Fast facts:
- 2016 Kirkland Signature Barolo, Italy ($19.99 @ Costco, California – Item #1355183)
Maybe it’s the change in the weather, but I have detected a strong leaning into Italian wines over the past month or so. There was this recent Valpolicella that we featured from Trader Joe’s and, of course, the Kirkland Signature Toscana. All mid-weight red wines for the “shoulder season” that is autumn. Soon we’ll be talking about Thanksgiving selections, but I am getting ahead of myself…
Let’s focus on the wine at hand. There have been reports and reviews of this wine in Costco bins from as far back as March and April of this year. I can’t say why it took another 6 months to land on the shores of SoCal, but let’s blame the supply chain. After all, everyone else is.
When this Barolo did finally make its way to my local Costcos, it had a price tag that puts in on the high end of Kirkland Signature bottlings. But Barolos don’t come cheap, or do they?
Back to Costco…
James Suckling awarded this KS Barolo 92 points, and although I usually find myself deducting two points from his scores, I think he is spot on this time. So although you are going to have to part with $20 to try this little beauty, you get a really high QPR in the bargain. You will be glad to have tossed a bottle or two in that massive Costco cart and subjected yourself to the strangely humiliating review of your store receipt before you are allowed to pass through the massive roll up doors to your waiting get away car. Maybe grab a pizza slice while you’re at it, then pull the cork on this Barolo when you get home?
Tasting Notes:
This wine is a lovely see-through garnet color in the glass. Expansive aromas of plums, cedar, anise and juicy cherry. (I thought I detected a faint whiff of white truffle, but it might just be wishful thinking and nostaglia for the truffle festival we attended in nearby Alba several years ago.) Abundant flavors of black cherry in the mouth along with notes of licorice; toast and vanilla into the finish. The wine is medium plus to full in body, and finishes dusty, dry with lingering spice notes. The wine is smooth and has good tannic structure and acidity. We enjoyed this with a wild mushroom risotto from the Judith Barrett cookbook shown below.
Barolo is the most powerful and dramatic expression of the Nebbiolo grape. It takes its name from the village of Barolo in the Alba region of Piedmont in north west Italy. The core of Barolo has always been the townships of Barolo, La Morra, Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d’Alba, which is where this Costco bottling hails from. And where this photo hails from:
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.
Happy hunting.
Cheers!
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