Sometimes I find myself in a situation where the wine is just ok but it's fairly priced at Costco and therefore it becomes hard to beat up on it too much. This is one of those wines. And I've held similar feelings about past vintages of this wine too.
It's a Russian River Pinot for $12.99. You know it's going to be decent, and you won't find many more from this area in this price range. For an everyday drinker, the wine is fine and that's exactly what I would guess it's intended to be. I personally would choose to spend a couple extra bucks and move into the Kirkland Willamette Valley Pinot, which I hear is hitting stores again right now.
This Russian River Pinot is simple, light, delicate. It's a great table wine. We enjoyed it with pork tenderloin and vegetables prepared in the slow cooker, but this bottle could really go with about any type of cuisine. Tastes at times like a cherry Coke, it has that round red cherry and strawberry flavor followed by some cola, with peppery spice towards the finish.
I'm now into a second glass and it's starting to grow on me a bit more. But this is a basic Russian River Pinot, nothing more, nothing less. Price is fair and I think it's a good every day bottle for Pinot fans.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 86 Points
Costco item number: 555512
ABV: 14.2%
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Cumberland)
w.r.wilke says
How does Costco distribute their various wines to stores in a geographical area?
If there are ten Macy's stores in Atlanta and you are looking for a thousand-dollar dress, you better to Lennox. Cuz that's where the customers are for thousand-dollar dresses. I have difficulty finding reviewed wines at Tucson Marketplace Costco. Should I trudge around to the other two stores?
Editor says
This is a tricky one as there is no pattern to the distribution as best I can tell. What's available at one store might not be at the store in the same city. So it's really hit or miss. And part of the overhaul Costco hunt that makes it such a fun place to shop at.
Wish I had more help. Thanks for reading the site and sharing your thoughts.
Joe Roberts says
Guess we'll have to disagree on this one. It's one of my Costco favorites and I usually get a dozen when the new vintage comes out. Perhaps my affinity for it comes from the fact that most of my imbibing these days is in conjunction with food, and this leaner style of pinot is very versatile as a food wine. It's light enough to enjoy with many fish dishes, particularly anything browned, and can also stand up to many meat preparations. The big "fruit bomb" pinots don't work for me---- at 12.95 a bottle I'll take this gentle and somewhat restrained-style any day of the week. Nice berry flavors on the palate and a fairly dry finish---- really all I could ask for in a very reasonably priced pinot.
Editor says
Thanks for the note and I agree it's a great food wine. Appreciate you sharing your thoughts.