Master of Wine: Best Wine Values at COSTCO

In this video, Bob Paulinski, Master of Wine discusses the new wine releases from Costco under the Kirkland Signature label. He tastes through and provides buying advice on six wines, plus one additional wine that is not under the Kirkland Signature label.

The wines are all under $20 per bottle, some under $10. As is typical with Costco, both prices and availability may vary by market. The wines in this video were purchased in Northern California.

2023 Kirkland Signature Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand $7.49
Pale color, green tinge, fresh, bright, zesty, lively acidity, medium intensity, crisp and clean. I’ve had many better Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but the value is here is very good. Crowd pleaser. Good availability.

2022 Kirkland Signature Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina $6.99
One of the my favorite Kirkland wines for value from last year. The new release is also a great value. Medium deep color, purple hue, good ripe fruit character, well made, nicely balanced. A wine to buy by the case. Good availability.

2021 Kirkland Signature Bordeaux Superieur, France $6.99
This is a so-so vintage for red Bordeaux. Medium depth of color, muted, light aroma, well made, but a simple, one dimensional wine. There are better options for a value red wine in this video. Seasonal, limited availability.

2019 Kirkland Signature Rioja Reserva, Spain $7.99
30 months in oak, six months in bottle prior to release. Medium deep red, showing some slight oxidation, pretty aromatics, smokey oak, good weight, solid complexity. Mature and ready to drink now. This is a solid bargain, especially for those that prefer subtle, nuanced wines. Limited availability.

2020 Kirkland Signature St Julien, Bordeaux, France $17.99
76% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, not a typically for the Left Bank of Bordeaux. Good depth of color, round, decent weight, black fruit, cedar, very refined, soft styled red. A good wine from start to finish, there are better Bordeaux on the market from less prestigious appellations for the same money. Limited availability.

2021 Kirkland Signature Gigondas, Rhone, France $13.99
Grab it while you can! A textbook southern Rhone red, made from mostly Grenache with some Syrah and Mourvedre. Medium deep red, wonderful aroma, red and black fruit, savory, superbly balanced, a complete wine from start to finish. Limited availability.

2021 Headline Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma, CA $12.99 on promotion through April 28, 2024.
Classic Dry Creek Zin, medium deep color, red raspberry amount with spicy, savory note, full, robust, big styled red.

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Today is wine shopping day at Costco I went out to my local Club in search of the latest releases under the Kirkland Signature label these are the wines that are sold exclusively through Costco I found six wines that caught my attention all of which are under $20 per bottle

Three of them are under 10 hi I’m Bob palinsky master of wine thank you so much for clicking on today’s video of the six wines that I picked up a few of these I’ve reviewed previously I’ll now provide you some updates on the most current vintage releases with the others

I’ll be tasting them for the very first time in addition while I was out shopping I found something that was a fantastic deal picked it up brought it home tried it loved it went back to the club to pick up another I’ll include that in this tasting as well with Costco

Some of the wines will be available year round others are seasonal so my advice is if there’s something here that catches your attention don’t delay I would pick it up as quick as you can the first L up is the 2023 Kirkland Signature maror Salon Blanc from New

Zealand for 7.49 several months ago I tasted the 2022 vintage of this wine in a previous video thought the quality for the money was absolutely outstanding this is the 23 this has just been released 23 from Marlboro is a very plentiful vintage there should be good

Quantities of this one over the over the course of the Year also with Marlboro Marlboro is Far and Away the primary source for exports from New Zealand most of the wine coming out of that area will be svon Block in terms of appearance this wine looks exactly as it should it’s pale in

Color it has that very youthful appearance and there’s a slight greenish tinge which is really quite common with saan Blanc the aroma is all primary fruit very lifted bright there’s good to it uh it has a citrus passion fruit characteristic and there’s a little bit of a peppery characteristic to it as

Well which is actually uh quite appealing on the pallet all that fresh bright character does follow through there’s good acidity and with marobo Salon Blanc that is one of the Telltale markers of of wines from that area they’re bright and very lifted on the pallet and that’s exactly what you get

With this wine now often times white wines are served too cold and that’ll tap down some of the aroma and some of the appealing character of the wine in this case I would serve this wine quite cold it’s so fresh and bright and clean and zesty I think the cold temp will

Actually benefit this wine comparing this to the 22 vintage which I had some months back this is actually quite similar I think this one maybe just a bit lighter in body and a little bit softer than the previous but this is a very good example of marbor saan Blanc

And for the money it’s an absolute steal next up is the 2022 Kirkland Signature melbeck from mendosa Argentina for $6.99 last year I thought this was one of the best values under the Kirkland Signature label for under $10 so I’m curious to see how this one shows last

Year I reviewed the 21 vintage this is the 2022 and the color is really very encouraging there’s good density uh looks like a good amount of extraction in this wine very little fade as you get out to the rim of the glass and very typical of youthful Argentine melbeck

It’ll show a purple color and that’s exactly what this wine has really beautiful aromatics it’s very lifted there’s a red fruit character Plum uh dark cherry characteristic and a bit of of smoky Oak as well looking at the back label it shows that this wine has been

Aged 12 months of careful Aging in French Oak barrels well I’m glad it’s careful and not Reckless aging uh but I would imagine this is not new Oak there’s no chance of that for for this type of money but it does have a little bit of that smokey characteristic which

Brings a little more interest and complexity to it on the pallet it’s uh quite weighty it’s smooth round Rich uh very ripe often times with inexpensive Reds you’ll find that uh the one lines can have a decent amount of alcohol meaning that the fruit did attain a good

Level of of ripeness in terms of sugar but sometimes they’re lacking in phenolic ripeness and the wines will have a bit of a hollow character or they can come across a little bit green this wine does not have that it really is is seamlessly smooth there’s good weight to

It I think this is a little bit of a softer rounder Style versus the previous vintage but a a very good wine this is something that if you picked up a case of this and you drank it over the course of the next year or so it’s not going to

Disappoint you it’s really a wonderful wine for very cheap if you’ve not yet subscribed to my Channel please do it right now it very much does help also hit the like button and definitely hit the notification Bell that way you’ll be kept up to speed on all things happening

Here next up is the 2021 Kirkland Signature Bordeaux Superior for $6.99 this is BTO at its most basic level actually just a slight tick above that uh this one is 60% Cabernet 7on 40% Mero often times Bordeaux Superior will oftentimes be flipped usually it’s a bit more Mero uh this is interesting that

It’s primarily Cabernet it’s the 2021 vintage uh I’ve tried the 2020 which I thought was really quite solid the 21 is the end of three very good vintages in Bordeaux 18 19 and 20 were generally very good for the red wines from from that part of the world 21 tends to be a

Little lighter a little less concentration to it a few weeks back I went to a trade tasting in San Francisco where I had a good chance to taste a broad range of the top chat and even at the very high end some of the wines just

Were not showing as as well as previous vintages so I’m curious to see what this one shows uh the color density is not bad there’s some fade as you get out to the edge of the glass but generally speaking the color on this looks looks

To be quite good the aroma on it is very muted really not getting a whole lot of Aroma at all there’s a little bit of a ciss black fruit Blackberry characteristic to it but uh not a whole lot in terms of aromatics on the pallette it’s it’s really simple straightforward wellmade

Uh not a lot of depth to it there’s no no obvious flaws in this wine it’s rather soft but it’s simple it’s very one-dimensional uh not a bad bottle of wine and if you’re in the Bordeaux and you want to try something at the entry level this wine is worth picking up but

I think there’s better options for about the same money next is the 2019 Kirkland Signature Roha Reserva from Spain for $799 so I must admit I was excited when I spotted this wine this has potential written all over it uh recently I was in Spain I spent several days in Roha I’ve

Tasted many of these wines just very very recently so I’m curious to see how this Stacks up this one has a nice touch on the cork it has the Branded Roha callout uh this wine has spent 30 months in Oak and six months in Bottle prior to

Release that is a significant amount of time in Oak for this minimal cost the appearance of the wine is is really what I would expect it does have a that oxidative character so there’s some fade there’s not a tremendous density in terms of color very typical for a wine

Like this love the way this smells uh this has a dark cherry characteristic to it there’s a little bit of a a smokey Savory Spice note as well very pretty aromatics it’s not what I would call very overt it’s not that in yourface style but more of a subtle Nuance

Character to it but smells wonderful on the palette nice weight very very soft uh good length on it has that presence right through to the back pallet definitely do get some of that wood character so if you’re a fan of of wines that have more that smoke Oak characteristic to it that’s definitely

What you’ll find here uh it actually the aroma reminds me a little bit of coconut as well kind of an interesting little twist but the wine is soft it has good length to it and to find a one that actually has some bottle age to it for this type of money

Is just a screaming value I really love this one and if you’re a fan of traditional style of Roha this is something you should definitely take a look at next is the 2020 Kirkland Signature St Julian from the Left Bank of Bordeaux for $1799 this is the single most expensive

Wine in today’s tasting and St Julian is really a Prestige area in the Left Bank of Bordeaux there’s number of great classified bordeau that come from from that region uh the back label on this threw me for a little bit of a loop uh it shows that the blend on this wine is

76% Mero 24% caps off that’s actually quite unusual for this part of Bordeaux usually it’s flipped uh so I’m curious to see how that shows it’s from the 2020 vintage which was an outstanding vintage in that part of the world so it does have that going for it I don’t know

Where this wine has been sourced uh so I really can’t give you much of a story on that the color on this is quite encouraging it’s deep it’s dense there’s a good depth at the core it really looks quite appealing interesting Aroma uh there’s that Cassis black fruit

Character some smoked spice notes as well a little bit of a vanilla character istic but it’s not overt it’s more of a restrained refined Style again not all that uncommon for this part of the world and I imagine with a little bit of variation this wine probably will show

Much more in terms of Aroma on the pallet Wine’s really quite nice uh extremely smooth I mean there’s not enough O’s in smooth to describe this wine it’s soft it’s round there’s good weight nice length to it moderate complexity I think this is really a very well-made wine from start to finish now

Looking at the money on this uh my feeling is you can find estate bottled petite chat that are every bit as good as this or better uh but again solid wi I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this but if you’re in the bordeau uh I would suggest maybe dig in some of

Those other uh smaller chatea that can bring some fantastic value I think they’re more interesting than what what I have here next up is the 2021 Kirkland Signature jiggas from the southern rone in France $13.99 this next one is one I am super excited about I have tried to find this

At Costco for the last few years had no luck finally cashed in uh I’m a huge fan of jig andos I’ve been a fan of these wines for better part of 40 years and over that time the notoriety just continues to get ratcheted up and as do

The prices so for the longest time jundas represented one of the greatest values in the southern rone uh those prices have nudged up but this one in the mid teens caught my interest I thought if this one can deliver it’s going to be just a tremendous value and

Uh kind of a cool cork as well so jondos is down in the southern part of the ran Valley uh it’s an area where you’ll find areas like vakas and chth niop pop very well known uh this is made from what is commonly called The Holy Trinity from

Southern rone it’s primarily granach uh in this case it’s 85% granach there is 10% sarra and 5% more Vedra very common in that part of the world some of the my absolute favorite wines I drink Southern rone Wines often so I’m really curious to see what this brings the color of

This is medium deep uh generally these are wines that are not opaque uh ganache generally will not have a huge amount of color extract to it this being predominantly granache this color is really very much in line with what I would expect the aroma on this is really

Quite compelling there’s a red raspberry lifted fruit Savory Spice there’s almost a bit of a a like a star Anis kind of character or like an Asian five spice really interesting aromatics I I love the way this wine smells and it’s just been open so I

Imagine with a little bit of time it’ll probably develop uh in the glass as well there’s some serious wow factor on this wine I mean this is quite compelling uh there’s some nice weight there it’s not heavy everything is balanced but there’s certainly good presence on the pallet that fruit

Character is bright there’s good Purity nice intensity there’s enough acidity to give the wine some lift uh beautiful structure on this wine from start to finish this is really wellmade uh look if you if you’re looking at jig andas prices they have spiked in recent years and you can

Commonly find domain bottlings that’ll run you $30 plus uh this at about half of that really can give those a good run for the money this is just a fantastic value so my suggestion to you is if you have picked up some running shoes from Costco

I would put them on I would head out to the club as quick as you can I think this wine is going to disappear very quickly this is an absolute Beauty and last up is the 2021 headline Dry Creek Valley zinfindel from Sonoma it’s on promotion at $12.99 through the end of

April ail 2024 this last wine is the one that I talked about at the very beginning of this video it’s not part of the Kirkland Signature lineup but it caught my attention because the value is phenomenal now I’m a big fan of zenel it’s one of those grape varieties that I

Think you either really love or or you don’t uh I think it’s a much malign grape variety as well there is an ocean of really bad Zinfandel and I think that’s had an impact on the overall image for for this wine but the the quality versions of it are outstanding

And they’re really very indicative of of California so I’m a big fan of them uh the versions that I like the most are from Sonoma County and that’s what we have here with this one from Dry Creek and oftentimes you’ll find these wines are very very expressive they’re big

Bright they’ve got intense uh fruit characteristics to them and this is one for me that absolutely shined when I tried this just a few days ago and with Zen often times the color of Zen is just moderately deep and it’s a bit of a wacky grape variety uh when you look at

The vines at Harvest time sometimes you can find uh fruit that’ll be still quite green you can find fruit that’ll be perfectly ripe and sometimes you’ll find uh fruit that’s actually starting to shrivel and rap rais a little bit all within the same Vine so it’s not the

Easiest grape variety to grow uh but in somoma I think oftentimes they do some wonderful things with it so just moderately Deep In Color the aromatics on it it is just red raspberry Galore and that’s a characteristic that’s very typical of some of the Sonoma zinfindel so I love the way this

Wine smells it has that really bright intense fruit character on the pallet there is a lot of volume here it’s weighty round full uh very very smooth nice length on the back pette I mean everything about this wine is put together very very well now on the back

Label it says it’s from a place called Precision wine company now over the last several months I’ve been doing some work with uh tasting panel magazine I’ve been uh tasting some wines and reviewing them for the magazine I’ve had several wines come across uh my table from this this

Particular wine company I think the wines are very very solid and when I saw this in Costco I thought this is definitely worth a try the value is fantastic and if you’re a fan of Zen uh this is definitely something worth worth a shot the wine is very well made from

Start to finish and the value on it right now now is just great I hope this video provided some helpful guidance for your shopping experience at Costco hey I’m going to be drinking a little jiggas later tonight absolutely love this wine I hope you’re drinking something interesting as well and please stop back

Again before too long cheers