An interesting trend we're seeing is more of the Kirkland bottles arriving earlier in the year than they have in prior vintages. This is another example of a wine where we reviewed the prior vintage just 7 months ago.
The new (and very delicious) Kirkland Brunello came in a few months early. Toscana a little early for two years in a row now. Same with the Barolo.
It makes the "Costco Hunt" that much more fun. You never know what you might run into.
The Kirkland Napa Red Blend has been getting better with the past few vintages. And of course, the price staying the same at $10.99 is nice to see.
The past three years have produced the best versions of this wine in our opinion as you can see from this historical recount.
2021 - 89 points
2020 – 90 points
2019 – 89 points
2018 – 86 points
2016 – 86 points
2015 – 86 points
2014 – 86 points (the wine was labeled as a Meritage with this vintage, instead of red blend)
So after treading water for a few vintages, this bottle is starting to come to its own.
There's a slight change to the blend, leaning a bit more on Merlot vs Cab. This year is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 9% Malbec, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot.
Getting into this 2022 vintage, it is very familiar; reminiscent in many ways of the 2022. It pours a medium ruby in the glass; dark berry fruit, spice and earthy on the nose; flavors are black cherry, blackberry and plum, and they come together quite nicely. The finish is dusty and dry, maybe a little on the quick side.
We feel this is more of an 88 pointer compared to the prior 89. It's a good wine but leaves a little to be desired on the back end. Still not a bad buy for only $11.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 88 points
Costco item number: 333110
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)
Alc. 14.5%
WABrit says
Good review of this Bordeaux style blend. However, the points system of ranking wines can be very misleading. Is a 89 point wine better than a 88 point wine? Is a 90 pointer better than a 89 pointer? Can the average wine drinker tell? No, imho. Reviews should just be descriptive and not numerical.
Brandon says
I have already had a few bottles of this. Great blend. The thing that stood out most to me was an almost cinnamon/baking spice aspect. Try it out for sure!