It's been a little while since I've reviewed a Merlot (too long in fact), so I thought I'd give this one a try. I like Franciscan wines in general, especially their Magnificat from '07 which I had stashed in my cellar until they were consumed, much to our enjoyment, last year. This bottle is 97% Merlot with the rest Malbec which is kind of interesting. Price at Costco was $13.99 which is well below the bottle's $24 retail price. And I thought it was definitely worth the $14.
Vibrant nose with perfume, dried flowers and plum. Medium in body with flavors of cherry, plum and mocha notes on the finish; some herbs and pepper also towards the close. We paired it with some grilled chicken and vegetables which provided a nice complement.
In all, it's a $14 Napa Merlot. Maybe a slight cut above what you would expect.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 86 Points
Costco item number: 32892
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Cumberland)
Alc. 13.5%
J Jonah jameson says
Have you found the 2014 Chateauneuf yet? I did buy a bottle, but $20 is the most I have ever paid for a wine (hence my being on costwineblog), and am wondering if I should drink it now, cellar it, or give it away as a gift. Thanks.
Editor says
It's still not at the Costcos near me. I'm going to visit once again tomorrow to check and will get the review up right away if I find it.
I would open yours and drink it to see what you think. If you enjoy it and want to buy more you'll need to do that before it leaves stores.
srh says
I inquired @ one of our San Diego COSTCOs, the stocker (who's normally VERY knowledgeable) saying it was usually around Thanksgiving here for the Kirkland CdP! Does THAT make sense -- that they'd distribute it over such a WIDE time span?
Editor says
That hasn't been my experience in the past. I review the wines as soon as I find them and I did the '13 KS CDP in May of last year (http://costcowineblog.com//2013-kirkland-signature-chateauneuf-du-pape/) and the '12 in July before that (http://costcowineblog.com//2012-kirkland-signature-chateauneuf-du-pape/). So looks like summer distribution. But maybe you could get lucky and find some that have hung around through Thanksgiving.