It's been ten years since we last reviewed this wine, November of 2016, and we rated it a nice 91 points; thoroughly enjoyed it.
While we were excited to try this latest vintage, Costco's price has gone up quite a bit since that last post.
Ten years ago we found this bottle for $25.99 with $5 off, so landing at Costco for a final price of $19.99 which is a score. Costco's price is now $33.99, exactly the same as Total Wine, and just a hair below the $36 retail.
Regardless, if you love this wine like we do, it's worth it. And the 2024 vintage is remarkably delicious. As we noted in our prior review, it's all about the balance, and this one does it just right.
Grapes too are coming from some of the top Napa appellations: Atlas Peak, Carneros, Coombsville, and Oak Knoll. Hard to wrong with that group of friends.
Citrus fruit, floral on the nose; packed with flavors of white peach, lime, melon with notes of honeysuckle; medium in body, good acidity; light vanilla and oak into the lasting finish.
What a fantastic wine once again; not an inexpensive Chardonnay, but one that gives you your money's worth. 91 points from us, and a spot on our Top Picks list.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 91 points (a Costco Wine Top Pick)
Costco item number: 377656
Availability: We buy our wine at multiple Costco warehouses around the Atlanta area. The best way to locate wines near you is by using the new Costco mobile app and search with the Costco item number we listed above.
Alc. 13%
Jim says
This bottle (Stag’s Leap Karia Chardonnay) is $25.99 at the Costco in Edison, NJ.
Your reviews are very helpful. We even used your Decoding French Wine book when we traveled to France in ‘24.
Here’s a frustrating situation out of your control. I understand that each Costco is stocked slightly differently but many of the wines that you review, and I’m itching to try, are not available in the warehouses near me (Edison & Wayne NJ) that offer wine.
Slainte!
Editor says
That’s a great buy Jim. Thanks for sharing. And happy to hear you enjoyed the book and found it helpful on your trip. What were some of your favorite wines from France?
On the distribution, it is frustrating. We totally hear you. The new Costco mobile app helps a ton and can save some trips in locating wines. And other stuff too.
Don Woods says
I have developed a relationship with the person in charge of wine at my local club. She is able to look at warehouse inventory levels to see items that have limited availability or core item distribution. I am more interested on reviews on the core items because most of the times your limited assortment wines are not available the same day hour review comes out amd the review is irrelevant!
Don Woods says
Very interesting that the total wine web search site shows zero availability of this bottle in Georgia.
Greg says
$29.99 here in Tampa. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen vintages of this in the past for about $26 but passed, not this time (based on your review). Looking forward to this one.
Tom says
Why the ABV is only 13% for Karia sold at Costco vs 14.5% for Karia sold by Totalwine? Are they “made to order for different merchants based on quality and cost?
Eric says
Check that you're comparing the same vintages. Total Wine's app shows the 2022 Karia at 14.5%. This bottle is the 2024. It's unlikely that the vineyard would produce the same label at two different ABVs.
Eric says
Check the vintages of the wines you're comparing. This post is for the 2024 vintage. The Total Wine app reflects the 2022 vintage. Vineyards don't produce the same label wine at different ABVs.