You can always tell the premium Kirkland wines by the slight tint of gray in the label, so I spotted this one from a distance. I also have been on the look out for it since several readers have posted pictures on Facebook asking for a review. And I am big a fan of Pauillac Bordeaux so was curious how this $22.99 offering under the Costco label would stack up.
The first thing to note is that this is a 2014 vintage, so it's just a baby, and the wine was super tight immediately out of the bottle. An hour later with some air in the decanter, it was an entirely different wine. Be sure to decant this one.
Nose is signature old world Bordeaux, barnyard, a little vegetal, bell pepper. In the mouth, it's a robust wine, thick and dry, tannic; flavors of black cherry and quite a bit of toasted oak on the back end; some spice and vanilla. Dry throughout, particularity on the finish.
In all, I think this is a great buy. It's hard to believe you can score a Pauillac bottle for this price. This wine is very nice, and perhaps just needs some time to mature. I plan to cellar a couple to see how they develop.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 91 Points
Costco item number: 1036433
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA
Alc. 13%
Chris says
Great reviews!
I'd like to get into Bordeauxs but everytime I try one, its generally dry "Dry throughout, particularity on the finish." as you describe and not really what I am after. I generally lean towards big fruity cabs/napa blends.
Am I looking at the wrong bank? Do you recommend some good houses to start with given my preference?
Editor says
Hey Chris, thanks for the question. Many Bordeaux wines are going to have the old world dusty, chalkiness to them but I would definitely look at young Haut-Medoc Bordeaux or St Emillion (right bank) Bordeaux. Pessac-Leognan too. But if they are not to your liking that is totally cool. I would then check out some other areas of France. Rhone has amazing values with fruit driven wines with a little spice like those from Cotes du Rhone, Chateauneuf. Let me know if you try any of these and what you end up liking.
Andrew
gaylord stewart says
your kirkland malbec that was in your puerto vallarta store was a great deal. we are canadian snowbirds who usually consume one bottle a day.you charged 119 pesos per bottle so our money it is about $8 keep up the good work
Mince says
Why aren't all of the Kirkland wine distributed through out the US .. or even in the northeast ?... my Costco is located in Wayne NJ and very rarely or never found from your blog ... thought I did just find a 2014 Cabernet Patrice's at $19.99 the other day . Though I haven't tried it yet.. I wish I was able to find some of the wine you blog about here in jersey
Editor says
Hi, I wish there was a good answer for you but we are independent of Costco and don't have any special insight into how the wines are distributed. Even here in Atlanta it can vary store to store within 30 miles of one another. I hope it changes for you with future bottles we review. Sorry I don't have more on this.
John Dickerson says
Any guess as to who made the Pauillac? My 2005 Clerc Milon and Duhart Milon are just now beginning to mature. Is this 2014 something for 2020?
Editor says
I bet those are going to be real nice. I just had a '94 Duhart last month that was drinking really nice: https://twitter.com/CostcoWine/status/788152649359224832
As far as the Kirkland Pauillac, I'm not sure of the producer and there's no indication on the cork or anywhere else. It's definitely young with some room to mature, so I would agree 2020 would be a nice timeframe.
Richard Laakso says
For those of you that live in the Tampa Bay area, Costco in Clearwater has at least 24 bottles of this wine available as of December 9th.