This new addition to the Kirkland wine family started appearing in stores a couple weeks back, and finally hit my store in the Atlanta area.  It was also featured in the latest issue of the Costco Connection magazine.

A Prosecco Rosé almost seems like a no brainer given the wine community’s current love for bubbly wines and Rosé.  But this is actually a fairly new development in the wine world.  We did find the La Gioiosa Prosecco Rose ($8.99, 88 points) at Costco last year right before Christmas, and that was one of the first bottles we had seen.

I thought I’d dig into the story a bit because it’s kind of interesting (skip down four paragraphs if you want to get to the tasting). 

In Italy, most (but not all) wines have a band across the top; in this case the band says DOC, which is short for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, and that means “controlled designation of origin.” 

There is also DOCG, or Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, meaning Guaranteed.  This was created in 1980 to signify the highest quality wines because there are over 300 different DOCs and people felt the quality wasn’t always consistent among them.

So the regular Kirkland Signature Prosecco is a DOCG, which is pretty rare for its modest $6.99 price tag.  More often DOCG Proseccos cost twice that or more.

Up until about a year ago, the Prosecco DOC prohibited rosé versions of Prosecco but that changed with the creation of a Prosecco Rosé DOC.  This came with new rules that stated Prosecco Rosé must be still be produced from a majority of white Glera grapes, but also can include 10% – 15% of Pinot Noir, known as Pinot Nero in Italy. 

You’ll also note the Prosecco Rosé carry a vintage designation (2020 for this one), whereas the standard Kirkland Prosecco and most others do not.

So let’s get into the wine, which I thought was really delicious.

It pours a pale salmon color in the glass with light red fruit on the nose; nice mouthfeel with gentle effervescence; red fruit flavors, predominantly strawberry with peach, a touch of cream; pretty dry throughout with a good finish. 

This bottle is easy going and just a perfect summer sipper.  Maybe a hair better, or at least more enjoyable in my opinion, than the standard Prosecco from Kirkland, but both remain incredible value buys for $7. 

This is a welcome addition to the world of Kirkland wines.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 88 points

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Costco item number: 1521870

Alc. 11%

The post Kirkland Signature Prosecco Rosé appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

Here’s a great pick if you’re looking for an easy going, affordable summer wine to stock up on and enjoy all summer long. 

Italy is a really good place to look for Pinot Grigio, as we’ve written about before, and this bottle is a perfect example of the favorable quality to price ratio you can find.

Costco’s price is $6.89, which looks to be on the lower end of what I could find the wine selling for online; a few outlets sold it as high as $12.  It’s a Sicilian wine made with organic grapes that benefit from the ideal Mediterranean climate.

In the glass, the wine pours a pale gold; there’s nice citrus fruit aromas on the nose; the wine is medium in body and packed with flavor, mostly green apple, pear and peach; good acidity, crisp in the finish.

This is a perfect summer wine especially if you’re heading to the pool or beach, and also a wine you could pair with light summer food including appetizers, salads or fish. 

I think if you walked into Costco right now with $30 looking to score some summer wines, you’d do great choosing two bottles of this Pinot Grigio, and two bottles of the just released Kirkland Prosecco Rosé.  Bring on summer.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 88 points

Costco item number: 1473660

Alc. 12%

This wine was received as a sample for the purpose of writing this review. All reviews are written at the discretion of the individual reviewer. Opinions of the reviewer do not necessarily reflect those of CostcoWineBlog.com as a whole, and reviewers are not paid for their reviews by wineries or their affiliated distributors. We at CostcoWineBlog.com believe that wine preferences and opinions are often subjective and highly individualistic. Our scores are based on our individual perception of a wine and how well it reflects the area in which the grapes are grown, the expression of the grapes, and also the quality of the finished product. We remind readers that we are 100% independent of Costco Wholesale Corporation, and are simply of a group of Costco wine fans looking to try new wines and share our favorites with this community.

The post 2020 La Mura Pinot Grigio Terre Siciliane IGT appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

This is exactly the kind of white wine that I’m on the lookout for at Costco; something a little off the beaten path, usually found in the wooden bins after you’ve passed all the California Chardonnay. We found another one of these just the other week.

I’ve stated before here that I’d love to start seeing more interesting whites carried in warehouses; Vermentino, Gruner Veltliner, Arneis, Soave, Gavi, Viognier…just to name a few that are top of mind. There always seems to be plenty of unique red wines, but not as many whites.

Here’s a Pinot Blanc from Alto Adige, Italy that semi-falls in this bracket of interesting whites, depending on how you define “interesting.”  Regardless, this is a great find.

Costco’s price is $14.99 which seems to be almost half of the retail that is around $29. A few outlets online carry it for around $20. The wine also received 93 points from Wine Advocate, and past vintages seem to have pulled down a lot of 90+ ratings too.

This wine pours a medium straw color in the glass; not a ton on the nose, some stone fruit, light floral aromas; super crisp in the mouth where this one really comes alive. Flavors of pear, nectarine, and a little blue raspberry towards the mid palate; finishes nice and dry.  

If you enjoy crisp, dry Italian white wines, this one is going to be right up your alley. 

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 89 points

Costco item number: 1077351

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA

Alc. 13.5%

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I heard from readers that the latest vintage of the Kirkland Brunello starting appearing in stores last week, and I tried twice to find it before finally running into it today.

What no one mentioned is the huge news that’s apparent right away.

A new label? Yes, but that’s not it.

How about a price cut. Down to $19.99. This bottle has never been that low. Even the inaugural 2010 vintage (which was one of the best by the way) was $25. In the past couple vintages, this wine was selling for $26.99.

And that’s a good price for Brunello. $19.99 is almost unheard of for wine from this premier Italian region.

Note that along with the price change came a change in the Costco item number. Make sure to use 1472194 if you call your store to check on availability.

Let’s look at some of our scores on the Kirkland Brunello because I think we’ve tasted and recorded notes on all of them.

2010 – 92-93 points

2011 – 86 points

2012 – 87 points

2013 – 88 points

2014 – 88 points

2015 – 89 points

Man that 2010 was good. I still remember it. After that, all good scores, high 80’s and ascending, almost cracking 90 last year. You can see on the placard above Suckling went 92 points on this new 2016 vintage.

And 2016 was a dynamite year for Brunello so we were psyched to get into this one.

The wine is a deep garnet color in the glass; vibrant nose of red fruit and pepper; more red fruit in the mouth, flavors of cherry, strawberry and raspberry. The wine tastes youthful, leading me to peg it as a ’18 or ’19 rather than ’16 vintage.

Great depth, medium plus in body with good acidity. Really solid finish. This one is just near perfect all around, inviting you back for sip after sip.

This vintage is everything I hoped it would be, and the price discount is just a bonus. I’ve had several readers ask me about wines to age that are priced around $20, and you don’t find too many. But this one could definitely run for a while and likely develop further.

We’ll be adding to our Recommended wine list. Thanks Costco.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 91 points (a Costco Wine Top Pick)

Costco item number: 1472194 (used to be 1001151)

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 14.5%

The post 2016 Kirkland Signature Series Brunello di Montalcino appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

It’s great to see the latest vintage of this bottle hitting Costco stores. This one is a reader and personal favorite, delivering amazing quality for under $10.

Costco’s price remains only $8.99, which is the same as the prior vintage we reviewed. Online you will find it around $10-$12, and this one is pretty widely available, so even if you don’t see it at Costco it’s good enough to seek out elsewhere even if you have to pay a few bucks more.

This bottle pulls down 90 point ratings among the critics with almost every vintage. Suckling went 91 on this one, and Decanter gave it 90 points. We went 87 points on the 2017 vintage, finding the wine to be very nice for the money and a good everyday table bottle.

Getting into this 2018 vintage, it’s very similar, maybe a slight jump up from our tasting of the 2017. Vibrant nose of red fruit and herbs, nice mouthfeel with soft tannins; medium in body. Flavors are a contrast of red and dark fruit, some cherry, blackberry with vanilla and cedar notes into the finish.

It’s a straight forward Italian red blend (Sangiovese, Cabernet and Merlot), delivered better than most other bottles in this price range.

A great pizza wine or everyday table wine that can pair with a lot of different food. Bumping my rating up to 88 points, from a previous 87.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 88 points

Costco item number: 737603

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 13.5%

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We have back to back reviews of Tuscan bottles that Costco carries for under $10.  And both turned out to be really good finds.

A new friend, Christopher Lochhead of the excellent “Follow Your Different” podcast, requested a few Tuscan wine reviews from us, so here they are.

We just posted about the Banfi Centine Toscana, priced at $8.99 and we went 88 points on that bottle.  It was a nice everyday wine, pizza wine, good quality for the low price.  We tasted prior vintages and that bottle just delivers time and time again.

And now we run into another Tuscan wine priced the same at $8.99 compared to a retail of $13-14, so we love that.

This one pulled in some solid scores from the critics. 88 points from Wine Enthusiast; 90 from James Suckling.  It’s a blend of 85% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot.

Getting into tasting this wine, we can tell right away that it’s another winner and a great buy at this price.

It pours a pale ruby in the glass, like a Pinot Noir; dark cherry, herbs and a little oak on the nose.  In the mouth this wine is so nice; medium bodied, soft tannins, and drinking at a really nice age right now.  Note the Banfi Centine is two years younger (2018).

There’s good acidity with flavors of mostly red fruit, some cherry and raspberry. Dry finish that’s a little rustic. There’s nothing complicated here.  This is just a good solid Tuscan red blend that you could pop on the table just about any time, with anyone.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 89 points

Costco item number: 44971

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Dallas, GA)

Alc. 13%

The post 2016 Monte Antico Toscana Red Blend appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

This bottle is always a welcome site in the Costco wine aisles.  If you’ve never read our reviews, you might be skeptical (as were at first), asking yourself how can a real Barolo be priced at only $14.99?

Even the Kirkland Barolo, which we really like too, is $20. But I’m happy to say, and we’ve confirmed it again with this new 2015 vintage, this Covalli Barolo is the real deal, and quite the find at this price.

It was a little odd because I actually found this wine in two different places at my Costco.  I saw it first in the “cheap seats” (aka the rows of wine, not the wooden boxes) and the price was $14.99, no discount; it just looked like the standard price.

Then moving into the wooden boxes, I found the price below, $24.99 with a $10 discount that is good through this weekend.  What I’m hoping is that $14.99 just becomes this bottle’s standard price once the discount period is over, and that looks to be the case given the dual listing.  It was $14.99 last year so I bet that will stay the same.

Now let’s get into the wine.  I couldn’t wait to dig in to confirm if this was a one hit wonder or not.  Historically this wine has pulled down 90+ point ratings from the critics.  Suckling went 92 on this 2015 vintage.  We hit 91 with the last vintage and I was hoping to stay pretty close to that.

In the glass the wine pours a pale ruby, almost looking like a Pinot Noir.  Slight rust just beginning to show around the edges; Rustic nose with black cherry; nice mouthfeel, which is what immediately hits you.  This wine is so light and soft, and packed with flavor.

Mostly red fruit flavor, cherry, raspberry, red licorice; Good dose of acidity, pleasant throughout into a really strong finish. Give it at least 30 minutes to open up.

Once again, this is good quality Barolo at an unheard of price.  We’re going to keep our rating the same at 91 points and we will be adding it to our Top Picks list.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 91 points (a CostcoWineBlog Top Pick)

Costco item number: 1453823

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 14%

The post 2015 Covalli Barolo appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

I’ve almost pulled the trigger on this bottle a few times before. Rarely do you find an Amarone priced this low so I’m always a little skeptical. But Costco usually delivers, like they did on the Covalli Barolo that also seemed to good to be true for $14.99.

This Amarone came in at $22.99 and online it seems to go for between $25-$29, so we’re getting a good price at Costco. The wine pulled down 91 points from Wine Spectator, and 92 points from Suckling.

It is from the favorable 2016 vintage, and once we opened it and gave it a little air, it was apparent this is a high quality wine that is ready to drink right now but you could also put this one away a bit longer.

The wine pours a medium ruby in the glass; rustic aromas on the nose with some black cherry, and what I call the dustry library book; good acidity as you would expect, medium to full bodied, just love the mouthfeel of wine like this; delicate and elegant.

Flavors are predominantly cherry, plum, a little mocha; dusty and dry into the finish. Really a joy to drink, and a solid buy at this price point, especially for fans of Italian reds.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 89 points

Costco item number: 1071020

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 15% (yes, pretty high, but not too noticeable)

The post 2016 Antiche Terre Venete Amarone Della Valpolicella appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

What a pleasant find this turned out to be. We’re always fans of Chianti Classico and consistently find them to deliver a big bang for the buck. This bottle is a perfect example of that.

Costco’s price is fantastic at only $12.99. The wine is $19 at Total Wine. As far as solid buys under $15, this one is definitely towards the top of that list for us. 93 points from Suckling too.

It pours a light ruby in the glass with a nice aromatic nose of dried fruit and spice, a little dusty book. The wine is medium body and packed with nice red fruit, cherry, pepper and spice; it is acidic and dry into the finish.

Overall, this is just signature Chianti Classico brought in at a fantastic Costco price. Really enjoyable, and a perfect table wine for just about any occasion. This is a bottle we might stock up on at this price.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 89 points

Costco item number: 580478

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 13.5%

The post 2019 Cecchi Chianti Classico appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

Look what arrived in stores a month or so early…one of our favorite bottles from the Kirkland wine portfolio.

This marks the third vintage of this wine to be released, and in looking back over past reviews, you can see that we rated both the 2015 vintage and 2016 vintage 92 points. From the Costco placard, it appears many of the mainstream critics agree on the 92 points. So we’ve really enjoyed this one in the past.

There’s lots of good news here, but let’s start with the price that has stayed the same at only $19.99, which is as about as low as you will find Barolo. There are a few drinkable exceptions though.

Let’s get into this new vintage.

The wine pours a pale garnet in the glass; spicy, black cherry aromas; medium body with great acidity; flavors of cherry, raspberry, anise; really good depth to this wine and the finish is remarkable, just digging in and lasting forever.

We’re really excited to have found this one, and to taste and share with you. I’m going to bump my rating up to 93 points with this vintage. It’s just hitting me right all around. What a wine, and what a price. This is why you shop at Costco.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 93 points (a Costco Wine Top Pick)

Costco item number: 1355183

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 14%

The post 2017 Kirkland Signature Barolo appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

There’s a lot of value and quality to be found in Chianti Classicos these days. Eric Asimov, the wine critic at the NY Times, has been a big voice for these wines, and we have tended to agree.

A couple months ago we found the Cecchi Chianti Classico at Costco for $13, and that turned out to be an excellent buy. I hope many of you were able to scoop up a few of those. This Banfi bottle is good, but perhaps a slight step down from the Cecchi in our opinion.

Costco’s price is $12.99 which is pretty good. The same bottle seems to retailing around $17, and is online closer to $14-$15.

Wine Spectator was a fan awarding the wine 91 points as indicated on the Costco placard, and a quick search shows historical ratings in the upper 80’s, low 90’s over the years from other reviewers.

On the pour this wine is a light to medium purple in the glass; dried black fruit and subtle spice on the nose, medium bodied; flavors of black cherry, anise, pepper; acidic and dry in the finish.

Pretty standard and perhaps lacking the depth we were hoping for, and have found in other Chianti Classicos, like the aforementioned Cecchi.

If you’re looking for Italian reds at Costco, you can browse our Italian category for more recommendations.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 87 points

Costco item number: 918738

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 13.5%

The post 2019 Banfi Chianti Classico appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

Finding this bottle at Costco was a nice surprise. Argiolas produces a number of white and red wines that we’ve always enjoyed (their Turriga is a popular one on the higher end). If you also shop at Total Wine, you can find several of their more affordable (around $15) reds too (Costera and Perdera are favorites).

The winery is located on the island of Sardinia which is off the western coast of Italy; so the grapes benefit from a nice Mediterranean climate. (plug: We cover Sardinia and many other Italian wine regions in our book, Decoding Italian Wine, if you’re interested in checking it out).

Costco’s price is really good for this bottle at $11.99. Online you will see it around $17 and it’s $20 at Total Wine. Regular readers will know that we are always hoping to find some different white wines at Costco, and this Vermentino fits the bill quite nicely.

The wine pours a pale to medium yellow with citrus fruit on the nose; it is medium in body; flavors are predominantly apricot and peach, a little pineapple; it’s crisp and clean with a great finish that leaves a touch of juicy orange lingering around.

We found a lot to like here, in the glass and the price, making this a very strong buy. Perfect for when you want something a little different. And definitely a solid choice for pairing with white fish, salads or other summer cuisine.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 88 points

Costco item number: 28797

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 13.5%

The post 2020 Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino di Sardegna appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

Banfi is a super dependable name in Italian wine and their wines typically offer a good bang for the buck.

We have found quite a few wines from them at Costco over the years, most recently their Chianti Classico, Centine red blend, and a couple years back even a Gavi.

This is our first time tasting their Pinot Grigio which we found at Costco for $14.99 along with a 90 point score mentioned on the placard on the prior vintage from Suckling. Online, I found this bottle selling around $20, so Costco is offering a nice discount compared to that.

In the glass this wine is a pale straw with citrus fruit on the nose; it is medium in body with a little more depth actually than expected or that it’s super light color might lead on. Flavors are green apple, pear, and lemon; the wine has a good bit of acidity and a very nice finish.

This is Pinot Grigio for people who don’t think they can like Pinot Grigio. It’s not light and boring, but rather flavor packed and quite enjoyable. This would also be a good pick for fans of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs looking for something a little different.

For everyone else, it’s a nice, crisp and refreshing, summer wine. Glad we tasted it.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 88 points

Costco item number: 72983

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 13%

The post 2021 Banfi San Angelo Pinot Grigio appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

Here’s a popular Kirkland wine that’s back in the latest vintage.

First thing we noticed is a price jump to $8.99 from a previous $7.99 that we saw for the 2018 vintage.  Before that it was hovering around $8.49, so this is the first time it’s broken new ground, but still just by a smidge.

Historically, we’ve found this to be a good Kirkland wine, but not a great one.  Here’s a look at our ratings for all the vintage we’ve tasted and reviewed:

2013: 88 points

2014: 88 points

2015: 88 points

2016: 87 points

2017: 86 points

2018: 87 points

So we’re averaging in the ballpark of 87ish points, and that’s again where we land with this new 2019 vintage.  Our tasting notes are very similar to years past as this wine remains super consistent as a light and easy Chianti that is perfect for mid-week pizza night.

The wine pours a light to medium ruby in the glass with red fruit and spice on the nose; in the mouth it is medium in body with more red fruit on the palate; flavors of cherry, anise with earthy undertones; in the finish the wine is dry and acidic.

This vintage was almost exactly what we expected, and our feeling remains consistent.  This is a fair buy and a good wine for the money, but for a few bucks more you can get a decent bump in quality (example: Cecchi Chianti).

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 87 points

Costco item number: 944010

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA

Alc. 13.5%

The post 2019 Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

There’s not really a story as to why we picked out this wine other than it was a bottle we’ve never seen at Costco before, and figured we’d report back to you on what we find.

And it turned out to be a fantastic pick.  You can see on the Costco placard the wine’s previous vintages received a string of 93 point ratings from Suckling. He gave this 2019 vintage 93 points too.  It also received 92 from Wine Spectator and 89 from Parker, which is where we felt it landed.

Costco’s price is pretty good at $14.99. I found the wine for $17 at Total Wine and retail appears to be around $23.  This is a Tuscan red blend comprised of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Sangiovese, so classifies as a “Super Tuscan.”

In the glass it pours a medium to deep ruby with dried dark fruit and cigar box aromas on the nose; it is medium plus in body with nice acidity; flavors of red and dark fruit, big black cherry with notes of black licorice towards the finish. 

Overall, a really beautiful wine and one that we are happy to welcome to this website.  Pair with your favorite Italian meal any day of the week.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 89 points

Costco item number: 144620

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Cumberland)

Alc. 14%

The post 2019 Argiano Non Confunditur Rosso Toscano appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

This is always a tough bottle for me to review, and might be even trickier this year with this new 2020 vintage.

As I’ve mentioned in prior reviews, I think I did figure it out a bit. This wine is situational. If it’s 100 degrees and you’re on the beach or a boat, and you pull this one out fully chilled it might be amazing. On other occasions not quite as cool as that, it might fall flat.

One good thing with the 2020 vintage is that there was actually a price drop. That’s right. The already super low price of $5.99 was just reduced to $4.99. That’s a pretty good deal for any drinkable bottle of wine.

I looked over our past reviews and was surprised with how many vintages of this wine we’ve tasted.

2017 85 points

2018 88 points

2019 87 points

And this new one falls right in the middle for me.

It pours almost clear with just a faint yellow tint; juicy citrus fruit on the nose, built for summertime. In the mouth, more juicy fruit, orange peel, tangerine and green apple flavors. Light body, good acidity; simple but not too shabby.

If you’re like me, you might want to grab a few of these and hold for the summer months. Fans of Pinot Grigio and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc might get into this one.

By the way, and this is a discussion for the comments, but rumors are that the Kirkland Ti Point Sauvignon Blanc has been discontinued. I know that was another summer time favorite for a lot of readers. Let us know if you’ve seen it lately.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 86 points

Costco item number: 652129

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 12.5%

The post 2020 Kirkland Signature Pinot Grigio Friuli appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

This is one of those low priced bottles that caught our eye from the “cheap seats” (the aisles of stacked wine, not the wooden boxes). Costco often slides these interesting European wines in among rows of the usual suspects, so you need to have your radar up when you’re cruising through the cheap seats.

And they’re really hit or miss, which makes them so much fun to try. Since they’re usually under $10 you’re not really out too much if you encounter the occasional dud.

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is usually a pretty safe bet, offering a good bang for the buck. Produced in the Abruzzo region of Eastern Italy, this is one of the highest yielding and most popular grapes in the country. We wrote a whole book about it if you’re interested in further exploration.

James Suckling went 92 points on the wine, and Wine Enthusiast gave it 85 points so a big spread between the two. We’re going to side with Wine Enthusiast. This turned out to be ok, fair for the low price, but pretty light and simple.

It pours a dark ruby in the glass with an earthy, dusty nose; medium plus in body with light acidity; moderate in flavor, but a bit on the light side; tarty black fruit, plum, black licorice; wraps up pretty quick in the finish.

This is not a wine we’d buy again, but for a mid week pizza or spaghetti night, you could do a lot worse, especially in this price range.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 86 points

Costco item number: 1596399

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 13%

The post 2017 Torre Zambra Madia Montepulciano d’Abruzzo appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

Look what we found making a surprise appearance back in Costco stores. The last time we saw this bottle was back in 2018 with the 2014 vintage. We thought this might be a one and done Kirkland bottling, but here we are five vintages later and it’s back.

The price went up $1 to $14.99. There’s no mention of the varietal blend on the label but last time it was 80% Sangiovese with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot. We’d assume it’s similar with the 2019 vintage.

Our tasting notes are similar to the previous review too, and our conclusion the same: this is a solid mid-week drinker, perfect pizza wine. It’s a little light but it’s easy going and will satisfy a lot of Super Tuscan fans in the $15 range.

The wine starts with dusty, dried fruit on the nose; light in body with chewy tannins; good amount of flavor and acidity, mostly black cherry, black licorice, pepper notes.

It definitely opened up over time so a decant would be a good idea. The finish is good. Nothing super special here, but again it’s a fair buy, perfect pizza wine or table wine. We’re going to drop our rating one point to a still very respectable 87.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 87 points

Costco item number: 1181768

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Kennesaw)

Alc. 13.5%

The post 2019 Kirkland Signature Toscana appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

Here’s one of our favorite Kirkland wines coming in right on time with the latest vintage. Fall is usually when this Brunello hits stores, and right off the bat we have some good news with the price staying at $19.99.

Long time readers may remember this wine had crept up to $27 in prior years, and then started coming back down. We really like it right here at $20, which is an amazing price for any Brunello, even more so for a tasty one, as this bottle usually is.

Looking back over our notes, we’ve tasted every vintage of this Kirkland offering, dating back to the awesome 2010 vintage. Here’s a look at the scores over the years.

2010 – 92-93 points

2011 – 86 points

2012 – 87 points

2013 – 88 points

2014 – 88 points

2015 – 89 points

2016 – 91 points

Trending the right direction as we feel this bottle has finally stabilized close to 90 points after that dip almost a decade ago. And that’s where this new 2017 vintage will land for us.

The wine is a medium garnet in color with a lovely nose of red fruit and spice; it is medium plus in body with good acidity right off the bat; nice flavor profile with cherry and raspberry; clean finish. Really tasty juice once again.

We’re going to say this is just a small notch below the 2016, and believe it or not we ran into some 2016 bottles just a few weeks ago and opened one, so it is super fresh in memory.

This is still a favorite and a great buy. We’re going to bring the rating down to 90 for the 2017 and recommend Brunello and Italian wine fans give it a shot.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 90 points (a Costco Wine Top Pick)

Costco item number: 1472194

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Cumberland)

Alc. 14.5%

The post 2017 Kirkland Signature Series Brunello di Montalcino appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.

This Chianti Classico had a few things going for it that made a strong case for throwing a bottle in our cart.

First, we love Chianti Classicos, and particularly those with 5-7 years of age on them, so this 2016 fit the bill quite nicely. It’s drinking really good right now.

Next, we remembered tasting a super Tuscan blend from Canonica a Cerreto a while back. A quick search of the site shows it was indeed a while back (2015 when we were still learning to design a website), and we loved it, going 91 points.

And then you can see all the big scores from the critics on the Costco placard along with the $19.99 price tag, which we know now having tasted the wine, is quite a deal for this level of quality.

The wine pours a medium ruby in the glass; expressive nose of dark fruit and herbs; medium plus in body, super elegant with big dark cherry flavor; spicy in the finish which is super dry. We were fortunate to pair this with some meatballs and it was perfect.

I’d put this one right on the heels of, or maybe even a notch above, the new Kirkland Brunello we just reviewed. It’s that good, same price.

If you are into Italian reds and see them both, scoop them up and see which one you prefer. Let us know too if you do that. Salute.

CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 91 points (a Costco Wine Top Pick)

Costco item number: 975351

Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA (Cumberland)

Alc. 14%

The post 2016 Canonica a Cerreto Chianti Classico appeared first on CostcoWineBlog.com.