The Kirkland Russian River Pinot is one of the more inconsistent wines vintage to vintage in the Kirkland wine portfolio.
Our ratings over the past seven vintages have been as low as 85 and as high as 89 points, not a gigantic swing but bigger than many of the other Kirkland bottles.
We really wish this wine would deliver on the promise of Russian River fruit, which we generally adore, but it comes up a little short every year; a good wine, not a great one, and that holds once again for the new 2024 vintage.
The price though is insane for Pinot Noir from this prized region. Historically it's been $11.99 and this year we're seeing it drop to $10.99. Unfortunately our Costco didn't have the placard posted but this price was reflected on our receipt.
Here are all those ratings over the years.
2014 86 points
2015 85 points
2016 87 points
2019 86 points
2021 89 points
2022 86 points
2023 88 points
We really wanted to keep this up at 88 points, but it's just a slight notch below the last vintage in our opinion. Similar in a lot of ways, but just not quite coming together as we hope this wine will.
It's light to medium ruby in the glass with a perfumed nose and red fruit aromas; medium in body, with cherry, raspberry flavors; subtle spice with some vanilla notes in the finish which hits pretty solid with lingering acidity.
Again, a pretty good drink at an obviously very nice price point, especially for Pinot Noir. 87 points from us this time around.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 87 points
Costco item number: 555512
Availability: We buy our wine in Costco warehouses around the Atlanta area. The best way to locate wines near you is by using the new Costco mobile app and searching with the Costco item number we listed above.
Alc. 14.5%
Ralph Randall says
I really enjoy your comments and ratings. We live about an hour away from the nearest Costco so I usually make my “shopping list” based on your blog.
RobR says
I enjoy your reviews, but one thing has always puzzled me. Why don’t you ever show the wine poured in a clear wine glass. It would be nice to see the wine in addition to your descriptions.
Editor says
We’ve thought about that too and have done it a few times when we are trying to point out something in the visual presentation in the glass.
We’re not great photographers so often it’s hard to tell the nuance from a photo.
Appreciate the comment and it’s something we can to incorporate more in the future.
T K says
I am the Wine Concierge (Steward) for a location in Las Vegas/Henderson NV area and I've been reading this blog for some time. I can't say I've always agreed with the assessments on wines but that's the fun part of being a critic, we don't have to agree that much or at all (L0L). Yeah 1st time posting but I just have to agree with this critique of the RR Valley Pinot. It's just a tolerable drinker; it won't offend but it won't elevate to what true Russian River Pinots can offer, it never has for the 4 vintages I have tasted. Love the blog...keep it up.