Hello Costco Wine fans. It’s one of our favorite times of the year when we look back at the highest rated wines we tasted and reviewed from Costco for 2023.
In case you’ve missed this list in the past, here are some links to our stories from 2022, 2021, and 2020.
We need to put our standard disclaimer up front. If you’re following this site, you probably shop at Costco enough to know how fast they move inventory, and that applies to wine.
So many of these bottles may be long gone. Some may never come back; others might return in a new vintage. And still others mysteriously reappear months after they vanished. You never know, so keep your eyes out.
You can also use this list to identify wines you might want to look for at other stores, and restaurant wine lists.
So let’s get into it for 2023, starting with a new Kirkland bottle making its debut on this list…
2019 Kirkland Signature Saint-Julien Bordeaux
Our list begins back in January, when we were surprised and delighted to see this new addition to the Kirkland wine portfolio, a Saint Julien Bordeaux for $18.69. We just heard the other day that the 2020 vintage is hitting stores now, and we hope to review soon. [our review]
2020 My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon
This next one might be our wine of the year. We went 95 points. This bottle was $45.99 at Costco and drinks like it cost 2-3X that. What a find, and a consistent favorite of ours. Seek this bottle out wherever you can find it. [our review]
2010 Hidalgo Tradicion H Gran Reserva Rioja
As we said in our review, this seemed almost too good to be true, and readers went crazy for this wine as well. A Gran Reserva Rioja with 13 years of age built in for $14.99. A top notch Costco find in 2023. [our review]
2021 Tabali Talinay Sauvignon Blanc
This Chilean Sauvignon Blanc totally surprised us. Highly rated, and $22 at Costco, this is one of the more memorable Costco white wines we tasted this year. Hope to see it return again in future vintages. [our review]
2015 Bodegas Olarra Anares Gran Reserva Rioja
Yes, another Gran Reserva Rioja, and we are of course huge fans of this style of wine, but bang for buck you can put these up against almost anything. $16 at Costco, and 92 points from us. [our review]
2020 Claude Manciat Courtelong Pouilly-Fuisse
This White Burgundy was delicious, and Costco brought it in at $18.99 vs a retail we found in the $30-$40 range, so a huge score. This is high quality French Chardonnay at an unbeatable price. [our review]
2019 Condado de Haza Crianza Ribera del Duero
It’s starting to look like a theme here, with all these Spanish bottles, but we continue to find excellent wines at great prices. 92 points from us on this $15 Ribera del Duero that is flat out amazing. Don’t hesitate to explore more Spanish wines. [our review]
2019 Kirkland Signature Barolo
Pretty sure this bottle has made this list the past three years, ever since it arrived in Costco stores. The price continues to stay the same at $20, and it just overdelivers once again. These sell through fast, so be ready to scoop them up when you see them, usually in June. [our review]
2020 Chateau de Vaudieu Chateauneuf-du-pape
A $30 Chateauneuf that delivered the goods, this was a fantastic find. 93-94 points from most critics, and a 93 from us, this is a bottle we’ll seek out in future vintages. [our review]
2017 Condado de Oriza Ribera del Duero Reserva
Only in doing this list are we remembering just how many Spanish wines from Costco we went crazy for in the past 12 months. Here’s another Ribera, only $12.99 at Costco, and so so good. 92 points from us. [our review]
2019 Chateau Gloria Saint Julien Bordeaux
And we conclude this list with a heck of a find. This is a favorite Bordeaux of ours that consistently delivers, and we were stunned when it showed up at Costco for $34.99. At Total Wine this same bottle is selling for $55. It needs a little more time in the bottle, but shows huge promise. [our review]
And that’s our list for 2023. So many great bottles. Thanks to all of our readers for following us, and cheers.
Note: we had a reader ask about creating a PDF of this list for easy, quick access, which we thought was a fantastic idea. So here’s the whole list as a PDF.
If you are interested in exploring the awesome wines of Spain, we wrote a whole book about it, Decoding Spanish Wine. Only $9 for the paperback. A super easy and fun read.
Greg Cremer
Thursday 28th of December 2023
As many others have commented, Here in southwestern Idaho and the 3 local Costcos in Nampa, Meridian and Boise, we just don't see many of the wines you mention. I know, "sucks to be us". Sadly, it does. There was one bright shining star this year however. Someone obviously made a mistake and shipped a few cases of Kirkland Barolo to our store and we tried it (Christmas sale price of $7.99)! Sadly. They are now out and we only bought one bottle, which we loved. Wish we'd gotten back in time to buy a case, especially at that price. So, in conclusion, this is just an observation as I understand that you do not control Costco distribution. I appreciate what you do and it is helpful. Just requires a bit of legwork and research on our part. Thanks so much.
Jeff
Thursday 9th of November 2023
Did the Costco wine buyers pre-order Beaujolais Nouveau 2023? I quit reading your blog because I can only find a few of the wines that you review. Mainly Kirkland labels. Where are you getting them?
HM
Saturday 18th of November 2023
@Editor, BN it showed up in MA this week kirkland rutherford russian river pinot and ginodidas(normally Janaury), as well
have not seen kirklanf sancerre or chablis in the last 2 years bummer
Editor
Thursday 9th of November 2023
Hi Jeff We haven’t seen the Beaujolais Nouveau arrive yet but it’s usually right around this time every time. Sorry to hear you’re not able to find many of the wines we review. We shop around the Atlanta area. It is a big challenge as distribution varies so much between stores and regions. Hope you find more of them around you soon
George
Tuesday 24th of October 2023
I can echo Joe's complaint (dated October 21, 2023). Rarely do the wines you review show up at any of the 4 Costco warehouses in the Tampa area. Very disappointing. Nevertheless, I enjoy your reviews and remain hopeful that I can find quality Burgundies (red and white) and Bordeaux in local Costco warehouses.
Joe
Saturday 21st of October 2023
This a general question. Can you explain why many of the wines you review never appear at out Costco. We live in San Diego and visit Costco about every two weeks in a pretty upscale area. Yet we rarely see many of these wines, and occasionally we don’t even get the classics. This year we never saw the Kirkland Zin. How does Kirkland determine which stores get which wines. BTW-Is this a common common complaint? Thanks
Christian
Saturday 25th of November 2023
@Editor, Have you considered adding a west coast correspondent since you’re on the east coast? Maybe cover more ground that way?
Jon
Tuesday 24th of October 2023
@Editor, This is a very interesting issue. I see lots of old world wines, and most of your recommendations at our COSTCO in Boise, ID. However, on recent trip to visit friends in CA I was shocked to see that the COSTCO in Gilroy CA, just south of San Jose, had NONE!! The wine manager said they focus on domestic wines. Do the managers have a choice? I will leave comments in the store to thank the local wine manager!
Editor
Saturday 21st of October 2023
Super common, probably the #1 comment we get about the site. Wish there was a way to help this. Even around the 6 or so Atlanta stores near us, the selection varies widely. And some wines we review show up in Tokyo but not Florida. Don’t hesitate to leave comments or make recommendations. Maybe crowd sourcing this a bit would help. I tried forums but that didn’t fly. We can also look for wines you recommend. Appreciate you following us and for writing in.