2010 Kirkland Signature Pinot Grigio Friuli, Italy

A seven dollar house label Pinot Grigio - how good can this be?

Apple and pear on the nose.

Excellent balance, solid acid, vanilla, pear, and a bit of peach.

More vanilla and pear on the finish.

Good Pinot Grigio is hard to find and pricey. Cheap ones tend to be flabby and dull - this one isn't great, but it's not flawed like one would expect from one of the level. Well done, Costco.

Score: 86

2007 Kirkland Napa Valley Meritage

This is a blend of mostly Merlot, a good chunk of Cab Sauv, and just a splash of Cab Franc.

A bit of heat on the nose, black fruit - cassis and plum mostly, though - and this may sound strange -a raw chicken sorta thing.

Smooth and balanced, though not exactly complex - plum, blueberry, black cherry, vanilla. This is a solid middle of the road red, the kind of wine you can pop open and eat with anything from pizza to a steak and be set.

Blueberry lingers and way way on the back end some cherry.

Eleven bucks? Beyond sold - snag it.

Score: 87

2007 Kirkland Signature Series Stag's Leap Cabernet Sauvignon

This was $17 at Costco. It was between this and a cheaper Kirkland offering, but I figured I'd be fancy with my Prime Steak. Seriously - Costco carries prime steaks for $11 a pound or so. That $40+ steak at Morton's or where ever can now be had at home for under $10. Outstanding. Just don't cook it beyond medium rare or you're a rube. I should've taken a picture of that steak...maybe the next one. Where was I? Oh yeah, $17 Cab, Costco's private label, Stag's Leap District, let's give it a whirl.

Plum, casssis, eucalyptus, and an odd sort of petrol thing on the nose.

Smoothalicious. More cassiss and plum, some blackberry, black cherry, a touch of vanilla, a bit of a Twizzler sort of quality, not much in terms of oak and mild enough tannins that I'd drink this sooner rather than later.

More of that black cherry on the finish.

For $17 this is pretty solid - it's not a crazy value that will have me buying it by the case, but it's definitely a recommendation and one I could easily see buying again.

Score: 87+

N/V Kirkland Sonoma Sparkling Wine

Oh Costco....every so often I debate cancelling my membership but I'll be damned if it ain't worth it. This bottle goes for $11 and is part of the Costco house brand Kirkland.

Very nice nose, pink lady apples for the most part. The wine seems to have a pinkish hue so my guess is this has a reasonable amount of Pinot Noir.

More of a red apple quality on the palate, fruity, perhaps a touch sweet, or it may be just a tad short of acid. Perhaps a bit of raspberry, and some of that funky white cherry Slurpee thing, but it's mostly apple here with a bit of pie crust. Quite nice.

A bit of spice, almost a hint of cinnamon comes through on the finish, more pie crust, with almost a cherry aspect.

For $11, I'm going to give this one a hearty recommendation.

Score: 88

2007 Bogle Petite Sirah

This review is us giving the people what they want. The senseless slaughter of the gutter slime that litters this nation for cash and prizes? No sir. A review of the Bogle Petite Sirah – a quick look at the hits shows our review of the 2006 is one of our most searched reviews, so here's the 2007. Nine bucks at Costco.

A very nice nose – blackberry, chocolate, plums – big, yet well integrated.

Supoib – blueberry, anise, chocolate, cherry, along with with the definition of sweet oak. Tannins are very light, if present at all. This is a light bodied, potently acidic wine – food friendly to an extreme. A reviewer on cellartracker threw out 'marion berry” which I thought was a hilarious set up for a 'bitch set me up' joke at the expense of wine snobs. Alas, it's a type of blackberry. Maybe bitch did set me up after all? Bless you, Marion.

A bit of cherry, a bit of earth, and a bit of funk all come through on the finish.

Nine bucks? I'm sold. This is perfect for the holidays, it's red so you get some good body, but it's light enough that even the white drinkers should be able to throw a glass down. I'm not as thrilled as I was last year because I think there's a bit less depth, but at the price, this is a wine even a bitch that may or may not set one up would enjoy.

Wine: 7
Value: Yep

2007 Bistro Pinot Noir

This is an eight dollar bottle of wine at Costco - we dug the 2006, so why not snag an 07?

Black pepper and cherry on the nose.

A big cola quality here which is thrilling to my palate. Cherry notes as well - a relatively "big" Pinot Noir, but fairly light on tannin and a reasonable amount of acid.

A white pepper quality as well as some dried Italian spices, cherry, plum, and clove.

Never had Pinot Noir? Want to try one that actually tastes like PN but don't want to spend a ton? Here you go. Somewhat heavier in body than you'd expect from France, but still superior to anything I've had coming out of the US for even twice the price. It's not the most complex bottle, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better Pinot Noir for under fifteen bones.

Wine: 7.5
Value: Yes

2005 L'X de Larrivaux Haut Medoc

This goes for around ten bucks at Costco and I believe has some sort shelf talker about 90+ points but the details of that I am sketchy on. I gave it about 90 minutes to open (it wasn't tight, but it was sorta dumb).

Sort of a pencil lead quality on the nose of this one along with a dash of eucalyptus and even a minty/cherry thing - sorta like a cherry flavored toothpaste.

Black fruit - plum, super dark red cherry - with a whole bunch of that earthy/spicy thing you expect. Very light oak, the lightest touch of vanilla, and a nice bit of tannin, all with a bit of eucalyptus and more of that pencil lead that I don't see often (to be fair, I don't drink all that much Bordeaux, at least decent Bordeaux). It's like sucking on a pencil in a way, a good way mind you.

Some nice tannic tea like qualities come through as well as some dark cherry.

You know, for a Bordeaux that's less than ten bucks, I gotta go right on ahead and say this is damn fine. I'm not sure how much more time in the bottle I'd give it - I couldn't imagine more than another year or so, but it's definitely worth a look.

Wine: 7
Value: Hell yeah

2006 Reserve Perrin Cotes du Rhone

This was eight bucks at Costco – a Cotes du Rhone with a screwcap? Hmmm. Why not?

Plum on the nose.

Tobacco, cedar, cherry – a bit short on acid – but overall not bad at all. As it opens, more strawberry comes through as well as some plum.

More strawberries on the nose and that's really about it.

Simple, but not at all bad and a nice value.

Wine: 7
Value: Yes

2007 Colombelle Vin de Des Cotes de Gascogne

This was six bucks at Costco.

A fairly strong nose – orange, vanilla, and lemon with loads of floral notes.

Peach, pineapple, grapefruit, and a bit of spice with some lime zest.

Maybe some floral notes on the finish, but it's pretty mild.

This tastes like it could be a blend of Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc but is apparently a blend of two less popular grapes – Colombard and Ugni Blanc. All this being said, while this is a fairly well structured wine, especially at the price, the combination of flavors here simply doesn't work for me. I'll rate this fairly highly because for six bones, the complexity is good -

Wine: 6
Value: Yes

N/V Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut

I tend to sit on some notes from time to time - I've noticed a ton of hits lately for people searching for sparkling wines, so I figured I'd toss up all of our saved notes.

This was $19 at Costco – I knew this was a reliable producer and I recall enjoying it before so why not?

This has a fairly big nose – loads of apples and a tad of limeade.

Very nice tart green apple with a bit of pear, there's some nice toasty notes and a bit of blue and raspberry. The bubbles are tiny and lasted with strength as we finished the bottle over several hours.

Green apple lingers on the finish, a nice amount of acid leaves the mouth watering.

This is outstanding – especially at the price. If you're looking to drop around $20, this is one of the best things to snag. Personally – if you're not crazy about sparkling wines or your palate is just developing.

Wine: 8
Value: Yes

N/V Kirkland Signature Brut Champagne

Whenever we go out and order Champagne, we're always asked “oh what's the occasion?” I even get asked this when buying it at the shop from time to time. Normally, there is nothing going on, we just enjoy sparkling wine, but today we're celebrating. It's been thirteen long years that I've been waiting, but at long last Chinese Democracy has come. I searched around for a wine from China but the only thing that I could seem to find was rice based, and I am not a fan of rice wine.

Toast, berries, and lemon peel.

Lemon pledge with some nice blueberry notes and some yeastiness. Other than that, this is pretty simple.

More berries on the finish – I'm thinking more strawberry – and more lemon qualities.

You know, I have to say that this is a bit disappointing. At $26 I have some expectations of complexity and while there's some depth it's certainly not interesting enough for me to get excited. Spend $10 more and get the Kirkland Brut Rose, or spend $10 less and get some Gloria Ferrer.

Wine: 6
QPR: 6

N/V Kirkland Brut Rose Champagne

Election night calls for Champagne – really, any night calls for Champagne, but I'd call this a special enough occasion for a $35 bottle. This is a Costco brand legitimate Champagne which Wine Spectator apparently rated at 90 points by Wine Spectator.

The nose has red apple, yeast, a bit of wax, like unscented candle wax, as well.

Ah geez – I went in cautiously optimistic but this is outstanding. Tart and bone dry, loads of toast, quite a bit of yeast, bread crust, strawberry, stone fruit - nectarine, red apple, watermelon even.

A fuzzy peachy sort of finish with loads of apple and some spicy notes....strawberry – maybe strawberry seeds – that is to say a bit of strawberry but also a somewhat earthy berrylike flavor, and a bit of unripe honeydew melon..

I'm going to go out on a limb and call this wine, which costs $35, a 10 at QPR – very few, if any, Brut Rose Champagnes are available at this pricepoint and this is solid.

Wine: 9
QPR: 10

2006 Feudo Arancio Nero d'Avola

This was seven bucks at the mighty Costco – we haven't had too many Sicilian wines but this varietal is pretty reliable at the lower pricepoints.

There's really not much on the nose.

On first sip, I was going to annihilate this one but it improves as it opens. Chocolaty and earthy, with cherry and fairly potent clove spice. Some cheap Italian wine is light bodied and highly acidic, this is the other kind – dark, heavy, and chocolaty – now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but to me the simplicity and flaws in this darker style jump out more.

On the second day the nose opened big time – chocolate, cherry,

The palate here has taken a turn for the worse – the flavors haven't changed but some bitterness is coming through that's rather unpleasant.

The finish tastes like garbage – not necessarily a bad thing, but not all that great here.

We had the other half of the bottle two days later....

No nose other than some very faint oak notes. Still a bit flabby but the balance improves nicely – chocolate, cherry, bell pepper, cigar box, and some faint spice notes, and the acid comes through fine. The finish suggests bell pepper and chocolate but it fades fast.

The ratings here assume you let this wine open or pour a glass and finish the bottle a day or two later – even with that qualification, it's still a five.

Wine: 5
QPR: 5

2005 Cameron Hughes Lot 35 Yountville District

This one was about ten bones at Costco and I believe they have some sort of exclusive arrangement for this particular lot.

Extremely weak nose....nothing really jumps out at all.

A mild palate as well at first but it opens well enough after a couple hours – some cherry comes through at first and tannins are present right away, mid palate brings some eucalyptus, and more cherry come through on the back palate.

Some dried spices come through on the finish.

It starts off boring but with a bit of airtime this wine becomes somewhat interesting. For $10 I'd say grab a bottle and see what you think. It's strikingly mild which I suppose is preferable to the fruit bomb trend, but I'm not quite sold.

2005 Kirkland Napa Valley Meritage

A Costco find for something like $12 – I don't know if I've ever seen a Meritage for under $15, so let's take a look.

The nose on this one is tight – maybe some vague earthy qualities and berries, but I can't pinpoint much – after being open for a couple hours, I'm definitely getting some carob.

A nicely balanced wine to be sure – spice, fruit, and oak are all in good harmony here. A little bit of green pepper, some clove notes, bing cherry, and nice smooth smokey oak. Somewhat tannic at first but it really faded into a smooth, easy drinking wine after a few hours.

The finish presents some plum along with some linger sweet oak.

No issues at all with the $12 pricetag.

2005 Georges Duboeuf Morgon

This was in the $10 range at Costco and I figured it would be a good thing to grab for a light sort of evening.

I'm going to call maraschino cherry on the nose.

Very smooth and fairly simple – cherry for the most part, a bit of spice – nutmeg? - no oak, mild acid, and very slight tannins. There's a slight mustiness in the glass – if I had to guess I'd say there's some cork taint here but it's very mild.

Just the slightest bit of spice and cherry on the finish.

I'm definitely grabbing another bottle of this to see if the mustiness is a bottle flaw or just the way the wine is – even if it's right, this is a perfectly reasonable quality Beaujolais at the price - if you don't care for the region, forget this one, but if you're open to it, this is worth a shot.

2005 Louis Jadot Beaune Premier Cru Appelation Controlée

This was $23 at Costco – I figured it would be interesting to try a new Burgundy, Fran offered to pay and they didn't have any more expensive bottles so this was settled on.

A strange funk on the nose along with a bit of raspberry.

Smooth, velvety tannins - fantastic. Chocolate, dirt, and some tart cherry on the palate with some eucalyptus coming through..

The earthy and some berry notes linger for quite some time.

Quite good, but it's lacking some depth to say this has a strong QPR.

2004 Vitiano Falesco

Another Costco find for about $7.

Cherry and oak on the nose.

Raspberry, cherry, a bit of cinammon, spice, and a bit of oak...sadly, not much of that miscellaneous Italian funk I love though I do get some odd green notes. A nice sharp bit of acid and mild to medium tannins make this a food friendly wine – we had it with some baked pasta and it paired nicely.

The finish has some nice cherry and oak that lingers for some time.

Overall, not bad for the price...it's a wine I'd probably only serve with food to cover some of that green. I'll give it a hesitant recommendation.

2006 Kirland Central Otago Pinot Noir

Since we've had some decent luck with the Kirkland label before, I figured I'd grab a bottle of this at $17.

Not much else but earth on the nose.

Even after two full hours of airtime this one was still tight. A fair amount of dirt, funk, forest floor, some green notes, and raspberry.

The finish lasts for a while starting with cherry, then dirt comes through, and finally it trails off with lingering raspberry.

Maybe it needs some more time in the cellar, but this one is a bit too tight at this point. While there's some nice complexity and a bit of varietal characteristic,I think it would be worth picking up a bottle and sitting on it for a while to see what happens.

2003 Kirkland Super Tuscan

This is what’s known as Super-Tuscan. Basically, a Chianti on steroids: 60% Sangiovesse (the typical Chianti varietal) 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Merlot.

This was $20 at Costco and is that store’s private label.

The nose has lots of dark fruit and chocolate with a bit of tobacco and wood. After letting it open for a few hours, I get a very strong hit of cherry cordial.

The instant this hits the palate, you know you’re in for something big...this is chewy wine. Lots of earth, tar, oak, vanilla, tobacco, chocolate, with dark ripe fruit and very firm tannins (I’ll go as far as too firm). I typically think of Italian wine as being “funky” and this one is no different.

Sadly, we’re not frequent Super Tuscan drinkers so I can’t say I have a whole lot to compare this to. I’d probably try a few more of this type of wine at lower price points and revisit it in a few months to see how it holds up.