Every once in a while this happens. You find a bottle at Costco with a label and markings that catch your eye, signaling potential with an attractive price tag, only to throw a few in your cart and later find out that they don’t live up to your expectations. This is one of those bottles.
This wine was only $12, and what really caught my attention was the 93 points designation from Wine Enthusiast. Really, I thought, 93 points is a lot? Sure enough I was intrigued, as I’m sure many of you would be as well.
But what we have here is a blank, sour wine with very little, if anything, going on. I know that sounds harsh, so yes, I should go try another bottle because this first one was skunked. Well, I did that too, and it was the exact same experience. I’m not the only one having the issue with this one either. Click on over to Cellar Tracker to read some of the comments over there.
We tried a second bottle and it disappointed as well. Then we called the neighbors over for one more opinion. Their comment: “it tastes like nothing and smells like alcohol.”
Sounds like opinions on this wine are all over the map on Cellar Tracker. I’m glad I tried a second bottle, which tasted exactly like the first (well not really happy because I had to dump them both, but I wanted to be sure). The last thing we did was pour the wines in decanters for an hour or so, which helped to a degree to liven up just the littlest of flavor (not sure I can tell you what though).
Maybe my Costco (and some of the ones the reviewers purchased through on Cellar Tracker) got a bad batch? I’m not sure, but I would advise to proceed with caution here.
I’m not going to rate this wine as I don’t even know where to start. Our goal is to discover and share with you great Costco wine buys; but also to help steer you away from disappoints as we see here.
If readers have different experiences with this wine please share them in the comments below as we are very interested to hear from you.
Costco item number: 1100813
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)
Alc. 13.5%
Joe
Friday 27th of October 2017
Count me among the unimpressed. I’m a big Malbec fan and the 93 point rating meant I HAD to give it a try. Compared to similar priced Malbecs from other producers, this was mediocre at best. But it didn’t taste “skunked”or undrinkable either. Just meh. On a personal note, I find a low correlation between WE scores and my personal preferences, although they sucker me in from time to time. 93 points??? Good grief.
bill reid
Thursday 26th of October 2017
Must be different batches - I tried two bottles - same musty result per the Blog- if I were rating it - I would give it a 79 being generous. No question the Kirkland Mendoza Malbec at half the price is far superior.
Debra
Wednesday 25th of October 2017
I made the same mistake. Bought 3 bottles because of the rateing on the bottle. I agree with your review. This is the worst Argentine Malbec I have ever tasted.
Mike in Berwyn Pa
Wednesday 25th of October 2017
I bought a bottle in the DE store. Everyone liked it so much that I went back and bought two cases. Wine can be temperamental and depending on storage, transport and lot can vary greatly. Sorry to hear that you had. Bad go with yours. To me it rated at least as well as a Meomi Pinot which costs $17 instead of $12.
Joe Anderson
Wednesday 25th of October 2017
I purchased this wine at our Medford Oregon Costco and found it to be very good. I did not experience what you have at all????
Editor
Wednesday 25th of October 2017
Thanks for sharing. I was hoping readers would post their thoughts for the group.