The Wine Fairy

The quest to taste all the Costco advent calendar wines continues! Next up is Bottle #10, a Côtes du Rhône blend called Vin Twenty Three.

The label descriptors for these bottles are mostly breathless, AI-generated slop. But perhaps they may be valuable to someone who is trying to decide whether they will like this wine, so here you go.

The Label

From the producer: “Vin Twenty Three bursts with the rich aroma of ripe cherries and raspberries, elegantly accented by delicate floral hints. On the palate, it is lively and well-structured, with a spicy foundation of black pepper and warm, earthy undertones. The finish lingers, striking a perfect balance of freshness and depth, with subtle hints of herbs and oak.”

It’s 13.9% alcohol, and a mix of Grenache (70%), Syrah (15%), Mourvedre (5%), Cinsault (5%), and Carignan (5%).

The Tasting

This Côtes du Rhône blend is dark berry-red with a simple, fruity nose. Aromas of berry candy, blackberry, cinnamon roll (cinnamon, vanilla sugar, yeast), anise, and dried Mexican oregano.

It smells nice enough, in fact–fresh, fruit-forward, a little spicy. But when I took a sip, it fell flat. It’s medium-bodied and medium in acid. Overripe Syrah really dominates, dragging along thick, bitter tannins and cooked black plum/berry. There’s not much fruit flavor, and what there is tastes tired and raisined. It’s one of the weakest reds in the holiday box so far.

Well. That was a pretty boring wine review, so let’s talk food instead. Côtes du Rhône is perfect for drinking with home-y dishes–so a spicy potato entree was my first thought when I took a look at Costco Advent Wine #10.

For some reason today, I got all nostalgic thinking about my famous Baby Baker Smash Hash. So I cooked up a batch. I used to make piles of this dish for the servers and food runners when Chef was being uptight about food cost for staff meals. It’s easy and it never misses.

It was a decent pairing, too. The salty seasoning coaxes a little more fruit out of the wine, and the sour cream topping helps tame those stubborn murky tannins.

So: Baby Baker Smash Hash. Coat a hot griddle or a large pan with bacon fat or beef tallow or clarified butter. Throw some diced onions and jalapeños on there, too, if you wanna.

Grab your small, cooked, skin-on potatoes (in my kitchen, these were usually leftover baby Yukon Golds from a plated luncheon) and place them on the hot surface in a single layer. Smash them with a spatula or the back of your knife. Don’t touch for a few minutes. Flip them once when you’re sure they’re good and browned, and hands off once again to sear the other side.

If you don’t happen to have any extra baked potatoes laying around, you can do what I did today and use the steam-in-bag whole spuds like these ones from H-E-B. Just pat them dry with a towel before they go in the pan, or else they won’t want to get crispy.

Hit the smashed potatoes with a generous amount of Montreal steak seasoning. Or substitute blackening seasoning (to make it a Ragin’ Cajun Smash Hash). Fold in some green onions and cooked bacon pieces.

When everything’s good and toasty, scoop the whole mess into a bowl. Top with your choice of cheese(s), sour cream, fresh-ground pepper, and/or hot sauce. For maximum authenticity, pair this dish with lousy booze (hey, I happen to have some of that right here) and scarf it while standing up on your 15-minute lunch break. Enjoy!

Wine: Vin Twenty Three Red Blend (2023) – Côtes du Rhône, France

Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar Number: 10

Grade: C-

Finish the bottle? No.

I’m tasting all 24 wines in the 2025 Costco Wine Advent-ure calendar! See previous reviews here.

Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.