How ironic is this? Just a few days ago I posted a Cellar Series review of the 2012 Monsanto Chianti, a bottle I’d been cellaring for couple of years to see how it would taste later. It was delicious and confirmed my feelings that the Monsanto Chianti is just a solid buy year to year, and one that can even get a little better with some age. At the end of the review I noted that the 2012 was the last vintage of Monsanto that I’d seen in Costco, and it’d been two years. Until the other day, when much to my surprise, did I not only find Monsanto Chianti at my Costco, but I found two vintages along… [Read More...]
Cellar Series: 2012 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva
Ironically, the 2012 vintage of one of our favorite Chiantis is the last vintage that we’ve seen at Costco stores near us. And that’s a really bummer because year after year this wine is a screaming buy for $20. We last looked at this wine in January of 2017, at which time I mentioned I’d be cellaring one to see how it developed over the course of another couple of years. And now that moment has come, and the wine is every bit of delicious as it was two years ago; with a little bit more silky mouthfeel and elegance, as two years in the bottle can help provide. Flavor profile was very similar; cherry, strawberry; the body was more medium than the medium to full I noted before; … [Read More...]
2011 Tenute Girolamo Conte Giangirolamo IGP Puglia
This is a super interesting Costco wine find that was absolutely delicious. This is one of those wines you don’t go in looking for, you come up not sure what you have, and in the end, you’re pleasantly surprised you rolled the dice. First off, it’s a 2011 vintage and it’s drinking really nice right now. It’s soft and elegant in the mouth, just in a perfect place. Next, it’s a blend you don’t see everyday – 50% Primitivo and 50% Negroamaro. Primitivo is derived from the same Croatian grape (Crljenak) as Zinfandel. Negroamaro is a black grape … [Read More...]
Kirkland Signature Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG
We reviewed this wine a while back, but since each new release of a Kirkland Signature label can essentially be a totally different wine, I feel that it’s relevant to review it again. Also, December 31st is fast-approaching and there is no better way to toast to the New Year than with a glass of bubbles. Now, on special occasions I usually like to open a bottle of Champagne. But what about when that bottle has been poured out amongst multiple people in under an hour? Sparkling wine goes down a little too fast in a crowd, and opening multiple bottles of a $20-$… [Read More...]
2013 Castello di Bibbione Chianti Classico Riserva
I love Chianti this time of the year, maybe because there’s just so much great food around all the time to pair it with. It’s definitely one of those wines that is exponentially better with the right food pairing. I usually tell people that if they’re going to buy a bottle of Chianti, they should look for a Chianti Classico. While the “Classico” region is generally accepted as producing the highest quality wines of Chianti, I tend to recommend these simply because they are easier to find than those from the other five areas within Chianti. A wine that is simply labeled “Chianti” can be… [Read More...]
2013 Kirkland Signature Series Brunello di Montalcino
The Kirkland Brunello is always an interesting wine ever since we saw the first vintage of it, the 2010, arrive in Costco stores. That 2010 vintage was incredible and I thought we were setting the course for an amazing new addition to the Kirkland family…until the following year when the 2011 came out. It was a vastly inferior wine and when I tasted the two vintages side by side, it didn’t even seem like the same wine. Last year’s 2012 vintage was kind of in the middle, and that’s where I’m finding this brand new 2013 vintage; maybe just a hair more enjoyable than last year, but when you enter that $20-$30 range, particularly at Costco, you can find some… [Read More...]
2015 Poggio al Casone La Cattura Toscana IGT
First and foremost, I’d like to issue an apology to our readers for not writing this review sooner. I tasted this wine a couple of weeks back and simply forgot the whole experience. Luckily, I always take notes when I open a bottle that I plan to review, so I have more to share with you today than what I can pull from my memory, which is simply: “Pass.” Because wine reviews are subjective, meaning that what you like, I may not necessarily like, and what I deduce from a wine you might totally disagree with, and so-forth, please do not read this review and… [Read More...]
2015 Tenuta Valleselle Rovertondo Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore
First off, a big shout out to one of our readers, Richard S, who wrote in to alert us to this wine, dropping at Costco for only $13.79, from a retail price that I see around $20 online. After receiving his email I was heading for a little wine shopping and was pleasantly surprised to find the bottle at my Costco, and bring you this review. Right away, you’ll notice the weight of the bottle on this one. I actually weighed it, and the bottle and wine inside weighed in a little over four pounds. Normally a full bottle of wine weighs less three pounds, so there’s a little extra heft to this … [Read More...]
2016 Viberti Barbera D’Alba
I love a good Barbera. This thin-skinned grape produces wines that, at best, are floral, elegant, and lingering. A less-desirable example, usually one-dimensional and fruity, is still highly enjoyable to drink. The best Barbera wines come from one of two areas in Piedmont. Wines from the Asti region tend to be the lighter, less tannic, and more delicate in flavor offering. Barbera D’Alba wines are usually bold, more full-bodied, and exhibit more structure than the former. It is safe to compare Barbera to Pinot Noir. Both grapes are high in acidity, lend cherry fruit flavors, and have thinner skins than most. Wines made from either of these grapes tend to age well, especially if… [Read More...]
2016 Ruffino Il Ducale Toscana
I know many of you are looking for good, low priced value buys, so that’s why I chose to sample this “Il Ducale” Super Tuscan from Ruffino that was only $12.99 at my Costco. I too like to find good versatile mid week drinkers to enjoy with dinner that don’t break the bank, and this wine falls into that category. It’s simple, and basic, with enough life to keep it interesting, and perfect for that mid-week meal that you want to pair a wine with. Online this bottle is going for closer to $20, so the Costco price is hard to beat… [Read More...]
2014 Villa Cerna Primocolle Chianti Classico
In my opinion, Chianti Classico is one of the top places to go in the wine world now for consistent high quality wines at great prices. This wine was $14.99 at my Costco, and it drinks like it cost twice as much. A quick FYI – Chianti Classico is not just a classic version of a Chianti. It’s actually it’s own 100 square mile sub region and is known for vineyards that produce some of the best wine in the area. So if you’re buying Italian wine and you see Chianti Classico on the label, you know it came from this smaller region that many in the wine world, myself included, find to deliver… [Read More...]
2014 Kirkland Signature Toscana
This is the first we’ve seen of the Kirkland Toscana, a Super Tuscan blend that comes in at only $13.99. Readers have been buzzing about this wine, and we’re happy to see it arrive in Costco stores near us in the Atlanta area. Quick background on Super Tuscans; Italy has strict rules for the types of grapes that can be grown where and how varietals are presented and labeled. So Tuscan wines were required to be predominantly Sangiovese. And while most are still dominant in that varietal, a band of rebellious winemakers several decades ago began experimenting with blends that included non-indigenous grapes, such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The resulting wines, including the legendary and still amazing Sassicaia that … [Read More...]
2014 Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva
The Kirkland Chianti Classico is always a popular bottle among readers so it’s nice to see the next vintage hit Costco stores. The price has stayed the same as years past at only $8.49, which is rock bottom for a bottle from this area. Erin reviewed the prior 2013 vintage, and offers some good information about the Riserva designation and Chianti Classico region in her review for those that are interested. So that still applies here, as does the continued collaboration with the Villa Cafaggio Estate as noted on the back of the label. The tasting notes between the two vintages are pretty similar. Both vintages in Italy were pretty good, according to the Wine Spectator vintage chart. In fact, scroll down on the … [Read More...]
Riondo Prosecco Spago Nero
I received a few notes from readers recently inquiring about the availability of the $7 Kirkland Prosecco which apparently disappeared from a few Costco stores (I’m not sure if that’s still the case because I saw new pallets arrive last week at the Costcos near me). But readers were asking if there were any other low cost, but tasty alternatives in the bubbly realm. So I picked up this Prosecco on my last visit, which has served me well in the past, to see if it would fit the bill. Price was $9.99, a few dollars more than its Kirkland counterpart, but there aren’t a lot… [Read More...]
2015 Il Bruciato Bolgheri DOC
We’ve all heard of Super Tuscan giants Sassicaia & Ornellaia. Costco even sells Sassicaia for the everyday low price of $197 per bottle. These wines became famous in the 70s when wine critics started to recognize that the quality rivaled that of high-end Bordeaux. At the time, Bolgheri, merely just another area for Italian wine production, was producing mostly IGT and VdT wines based on typical Bordeaux varieties, which tend to grow well there. In 1994, the Bolgheri DOC was created to finally give these quality wines the status designation they deserved. Today, even the least inexpensive Bolgheri DOC wines are going to cost you around $20 per … [Read More...]
2013 Bosco Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
The Bosco Montepulciano is a Costco staple that seems to be readily available at many warehouses for the better part of the year. It’s obviously attractive for only $8.99, a price that has remained consistent year to year, and the wine too has left us feeling about the same. Our notes for this wine mirror the last vintage we reviewed almost exactly, and our sentiment about the wine does too. This is a good mid week meal wine, to be enjoyed with almost any cuisine and any company. We made pork tacos which worked pretty good, but almost anything will do. So its versatility is a definite plus (and noted on the label). Right out of the bottle this wine was pretty tight… [Read More...]