The Kirkland Napa Valley Red Blend is back, and the price has stayed the same at $10.99, which is pretty hard to beat for Napa juice. The last vintage we reviewed was the 2016 about a year ago, so not sure if the ’17 snuck past us, or was skipped.

The wine this year is comprised of 47% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. This is a little more Cab heavy blend compared to the last vintage we reviewed which included 24% Cabernet Sauvignon (and 67% Merlot).

My initial impression of the wine was similar to year’s past, and the tasting notes are virtually identical (and I didn’t read the last review notes before tasting this one).

This wine pours a medium to deep ruby in the glass; not a lot on the nose, a little dried fruit; medium to a medium plus in body. I found it to be rather light on flavor which is not too unexpected from this bottle.

Cherry fruit and pomegranate with dark chocolate notes; a little white pepper into the finish that wraps up quick. This wine is pretty light on the essentials here but commensurate with the price. Very similar to year’s past.

I think this one is ok as a mid week dinner or pizza night wine.  And as I’ve noted before, this is a bottle we’d like to see a little more from. Nothing memorable for the new vintage, but if you’ve enjoyed it before, this vintage is right in the same ballpark, and our rating will stay the same at 86 points.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 86 points

Costco item number: 333110

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Woodstock)

Alc. 14.5%