It's always a successful trip when we find a brand new Kirkland wine in the Costco aisles. We were alerted a few weeks back by readers who found and enjoyed this bottle before it arrived in stores near us.
Obviously the first thing to note is the ridiculously low price of $6.99, pretty amazing for Sonoma Cabernet grapes.
We pointed out in the initial news story that the back label lists Grape and Grain imports, which is a division of Precept wine, a close partner and large supplier of Costco wines.
The first reports were pretty good, saying the wine was about what they expected. We tend to agree, and might have even been a little more impressed. Depends where your baseline is I guess.
But this is a decent little drinker, youthful and packed with fruit flavor, and balanced enough to keep it semi-interesting.
The wine is a dark ruby in the glass; nice red and dark fruit flavors of black cherry, raspberry and plum; medium plus in body; touch of mocha and vanilla into the finish with a little spice and acidity.
Surprisingly tasty especially at this price point. We agree with the early reviews from readers who pegged it at 86 points. That's exactly where this one lands for us. We hope to see future vintages of this wine.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 86 points
Costco item number: 1907651
Availability: We buy our wine in Costco warehouses around the Atlanta area. The best way to locate wines near you is by using the new Costco mobile app and searching with the Costco item number we listed above.
Alc. 14.5%
Shawn Wallace says
Hi,
Long time reader of this blog. I have 2 questions: 1) in your scoring, do you factor in the price at all or no? Meaning, a 92 is a better win than a 91 regardless of the price? 2) I love your list of Kirkland wines. I still have the old pdf that you shared a while back and I use it all the time. Do you have an updated one OR would you ever consider using a google spreadsheet and sharing that (as view only obviously) so that we can always see the updated list? Totally fine if no as I know you put a ton of work into this and you have a GREAT thing going here so who am I to have you do anything different. Amazing blog. Please keep up the great work!
Editor says
Hi Shawn
Thanks for the note and for being a long time follower of the site.
To answer your questions.
1. We don’t take price into account of score. Wine taste and score stands on its own. We mention price for reference of course.
2. The PDF you mention can always be found here. We try to keep this story and that PDF updated as much as we can. https://costcowineblog.com/the-definitive-guide-to-costcos-kirkland-signature-wines/
Thanks again for writing in. Appreciate having you follow us. Cheers
Andrew
Steven C Rosen says
As a long time reader and fan, I'm wondering if you've seen/tasted the Kirkland St Emilion Grand Cru, 2022?
Editor says
Just found it, finally.
Should taste and post by Wed
Editor says
Actually, got it up today: https://costcowineblog.com/2022-kirkland-signature-saint-emilion-grand-cru-bordeaux/
It's a fantastic wine. Stock up.
Arthur H. Aske says
It's here in Maple Valley, Wash.
EngProf says
$7.59 in Nashville TN area. This wine in my book tasted better than an 86. But as I have stated in prior posts, there may be variability in high volume wines.
I am very appreciative of your reviews. Thank you!
Milt Baker says
I've been a subscriber for a year or two, and it seems that without exception, EVERY time I go to my Costco App to check availability of a wine you've featured I get "We're sorry. We were not able to find a match." Very frustrating!
My Costco is a 1800 W Sample Rd, Pompano Beach, FL 33064, and it's a middle of the road Costco not a horribly chaotic one, nor is it a chill, zen one.
I'm just wondering why I strike out 100% of the time checking for the SKUs you feature. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Editor says
Hi Milt, I just did a search in the Costco app for your store and was able to see this bottle in inventory. Here’s a screenshot.
In the app make sure you are using the “Warehouse” tab at the bottom. That allows you to choose your store vs the main Explore tab which searches Costco online.
Let us know if that solves it.