I was kind of surprised to see the '15 vintage of this arrive at my Costco stores, since it was about a year ago that we reviewed the 2013, so looks like we missed a vintage in there (coincidentally we jumped from '11 to '13 so maybe this one does skip vintages). Regardless, I thought this '15 held up nicely like in year's past and for only $6.99 is one of those Kirkland steals that we are so lucky to be able to buy at the warehouse. Most Cotes du Rhone Villages wines start at double that and move up from there.
Ripe fruit and earth on the nose; medium in body with subtle flavors of dark fruit, plum, anise, a little smoke with a finish that is spicy and peppery. It's a little thin throughout, nothing funky that jumps out, the flavor is nice but it's just a little light. At $6.99 it remains a great buy for almost any red wine fan, but I would use this wine as an everyday table wine (to pair with about anything) or a second bottle on a night when you opened something nice first and want a wine to carry you into the night without having to think about it too much.
I'm going to go down slightly from the 88 points we awarded to the '13 vintage. I think this is more in the 86-87 range, but I'm going 87 due to extreme value. And for that reason I'll also add to the Value Picks list, because you can't buy many wines that are this enjoyable in this price range, even if it did leave me with a bit to be desired.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 87 Points
Costco item number: 887774
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA
Alc. 14%
Jos says
Spot on review - a little thin, but at this price and for an every day bottle you can't beat it.
Sam Cochran says
Agree with this review. A terrific bargain for a 'house red' and easy to drink. Nice fruit, decent finish, a tad light but for 6.99 it is a real bargain. Get it if you see it at your local Costco and you like the Rhone reds.
Jim Kernodle says
Agreed, not bad for $6.99, but really thin bodied considering the 14.0 alcohol. Definitely a little better the second night when some of the acidity had toned down. There are so many good choices in the $7 to $10 dollar range, that you don't feel bad trying different things out. Even if one is kinda "meh" from time to time.
Dana Lee says
I went to our local Kansas City, Missouri Costco to buy the Cotes Du Rhone Villages wine and others and was told that they have not had these wines in over 6 months and don't expect them for quite some time. Needless to say I was quite disappointed since you just recently highlighted it on the Costco Wine blog.
Editor says
Dana
Thanks for the note. We are independent of Costco and write reviews on the wines we are able to find. But unfortunately there's no way to tell if and when they are available nationally. Just like most things at Costco, wine pops in and out with no predictability. I hope you continue to follow the site and find some wines in a store near you soon
Andrew