Here's one of our favorite Kirkland wines, making a slightly early appearance this year with the brand new 2019 vintage.
We know this is a reader favorite, and it's a consistent value buy every year. The price is staying the same year to year at $7.89; we love to see that.
And look at our ratings going all the way back to the 2010 vintage:
2010 Kirkland Rioja: 88 points
2012 Kirkland Rioja: 87 points
2013 Kirkland Rioja: 88 points
2014 Kirkland Rioja: 88 points
2015 Kirkland Rioja: 88 points
2016 Kirkland Rioja: 88 points
2017 Kirkland Rioja: 89 points
2018 Kirkland Rioja: 89 points
This one is super consistent, 88-89 almost every year. It's such a good bottle to have on hand too for almost any occasion, any cuisine; perfect for all types of red wine fans, and especially Spanish red wine fans.
Our tasting notes this year are a little different than the prior vintages with a touch more red fruit and cherry coming through. Medium ruby in the glass, medium in body, gentle tannins, cherry, red licorice flavors, notes of leather, some vanilla and oak in the finish.
Definitely not your average $8 bottle of wine, and while slightly different in our view than the prior couple years, it's equally as good, so we'll keep our 89 points the same with this new vintage.
We'd love to see Costco produce a Gran Reserva of this wine, following suite with the Kirkland Chianti line that saw the introduction of a delicious Gran Selezione Chianti this year. How cool would that be?
For now though, scoop up these Reservas while you can. It's a steal at this price.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 89 points
Costco item number: 917056
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)
Alc. 14%
JJ says
Was thrilled to see this back and promptly bought a case as we had long gone through our 2018 stash. Consistently delicious and 89 rating for 2019 vintage is quite appropriate.
Aj aj says
This wine is one of the worst kirkland wines ever released.
Moi says
@Aj aj,
Why?
Patty says
When will the Rioja be available in Omaha stores?
WABrit says
If I didn't know this was a Rioja, I would never have said it was one when tasting it. I couldn't detect any vanilla at all, which I think, is a trademark of Rioja. Yes, it's only a "Crianza", but you should still detect some style. I agree with the blog writer, it would be good to see a Kirkland Reserva or Gran Reserva. I do, however, really like all of the Kirkland labeled wines (except their boxed California Cabernet and regular Chardonnay).