Earlier this month, readers alerted us to this new, and very important, addition to the Kirkland wine portfolio, a Margaux Bordeaux.
We couldn’t be happier to see this bottle from one of Bordeaux’s premier regions, and one of our personal favorites among the left bank appellations.
Already this year, we saw two new Bordeaux wines under the Kirkland brand, the (returning) Pauillac Bordeaux, the Saint Emilion Grand Cru.
We can’t think of a better way to cap this off then to add a Margaux wine and to price it at $20, which is almost unheard of for wines from this area.
We couldn’t wait to get into it, and we were even happier when we did because it hit just like we hoped it would now, with potential to only evolve over time.
But before we get into the tasting notes, there are a few clues as to which property this wine originated from in Margaux, and we’re going to call it as Chateau Brane-Cantenac.
Of course the clues start in the fine print on the back label below, but the real indicator was when we pulled the cork and saw the name Henri Lurton, owner of Chateau Brane-Cantenac in Margaux.
Seems too easy, but we couldn’t find a matching image of the Chateau pictured on the front of the Kirkland label, at least from our searching around. So that could leave a little doubt, perhaps intentionally.
We’re guessing this wine either is, or is similar to, the Margaux de Brane produced by the winery, that retails for around $30-$35. On our next trip to Total Wine we’re going to try to find a bottle and drink it side by side with this Kirkland wine.
So let’s get into it. The back label says decant or cellar. They are right; this one is young and needs a little air to show itself, and the wine could benefit from a few years in the cellar, where we put a couple to write about later.
The wine is a deep ruby in the glass with aromas of dark fruit, subtle spice; young and fruit forward, no barnyard; toasty and full bodied with flavors of red and dark fruit, mostly cherry, blackberry and plum. Nice acidity, with light oak in the finish which is dry and lasting.
This wine is drinking great right now, but we’d recommend laying a few of these down for a few more years to let them get a bit more nuanced.
Still, 92 points from us right now, maybe more later. This is a heck of a buy in the Costco wine aisle, and a new Kirkland wine addition we hope continues for many vintages to come.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 92 points, for now (a Costco Wine Top Pick).
Costco item number: 789115
Availability: We buy our wine in Costco warehouses around the Atlanta area. The best way to locate wines near you is by using the new Costco mobile app and searching with the Costco item number we listed above.
Alc. 14%
