Chardonnay

This is really a lovely expression of Chardonnay especially for only $15.59 at my Costco.  The winemakers did an excellent job of managing the oak to let the vibrant fruit flavors come through.  It’s a perfect summer food wine; definitely my style of Chardonnay. Tropical and floral on the nose, matches its lighter color, and then on the palate you get nice young fruit with flavors of apple, pear, lemon, maybe even a little watermelon as the acidity takes hold.  The finish brings in a touch of the oakiness and rounds out a very enjoyable summer wine. At this price I’ll scoop a couple up for drinking later in the summer.  A good wine to enjoy with friends, as indicated on the back of the label which simply says “Share.”  I’m a fan, and will put this one on our Bronze Rated wine list. CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 90 Points *Bronze Rated* Costco item number: 690875

A pretty middle of the road wine, but not a bad value at only $6.99, especially if you’re looking for an everyday white to accompany dinner. It’s been a while since we’ve reviewed one of these Kirkland Chardonnay (last vintage was 2008) and I was hoping for maybe a bit more.  But then again…$6.99… This is more of a fruity Chardonnay, which I typically prefer, but it seemed a little caught in the middle of what it wanted to be.  The nose kicks off tropical fruit and glides you in with some pear, grapefruit and lemon, but towards the finish the fruit collides with a bit of vanilla, butter and oak and it didn’t pull through for me.  With the right meal, I can drink this no problem.  On its own, its flaws become more noticeable.  I’d pay a dollar or two more for a different bottle. CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 85 Points *KirklandWine* Costco item number: 514007

I’ve been running this site for several years now and it amazes me how it’s grown over the years. The idea for this site originated from a simple blog post I made about buying wine at Costco for a now defunct website that I used to maintain with some friends.  That article generated 50X the …

Once a year we assemble the Costco wines we rated the highest over the past 12 months. From glancing through the list, I think it’s safe to say that we found a lot of great wines at some fantastic prices. Our series in September on high end Costco wines provides quite a few placements on this list, but that’s not to say there weren’t some big bargains as well. 

As always, it’s going to be hard to find many of these wines since Costco moves their inventory so quickly (but I’ve seen at least 3-4 of these still available at Costco stores near me).  So keep an eye out.  These are all winners.  Click on the label to read our review of each wine. 

Thanks for another fun year. 
— Editor
 

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Wine Spectator just released their top 100 wines for 2012.  Here’s a PDF of the list.

A reader of our website suggested we try to list which of the wines from the list were available at Costco. I thought it was a fantastic idea.  But given the different selection of wines in Costco stores around the country, I thought it would be best to ask for help from all of our readers.

If you see any of the wines on the list, please tell everyone what you found and where on the Costco Wine Blog Facebook page.  Also, please list price, and of course any tasting notes if you’ve already opened the wine.

I’ll start by listing a few of the wines from the list that I’ve seen at Costco stores in Atlanta in the last few months (in some cases different vintages).

#51 Bodega Norton Malbec Mendoza Reserva 2010 (my review of the 2008 vintage)

#58 Perrin & Fils Vinsobres Les Cornuds 2010 (my review of the 2007 vintage)

#92 Altamura Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2009 (my review of this wine.  Scored it a point ahead of WS)

 

 

So keep an eye out next time you hit your local Costco, and please report back anything you find.  I plan on hitting a few more stores to see what I can find. 

— Editor

Very pleasant Chardonnay, kind of a combination of new school (citrus fruit) and old school (butter, oak) and the flavor really worked for me. Price at Costco was $11.99 which I think is very good for this wine. More of the citrus comes off on the nose, smells like a Sauvignon Blanc a bit; in the mouth though you get that creamy texture you expect from a good Chardonnay with apple, lemon and pear flavors.  Finish starts to bring in a bit of the oak element, in a nice dose though that’s not overbearing. A solid Chardonnay for the money.  Give this one a look. CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 86 Points

I’m happy to announce the publication of my latest wine book titled Around the Wine World in 40 Pages: An Exploration Guide for the Beginning Wine Enthusiast. It’s $3.99 for the Kindle with a physical version coming down the line. The book takes readers on a journey throughout the most popular and notable wine growing regions in the world, providing an inside perspective on what wine drinkers at all experience levels need to know about the grapes and styles from each region, along with the price points and suggestions on specific wines to try.  I even include references to a lot of wines that can be found at Costco.  I hope you enjoy. — Editor