wine for a little longer.

And Vía Barrosa Albariño feels like exactly the right wine for it.

Bright. Citrusy. Slightly salty. Refreshing without being boring.

A 96-point Spanish wine hiding at Costco for somewhere around fifteen dollars.

Apparently my retirement to Spain has already begun.

Just very, very slowly.