Sorry I'm a little to the game here. I know this wine has been out for a while and a few of you have been asking for a review. Well, it's still in stores as we write this so we're going to get it in after all.
That said, I think this Chardonnay from Sonoma's Russian River Valley is about on par with year's past, hitting me perhaps a little less favorable than the 2014 vintage we tasted last year.
But that price tag of $12.99 always gets me. There just isn't a lot of Russian River Valley Chardonnay priced this low to compare it to. For the price, I can say I'm a fan. It's not a bad buy, although I'd prefer to pay another $5 and bump up the quality a bit.
This is a decently balanced wine that lets the fruit shine through with just a little oak influence. That's on the positive side. On the other side of spectrum, it's hard to ignore that there's just not a lot going on here, hence the "it's ok for $13" message. It's very one dimensional.
The wine is pretty tarty, with loads of green apple flavor, citrus and orange; healthy acidity with a touch of oak and spice on the finish but this one wraps up pretty fast.
Not a bad wine to have on hand for a mid week everyday meal or occasion. Or perhaps pour a few bottles in a large pitcher and serve as your white wine at a holiday party. But if you want to dig into an interesting Chardonnay from this awesome area, you might be better off spending a few more dollars and moving up market a tad.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 87 points (bonus point for value; minus one point from '14 vintage)
Costco item number: 789895
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA
Alc. 13.6%
Steve Porter says
i just tried my first bottle of the Kirkland Russian River Valley Chard. i have been drinking the Kirkland Sonoma County Chard for several years. the RRV is a little too tart for my taste - i like the Sonoma County better, and it’s only $7 a bottle
Rick says
For the money, I prefer the 2015 Rodney Strong Estate Chalk Hill or the 2015 Frei Brothers Reserve RRV. They're both $12.99 at my local Costco.
John says
Totally agree with this review, nothing Russian River about this one. I would suggest buying K.J. regular spigot versus this one.