WTN: Took one for the team

[Jenise]

2015 Kirkland Signature Barolo Nebbiolo
After reading all the comments on CT, I'm convinced that not all '15 Kirkland Barolos are created equal. They probably bought several lots. Most reviewers gave their bottle 89 points; for me, it's 80. Meaning: good, barely. No way is the bottle we opened last night a "20 yr" wine. It was not "grippy", it had no tannins to speak of. Soft, almost flabby, simple strawberry and watermelon (ugh) fruit that bears no resemblance to Italian nebbiolo. Rather, it tastes like American fruit, cheaply made. Got sweeter by the minute, and we didn't enjoy it enough to finish the bottle after dinner. It's now in the vinegar barrel. Buyer beware.

I live near a Costco that supposedly has one of their best wine departments in SoCal. Browse frequently, buy rarely. I did get a Kirkland Pinot Grigio, Friuli, for $6 met criteria for what I call a Frig wine. Cheap, simple, perfect for warm evenings when you just want a glass of wine. Nothing fancy. Screw cap a bonus; why bother with a VacuVin? That juice would have made a good party wine IMHO. Kirkland Mendoza Malbec has been recommended to me by someone who knows his stuff, but no experience.

I've found good deals on brand wines there occasionally. Jadot Beaujolias-Villages <$10. Columbia Crest H3, <$10.

Usually our LWS matches or beats Costco prices, hence mostly browsing.

Dear Husband did get a good price on Firestone 805 by the case for his summer Frig beer.

Will take a pass on most Kirklands over $15.

[David M. Bueker]

Frig?

[Jenise]

Frig?

Fridge, you poophead.


Back to Pat, I once had a delicious Kirkland Mendoza Malbec at someone else's home. Bought some, same vintage, in another state: totally different wine because, I had to presume, different lots. Costco's the biggest wine retailer in the U.S.--they don't sell anything they can't get/supply a ton of. I presume that's why my Kirkland Barolo was a piece of junk, where another guy raved about the "grippy tannins" and it being a "20+" year wine. We clearly didn't have the same wine.

I buy that PG too. Keep a few bottles on hand for cooking, and sometimes the cook has a glass too. But of course, as above, our bottles might not be identical.

[David M. Bueker]

I have never referred to the refrigerator as the frig.

Never.

It’s the fridge.

2015 Kirkland Signature Barolo Nebbiolo
After reading all the comments on CT, I'm convinced that not all '15 Kirkland Barolos are created equal. They probably bought several lots. Most reviewers gave their bottle 89 points; for me, it's 80. Meaning: good, barely. No way is the bottle we opened last night a "20 yr" wine. It was not "grippy", it had no tannins to speak of. Soft, almost flabby, simple strawberry and watermelon (ugh) fruit that bears no resemblance to Italian nebbiolo. Rather, it tastes like American fruit, cheaply made. Got sweeter by the minute, and we didn't enjoy it enough to finish the bottle after dinner. It's now in the vinegar barrel. Buyer beware.

https://costcowineblog.com/the-definiti ... ure-wines/

Just in case this is helpful.

[Jenise]

I appreciate your thought but no, this wasn't helpful. I'm not really looking for deals; but if I find something acceptable I can recommend to the 200 readers of the Wine Society I run, most of whom shop at Costco, it's helpful. For my own purposes, I've already learned that Costco's wines are generally below grade. However, I was hopeful about the Barolo when I saw a good review of it. But the quality isn't there, not in the batch at our Costco anyway. Though it would suit the tastes of someone with a preference for low tannng fruit bombs, they can do better at the $10-12 so even excluding my own preferences it's not a wine I can recommend.

At the time I bought it I was actually looking for a decent Rioja to use in a Sangria. And found one--a 2012 Tradicion Gran Reserva ($15) that was generally better than anything I've ever had under the Kirkland label.

And the person who authors this site probably has very different tastes and experience from mine--for instance, they speak as if vintage and source are irrelevant. Just look at the first one on their list--as long as the label says Kirkland Paulliac it's all the same. Costco obviously has a variety of sources--they buy and bottle surplus bulk wine and inherent in that is a huge variety of quality issues. For someone whose palate is used to, and has been trained by, the work of small producers with big ideas, the difference can be pretty stark. Or to put it another way, the wines Costco puts under its own label were available for a reason.

Over the holidays I picked up a Barolo from Aldi for $15. The first bottle held its own against some heavy hitters one night over Christmas, and I picked up more, thinking I might have a cheap cellar find. The second bottle opened a few weeks ago was still very good, I was happy, but not quite in the same league. But for the price, it really didn't matter too much.

[Jenise]

Here in Washington there IS a perennial good value in the Kirkland line, a Col Val cabernet where the wine is made by Gilles Nicoult of Long Shadows fame. I hear the '16 is GREAT--don't know if it gets distributed elsewhere, though.