Absolute beauty once again from this wine, and we are glad to see the newest release hit Costco shelves.
But one big downside, a big price hike at Costco. We were stunned to see the $79.99 price on the Costco placard. The last time we bought it at Costco the price was $54.99 and not long before that this wine was $48.99.
At those prices, it was a steal. Maybe this is a case of word getting out and demand going up. Costco’s $79.99 price is exactly the same as Total Wine so there’s no real upside to buying it at Costco anymore, which is a bummer.
Especially since we collect these bottles and have every vintage of this wine (it’s only produced in select vintages) in our cellar since 2001 (2001, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011).
Regardless of the price, we scooped a few up to put away again because they age so gracefully. Readers continue to ask for age worthy bottles at Costco, and this is one we’d put towards the top of the list.
This is the first time tasting the 2015 vintage. Just a few months ago we pulled out a 2011 to see where it stood, and like we expected, still a baby, drinking great with plenty of room to run.
The wine is a medium ruby in color, vibrant nose of red of dark fruit, tobacco; subtle and elegant in the mouth, showing some early maturity that will likely only continue; robust fruit flavor of plum, black cherry; notes of leather and anise into the perfect finish.
The critics gave this 2015 vintage huge scores once again: 97 points from Suckling, 95 from Wine Advocate, and 92 from Wine Spectator. It is so good now, and we can’t wait to revisit over the next 5-10 years.
We’re going to bump our score up a slot this year from a previous 94, giving this wine a solid 95 points, with a thumbs up for one of our favorite wines, in perhaps our favorite vintage.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 95 points (a Costco Wine Top Pick)
Costco item number: 11321
Availability: We buy our wine in Costco warehouses around the Atlanta area. The best way to locate wines near you is by using the Costco mobile app and searching with the Costco item number we listed above.
Alc. 14.5%
