Fast Facts:
- 2018 Kirkland Signature Gigondas, France ($14.99 @Costco in California – Item #11341020)
This blend (Grenache 85%, Syrah 10% and Mourvedre 5%) is crafted from the fruit of old vines grown in the Grand Cru appellation of Gigondas, on some of its highest limestone vineyards in the Southern Rhone Valley. A GSM, it’s a complex wine that is full-bodied and rich with silky, fine tannins. The terroir helps to keep the balance and freshness in the wine, as does the relatively young vintage and the restrained use of oak.
Tasting Notes:
The wine has a lovely nose of garrigue (thyme, rosemary, sage) and flavors of cherries, cassis and blood orange, with a long, lingering finish of clove and black pepper.
Gigondas is a relatively new Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in the southern Rhône wine region of France. It is primarily a red wine region, with a very small amount of rosé wine produced. No white wines currently carry the Gigondas appellation. Considered a little brother to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the wine is moderately prestigious (it is rare to see bottles at this price!) and can age well when treated with care.
Recognition of the unique character of Gigondas was cemented in 1971 when it was awarded its own AOC, allowed to produce red and rosé wines only. The red wine has to have a minimum of 50% Grenache, with Syrah and Mourvèdre playing the main supporting roles.
Total surface area of Gigondas today sits around 3,000 acres which is roughly one-third the size of neighbor Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Output is almost exclusively red wine with only 1% rosé produced, although some newer vineyards are being planted to white grape varieties so expect that to change in the next several years.
This is one of those Kirkland Signature wines that is sure to sell out fast. If you secure your own personal stock, let us know what you think of it in the comments section here or our Facebook or Instagram pages.
Need More Wine Picks from Costco – or Trader Joe’s Even?
If your wine shopping excursions land you in Costco, prepare by grazing our most recent reviews of Costco wines here in our Lucky 13 list.
And if your shopping finds you at Trader Joe’s, you can find our Lucky 13 list of TJ’s wine here.
Stay safe and healthy everyone!
Cheers!
In my opinion the Southern Rhone wines Costco brings in under its Kirkland brand are the most reliably good-to-excellent of all of their private label wines. This 2018 Gigondas may be the best Rhone period that I’ve tasted from them (and this is an area I know well, having lived a stone’s throw from Gigondas for several months and as a regular consumer of wines from all over the Northern and Southern Rhone for decades). Of course THE outstanding value in their lineup is the Kirkland Cotes du Rhone Villages at $6.99 (I don’t even want to say how many cases I bought this year) but at $15 this Gigondas is worthy of comparison with top producers like St. Cosme whose wines start at close to triple the price.
I recommend drinking a bottle now (decanting for sure) to experience its youthful power and then setting some aside for 4-6 years. Etienne Gonet is the producer here and our local Costco has had his red, white and rosé Cotes du Rhone on and off the past few years. They’re cheap and worthy of case purchases.