Costco Wine Blind Challenge

During the last gathering with Panos, we decided to organize a live blind session to taste through ten randomly picked wines from Costco. We settled on four bubblies and six reds. Although my wife is not a big wino, she puts up and supports my passion. I told her to pick ten wines that are $30 or cheaper. She shopped so well that the total was only $130. We consulted with Panos and augmented two reds that were between $40 and $70 from Total Wine.

We commenced at 10 as Panos and I agree that we taste better in the morning. We first tasted all four sparkling wines at once and discussed, then we tasted all eight reds. The results were interesting and humble as usual.

Wine List and Price

1. NV Campo Viejo Cava Gran Brut Reserva $9.79 (-$2.00) $7.79 on sale
2. NV Korbel Brut California Champagne $10.89
3. NV Kirkland Signature Champagne Brut $19.99
4. NV Duval-Leroy Champagne Brut Réserve $36.49 (- $7.50) $28.99 on sale
5. 2019 Cellier des Terres Blanches Côtes du Rhône Intuition $14.99 ( - $6) $8.99 on sale
6. 2019 Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva $8.99
7. 2017 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion $54.99
8. 2018 Bodegas Esteban Martin Garnacha Syrah $8.99 ( - $4) $4.99 on sale
9. 2018 Lagunilla Rioja Crianza $14.99 ( - $6) $8.99 on sale
10. 2019 Château La Rose Du Pin Bordeaux $13.99
11. 2019 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 1858 Paso Robles #36.99
12. 2020 Gabrielle Ashley Cabernet Sauvignon $17.99 ( - $5) $12.49 on sale

None of them stood out. The Duval Leroy was a disappointment, just flat and too ripe.

• NV Campo Viejo Cava Gran Brut Reserva 90 Points

  Spain, Cava

  Sweet and refreshing nose, perhaps chenin, a hint of petrol, so Riesling? Yellow peach, banana and Granny Smith. Bubble is abundant but a bit sharp. Definitely not a champagne. Not much complexity but very fresh and delicious. This is a delicious summer quaffer. WOTF.

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• NV Korbel Brut California Champagne 88 Points

  USA, California

  Apple, bubble yum and light caramel, fine medium generous mousse, medium acidity and mineral, a medium long finish. A bit straightforward but correct.
  
  Later, pronounced Granny Smith.

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• NV Kirkland Signature Champagne Brut 89 Points

  France, Champagne

  Much finer nose, baked apple, cinnamon, yeast and limestone. Good balance, warm and ripe, creamy mousse, good acidity and mineral. Good balance and finesse.

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• NV Duval-Leroy Champagne Brut Réserve 87 Points

  France, Champagne

  Caramel, almost advanced nose, a lot of caramel and caramel covered apple, and brioche. Medium concentration, warm and round, perhaps a bit cloying and tired, very fine but scarce mousse, good acidity, medium mineral, and a medium finish. The worst wine of the flight.
  
  Later, the impression is consistent, perhaps the main juice from a very ripe and warm vintage?

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I thought the Intuition was excellent, a classic well made Cotes du Rhone. I initially though it was a well made Bordeaux. With air, it showed tobacco and sweet spices. The Grenacha and Syrah bland tasted very Grenache to me. Panos guesses as Syrah. At $4.99 on sale, it represents an excellent value. The Caymus tasted like Caymus, very modern and sweet. The real surprise was the Gabrielle. I thought it was one of the more expensive bottles and guessed as a well made Bordeaux.

• 2019 Cellier des Terres Blanches Côtes du Rhône Intuition 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

  Delicious nose, generous perfectly ripe black fruit with a hint of red, sweet, smoke, sweet spices. Medium concentration, nicely layered black fruit, silky and generous, no noticeable tannins, a medium to long sweet black fruit driven finish. No Cabernet green so perhaps merlot. Really well made wine.
  
  Later, his is an excellent textbook Cotes du Rhon with lots of tobacco, incense and sweet spices.

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• 2019 Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva 85 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

  The most pale color of the light. A hint of varnish, shy red fruit, leather and earth. Medium concentration, shy red fruit, lean and a bit watery, medium acidity, dry tannins and medium to short finish. AFWEs kinda wine.
  
  Later, the impression is consistent, i.e. a bit lean, shy red fruit with leather.

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• 2017 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  So far, the darkest and most concentrated wine. Strong Cabernet bellpepper, noticeable oak, very Cab like, crème de cassis, black and blue fruit and lead pencil. Very good concentration, packed black fruit, warm but also noticeable green, silky, fine tannins and a medium long finish. A classic Cab expression. This is a bit straightforward, perhaps a domestic Cab.
  
  Later, it reminds me of the 13 left bank Bordeauxs during the en primeur, i.e. noticeable unripe, but shows better concentration.

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• 2018 Bodegas Esteban Martin Garnacha Syrah 89 Points

  Spain, Aragón, Cariñena

  Ripe red fruit, Chambord, cherry pie, strawberry, sweet and spicy spices. Very good concentration, ripe but not overdone, good acidity and mineral, and a medium to long ripe red fruit driven finish. My guess is a grenache. This is a correctly made wine with generous forward red fruit.

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• 2018 Lagunilla Rioja Crianza 83 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  American oak, modern, noticeable VA, crème de cassis and blueberry, mint and earth. Medium to light concentration, warm and round. It feels modern. May be an incorrect bottle.
  
  Later, still a hint of VA.

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• 2019 Château La Rose Du Pin Bordeaux 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux

  Cool primary blue and red fruit, a bit grapy, slightly vegetal, iron and lead pencil. A bit like a barrel sample. Good concentration, silky, good balance, warm and round, fine tannins and a medium long finish. A bit straightforward, perhaps Merlot from a warm but wet region, not from Bordeaux.
  
  Later, cool blue fruit and good balance.

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• 2019 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 1858 Paso Robles 94 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Expressive nose, modern, big, oaky, very ripe, cremes de cassis, blueberry pie, blakcbery jam, licorice, ink, liquid smoke and lead pencil. Excellent concentration, concentrated Californian structure, unctuous, rich and dense, bright acidity, limestone mineral, and a long ripe concentrated black fruit driven finish with licorice at the end. Really big, Californian and modern. If you are an AFWE, AVOID! If you like Caymus Cab, I highly recommend.

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• 2020 Gabrielle Ashley Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley

  Classic cab nose, crème de cassis, blackberry, nicely integrated oak, cabernet flower dust and limestone mineral. Excellent concentration, nicely layered generous black fruit, excellent freshness, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long perfectly ripe black fruit driven finish. Showing excellent balance and generous perfectly ripe fruit.
  
  Later, Still pretty impressed.

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