To be honest I had not given a lot of thought to Kirkland Signature labeled wines from Costco. I' knew they existed and I’ve even seen people at parties walking around with bottles of Kirkland Signature wines, but I never got past “that’s interesting” in my thought process. Too many wines, too little time. Then a bottle showed up on my doorstep, looked me in the eye and essentially dared me to deal with it.
Kirkland Signature Reserva, 100% Tempranillo, Rioja D.O.C.a, ($6.99)
Rioja has long been a region known for value; still $6.99 seemed a but dubious to me. I read a bit about it and found that it had been barrel aged for 30 months in a 50/50 split of French and American oak, 30% of the barrels new. It then spent 6 months aging in bottle prior to release. Three months of total aging time is the requirement in Rioja to label a wine a Reserva.
It’s got red raspberry, leather and a bit of cherry on the nose. Those red fruits carry through the palate along with plenty of spice. Earth and fairly firm tannins show up on the finish. This is a really terrific value for $6.99. It should definitely be a contender as a case purchase it you’re looking for a house wine.
Costco branded wine, who knew?
Watch me taste it below.