It's back and I know a few of you have already dug into this one. The Kirkland Rioja is always a treat, largely for the fact that this wine is priced at only $6.99, which is just impossible to beat.
I really raved about the last batch of this to hit stores which was the 2010 vintage we reviewed about a year ago, so I was anxious to give this new one a shot. In my opinion, it's good, definitely one to stock up on given the super low price, but not quite as powerful and complex as I remember the 2010 hitting me.
As I said in the prior year review, the beauty is the price. If you want a totally drinkable everyday red, this is it, and for $6.99 it's hard to say anything negative about it. The wine pours dark with light aromas of earth, oak and spice.
In the mouth, the wine is medium in body, softening tannins from three years in the barrel; flavors are mostly red fruits, cherry, plum, some raisin, with a touch of anise; finishes nice, super dry.
This is a wine that definitely benefits from a decant. Pour a little taste out of the bottle to get an idea of what you have, but then I'd give it 45-60 minutes in the decanter as it started to shine after a little air.
I shouldn't say this because people who work at Costco probably read this blog, but this wine would be great at $9.99. At $6.99 it's a steal. I'm going 87 points, one point less than I gave the 2010 vintage.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 87 points
Costco item number: 917056
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA
Alc. 13.5%
Shawn says
I totally agree with your review. Not as great as the 2010 but still a great value wine. Definitely picking up some more to have when friends come over!
Eugene S Azuolas says
Bought 3, tried 2 bottles, dumped the second one out after plying with decanting for over 4 hours. It did get better but it still STANK! . First bottle was so bad , I thought it had turned or corked.
Has this unpleasant funky earthiness , just like cheap Languedoc wines. Also, the 36 months in (cheap?) oak ADDED too much tannin, as opposed to softening it. It smells , it puckers like baking soda and you have to really strive hard to get anything but some hints of cherry .
Save your money... I'm returning my 3 bottles to Costco . Only Costco wine I had to dump.
Larry S says
Was anxious to try this since it just came in to my local store, and since the reviews on the 2010 had been very good. (I also love Riojas) I'm sad to say that my impressions are closer to the reviewer who ended up pouring it out than the positive ones.
I was not put off at all by some earth-barnyard-leather aromas and flavors , which lean to old world, I think, and are reasonably characteristic. It was the conspicuous absence of most any fruit, which created such an imbalance as to render the whole effect (including a very short finish) rather bland and nondescript. I really couldn't even say I thought it to be good for $7.
I do have 2 bottles left, so I plan on giving it a 2nd chance to be sure. At this point, I'm not optimistic.
Larry S says
Just tried a 2nd bottle of Kirkland 2012 Rioja Reserva, and found to be just as described in my previous post. There was no evidence of cork failure, or any other indication of bottle flaws with which I'm familiar, so I'm assuming this is the same product everyone else is getting. At this point I'm more or less baffled by such other good reviews, but, as we all know, palates and preferences differ greatly. I'd be very interested in what others have to say about this particular wine.
Editor says
Thanks for the comments. That's what this site is for - to discuss these wines, so we appreciate you sharing your opinion and encourage others to do the same.
John says
It would be helpful if people posted the purchase location. Three possibilities exist, two different Rioja producers or that the "bad" wine got baked in transport. I live in Tennessee and getting bottles that have been baked on a truck or the back of a warehouse is not uncommon. If we knew the location it might be possible to draw a conclusion. I know that the same Kirkland product names have different producers with Costco food items so I am assuming it can happen with wine as well.
Larry S says
Good point, John, and I had thought about storage conditions, for example, when my experiences seemed so different from a couple of others. I hadn't thought about different producers, then again I don't have a complete understanding of how Costco's Kirkland brand operates, regarding wine.
FWIW, my wine (3 bottles sampled) came from a North Carolina store. There were maybe 4 to 5 cases on the aisle, and I suspect that's probably all they have received, to this point, since I purchased mine within the first 2 or 3 days of them receiving it.
Again, I'd like to hear reviews from others, maybe in different parts of the country, to have more of a reference point. I really wanted to like this wine because it would be very good value for even an above average Rioja Reserva, not to mention a good one.
Eugene S Azuolas says
Good point about possibly being overheated, but not applicable in my case. The subject Rioja I commented on was not "cooked"; just an unpleasant wine. I've never had a cooked wine from Costo, although I have had some from a local wine merchant. Every other bottle in the case was flat, brownish, tasted of stewed prunes. They also sell bottles here that have wine streaked labels... one merchant said "the bottles were overfilled." Yea, right.
I live in Hawaii , so temp can be a problem. I have a 10 case wine cooler for my reds (65F) and a 4 case one for my white wines(45F) which protects the wine once I get it home.
I have wine air shipped from California (Caymus sticks an ice pack in the case) without a problem so wine is not as sensitive to short exposures to heat as some would have you believe .
Chun Li says
This 2012 Kirkland Rioja just appeared in Northeast Ohio Costco stores, and it is priced at $8.99, not $6.99.
In general, Costco wines seem to show up a few months later and more expensive in Ohio than in your area. The 2013 Kirkland Chianti is $9.99 here while $8.49 in your area. The 2006 Dom Perignon is $169.99 here while only $132.99 in your area. The 2007 Selectus was $13.99 here while $11.99 in your area (I bought a case anyway). There are a few exceptions. For example, the 2016 Kirkland Cotes de Provence Rose has the same price, $8.99.
The higher price in Ohio makes some of the exciting recommendations from your site not as exciting ...