The Russian River Pinot Noir from Kirkland is a bottle we look forward to tasting every year, and we've seen varied quality since its introduction all the way back to the 2014 vintage.
An important part that is consistent is the price, once again staying at $11.99, which is just crazy for fruit from this premier region for Pinot.
One part that continues to change with this bottle is the winemaker. There's someone new behind the scenes almost every year, including this one which is now made by Alison Crowe.
Here's where we landed pointwise over the years.
2014 86 points
2015 85 points
2016 87 points
2019 86 points
2021 89 points
2022 86 points
We're happy to report that with this new 2023 vintage this wine is making a bit of a come back.
A nice ruby in the glass with aromatics of red berry fruit and spice; flavors of cherry, cranberry; medium body, good acidity; a touch of vanilla and more baking spice in the finish that is lasting and lingering.
This wine was very pleasant all around, and is a strong value buy for only $12 at Costco. This is what we look for in a good Kirkland wine, and we hope we see this upwards trajectory continue.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 88 points
Costco item number: 555512
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Cumberland)
Alc. 14.5%
Xiaolin says
I asked my local costco employee and he said they usually get 2 pallets of this wine, to be precise 696 bottles. He also said it was the most sought after kirkland wine and usually be gone in 2-3 weeks.
Beth says
We bought several of the 2022 pinot recently but haven't tried them yet. The 2021 is very good. In Tennessee our price is 12.49 which is still a good price for a good RR pinot. We are looking forward to the 2022 because the winemaker is Glen Hugo who had been at Girard for years.