It’s hard to believe we’re at the end of 2013 already. This was a fun year for this website and I hope all of our readers really enjoyed the content and were able to find some great bottles of wine at their local Costcos.
This year marked the addition of a few new contributors to this site who helped review even more wines from more Costco stores nationwide. We also added Costco Wine Cartoons from famed wine cartoonist Doug Pike. The site was featured this year in the Wall Street Journal and Consumer Reports.
I thank all of you for supporting the site, and appreciate all the feedback we’ve received. Now, as we do every year, let’s take a look back at the wines we rated the highest over the past 12 months. Keep in mind, some wines received high scores because they were ridiculous values so not every bottle on here cost $100. If we found a $20 wine that we thought tasted like it cost double or triple the price, we may have included it. Also remember, many of these will be hard, if not impossible, to find at Costco since the inventory is likely sold out. But keep an eye out; you never know.
– Andrew
2006 JC Cellars Stagecoach Vineyard Syrah
$20, with a hint of age; all around delicious wine
2008 Celler Malondro Besllum Montsant
Perhaps the best bargain I found at Costco in 2013. Only $12, and I’ve seen this one still in stores today.
2008 Villa Antinori Toscana
You just can’t go wrong here. A perfect wine. At $16.99, an incredible bargain is you see it.
2009 Flora Springs Trilogy
I adore this wine. Costco was selling it for $39.99 which is a steal. I rated it 94 points.
2011 Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Dry Riesling
An amazing dry Riesling from Australia; only $13. This is one I wish I could find again.
2010 Chateau Boutisse Saint-Emilion Bordeaux
An enjoyable right banker, solid year and $25
2010 Bodegas Lar De Paula Rioja Tempranillo
A lovely Rioja for under $20
2011 Kirkland Signature Chateauneuf-du-pape
This year’s Kirkland Chateauneuf is a big winner for only $20. I doubt these bottles are still around…
2010 Bodegas Volver Tarima Hill Monastrell
Huge value here for only $12.
2011 Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon
$16, but tastes like $35
2009 Baileyana Firepeak Vineyard Pinot Noir
I’m not sure what made me go crazy for this one, but it was really enjoyable for under $20 (I’ve still seen this one is stores)
2010 Lincourt Chardonnay Courtney’s Vineyard
An excellent $15 chardonnay
There you have it. It was fun to go through all of these wines again. There are some real superstars in the bunch, and a lot of great value wines we tasted this year.
And just in case you hadn’t found the time to read it, here’s an article I wrote for the site this year outlining the top things I’ve learned about buying wine at Costco. There are a lot of helpful hints in here so give it a read when you have a few minutes.
Have a great holiday.