Look what arrived in stores a month or so early...one of our favorite bottles from the Kirkland wine portfolio.
This marks the third vintage of this wine to be released, and in looking back over past reviews, you can see that we rated both the 2015 vintage and 2016 vintage 92 points. From the Costco placard, it appears many of the mainstream critics agree on the 92 points. So we've really enjoyed this one in the past.
There's lots of good news here, but let's start with the price that has stayed the same at only $19.99, which is as about as low as you will find Barolo. There are a few drinkable exceptions though.
Let's get into this new vintage.
The wine pours a pale garnet in the glass; spicy, black cherry aromas; medium body with great acidity; flavors of cherry, raspberry, anise; really good depth to this wine and the finish is remarkable, just digging in and lasting forever.
We're really excited to have found this one, and to taste and share with you. I'm going to bump my rating up to 93 points with this vintage. It's just hitting me right all around. What a wine, and what a price. This is why you shop at Costco.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 93 points (a Costco Wine Top Pick)
Costco item number: 1355183
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)
Alc. 14%
Wayne Ogden says
Any chance you can expand and get some regional reviewers? I live in the Boston area and our local Costco wine shops only seem to stock about 1/4 of the wines you review. (Sadly)
Thanks
Wayne Ogden
Editor says
Hi Wayne, of course I would love to expand. We did have a group from the west coast contributing and I think that helped many of the readers in that area (http://costcowineblog.com//about-left-coast-wines/)
This is all a hobby that just kept growing. But who knows.
Definitely understand it’s frustrating to not find these wines and I hope some more show up for you soon.
Calvin Smiley says
@Wayne Ogden, our Costco does carry Kirkland wines . I’m really interested in the Barolo. Any thoughts?
Shawn W says
@Wayne Ogden, I shop in the Boston area as well; Waltham store mainly. I get excited when I see some of the wines he reviews on here and I almost alway agree! Love the Kirkland wines as you seem to get so much value. This wine usually shows up in the Waltham store so be on the lookout. It is a very good one, at least the 2016 was. Here’s to hoping the 2017 is just as good!
Edward says
Bought a bottle a few days ago and tried it. Totally agree with this review. A very good wine at a most excellent price!
Went back the next day for a case.
Jos says
Normally a cab drinker but this one is excellent.
JK says
the 2016 is now available at Costco in Suzhou, China.
Ray says
Barolo… name only, wine is thin, weak, not the King of wines… better wines for $20 start with Catena Malbec… 92pts… delusional
Ned Hill says
Not sure a Malbec is a good alternative to a Barolo. Radically different wines in my mind.
Darren says
@Ned Hill,
Couldn't agree more with Ned's reply. Generally speaking, if you love Malbec, you are almost certainly NOT a Barolo drinker.
And, that's fine.
Each of the Fontanafredda-associated wines with the Kirkland label have been TERRIFIC bottles for the money. If you cannot find this particular Barolo, look for Fontanafredda Silver Label wines (Barolo or Barbaresco), or the more-specific Serralunga d'Alba release (striped bottle) from Fontanafredda. You'll pay 2-3x for the same bottle at retail, depending on where you live.
Boris Seymour says
Fontanafredda - Serralunga d'Alba - large producer. https://www.fontanafredda.it/en/
Ted Ryan says
I just bought 2 bottles here in Scottsdale, AZ. Will try them this weekend. Reviews on this seem to be all over the board. Some love it, because it is a great wine, some love it for the price/quality ratio, others hate it. Check out comments on Vivino where it is earns a 3.5 average rating. Look forward to seeing for myself.
Editor says
Cool. Report back what you think once you get into them.
Darren says
@Ted Ryan,
You are spot-on Ted: Vivino reviews are all over the map simply b/c Nebbiolo-based wines (Barolo, Barbaresco, Langhe Rosso's, Alto-Piemonte, and Valtellina) are polarizing wines for most casual wine consumers. It's one of the few grapes in the world that has high acid, high tannins, and a lighter body. In my experience selling wine, this means Nebbiolo is simply not a "crowd-pleaser". And, that's fine. Personally, I absolutely love it, as well as the food it pairs with from northern Italy... but it's a personal preference.
In my humble opinion, the best way to look at a Vivino review is to consider them as you would a popular Yelp review of a chain restaurant... lots of people are looking for vastly different things. If you find a group of people that rate the same wines you like highly, follow them and ignore the rest. (Or try the Delectable app, or other online sources like CellarTracker, which have a small group of experts and winemakers posting reviews.)
Cheers!
Bruce Roberts says
Finally showed up in Anchorage, Alaska this week with a large display. I gave it a high rating 91+ last year for the 2016 and noted that James Suckling gave it a 92. This year James Suckling is on the bottle at 91 and I lowered my rating to 90+ as well. I usually find Suckling’s ratings too high but I like this wine.