First pour was pretty underwhelming - very nice tobacco aroma right out of the bottle, but hard stop at cherry and oak. After a two hour decant this livened up, with rose, baking spice, ripe fruit, and a solid oak backbone. I could see maybe a 90 with 5+ years. Good QPR, but do you really want this taking up cellar space?
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Had about a year ago and it was plain and lacking but last night had hints of green pepper and herbs and had some Napa cab characteristics peeking out. I will hold my last bottle for 6-12 months and see if it develops even more. Hindsight should have bought more for $18 and I feel this is showing better than the Kirkland Oakville and Rutherford cab series.
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While some Kirkland wines punch above their weight and represent excellent QPR, this wine is not one of them. The nose seems promising enough, with dark fruit braced by some prominent secondary aromas of black olives, fresh steak, sweet wood smoke, and soy, all of which hints there might be some complexity and depth to the wine. Unfortunately, however, this does not correspond to the palate and finish. While initially there are pleasant plush notes on the tongue with a racy edge that becomes even more angular on the finish, the flavors overall just don't hold up to the nose. The wine simply lacks the complexity one expects in a Napa Cabernet. Not a bad wine, per se, just a very mediocre one. It's extracted fruit and simplicity won't allow it to hold its own as quaffer, but is decent enough with a steak, especially a less expensive cut that doesn't warrant opening a better bottle. All-in-all, there are much better $18 Cab options out there.
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Good value for money cab that is single origin from Napa. It is full bodied with good acidty to balance loads of fruit the wine carries. It has notes of plum, blackberry and a hint of coffee. It finishes with decent tannins but lack the complexity which you experience with cabs at a higher price point.
It is good for large parties, and goes well to drink by itself or pair with pizza, pasta, meaty dishes especially in fall/winter times.
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Deep, dark, reddish-purple garnet in color; almost opaque. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe dark fruit aromas of cherries, blueberries & plums with overtones of earthy & dusty & floral notes, spices, minerals, cocoa & vanilla/oak in the background. Medium bodied with a good concentration of balanced & smooth textured, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries & cassis with spices, herbs, minerals & a good dose of oak/vanilla. Lingering finish. Quite accessible at present & appears to be made for the near term. IMHO, similar in profile to Caymus/Quilt but not as overripe or over oaked & thus, has a better overall balance. Excellent QPR for a Napa Valley single vineyard Cabernet.
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An OK wine for $18. Dark purple color. Yeasty aroma. Blackberry on the tongue. Then LOTS of tannin. Suggestion of tar under the rear palate. I might buy another bottle, let it rest for a while and try it with a more worthy meal.
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This score is based on drinking now. It is young and will hopefully develop with time. This has the potential to be a super value buy if you are willing to wait.
No matter, it still is good now and really was better with food. A Napa wine with this price point and promise is rare.
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Nose shows plums, cassis, purple red freshness. Palate has soft acidity and gentle tannins combining for a medium light structure. Again purple plums with a hint of cassis and a kiss of fresh tobacco. Finish is pretty short but shows some sweet purple plums.
Nice wine for the price but it isn’t earth shattering. there is clearly a lot of pressed juice here. The palate is sometimes hollow and other times slightly more filled out. It just feels like something is missing. Solid value at $18 or so, probably unbeatable in terms of single vineyard Napa Cab. Solid 88.
Drink now and within the next 3 years.
Edit to add: I’ve had this over 3 days now, and there *may* have been a subtle bitter dryness that was present on day 2. On day 3 it was gone and the wine was beautiful. Even if there is smoke taint, it is very minimal and still a solid value at $18.
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Deep purple in color; plum, bell pepper, and cinnamon on the nose; high acidty; bold tannins; tastes likes raisins, black pepper, and stewed prunes with a long finish.
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Decent wine and a candidate for a daily drinker considering the price. Zorkieo's comments are spot on in my opinion. Went back to Costco and bought more.
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On the nose full of cassis with a bit of baking spice. On the pallet some plum comes through and dark chocolate. Medium finish and decent acidity. No smoke taint for a 2020. drinking well right now. Not an outstanding wine but good value for the cost. I bought 3 bottles so we will see how it develops.
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I was at Costco yesterday D found this Kirkland Napa Valley Cab Sav Suscol Vineyard 2020 for $17.99. This wine is delicious. Pours ruby, purple nearly opaque, full body. Dark berry fruit velvet finish Cellar defender ? Maybe. I’m going to buy more. Also bought the Stag’s Leap Petit Sirah 2019 for $32.99 which is a cellar defender for me.
I was hoping for something like the Kirkland Rutherford cabernet, but it didn't deliver. A bit green on the initial taste. Still good value, but it didn't grab me like the Rutherford offering.
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Dark red. Prominent noise of ripe plums. The plum carries over to the palate but the primary taste is bitter cranberry, grapefruit rind, tobacco and red fruit. Tannin is present but the bitter notes are separate and distinct. This is an unusual wine.
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If you like a more modern style nab then this is for you. Drinks well above its price point. Very concentrated and dense but not over ripe. Ready to drink now. Probably doesn’t have the bones to age for long and I doubt it will improve.
EDIT: I tried this on day 2 and 3 and it improved significantly which makes me rethink my statement about its ability to age. I purchased a few more to cellar and see for my self.
Neighbor dropped off a bottle. $18 at local Costco. Just poured a glass. Shy nose hints at big plummy fruit and some spice. Reasonable mid-palate fruit across the dark berry spectrum shows up in the finish. Texture--tongue coating, and it doesn't really go away, it's paint-like--has me wondering if there's such a thing as an additive that makes wine feel thicker, glycerine-y. I know, sounds crazy, but I'm looking for that clean feeling after I swallow and it's not there. Otherwise very pleasant and a solid deal for modern style cab lovers and under $20. Oh, and no fire smoke--first thing I think of when I look at some of these recent vintages.
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2/28/2024 - seeyouintee Likes this wine: 88 Points
First pour was pretty underwhelming - very nice tobacco aroma right out of the bottle, but hard stop at cherry and oak. After a two hour decant this livened up, with rose, baking spice, ripe fruit, and a solid oak backbone. I could see maybe a 90 with 5+ years. Good QPR, but do you really want this taking up cellar space?
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2/8/2024 - peeks13 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Had about a year ago and it was plain and lacking but last night had hints of green pepper and herbs and had some Napa cab characteristics peeking out. I will hold my last bottle for 6-12 months and see if it develops even more. Hindsight should have bought more for $18 and I feel this is showing better than the Kirkland Oakville and Rutherford cab series.
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1/14/2024 - manny651 wrote: 87 Points
nice nose, decent palate, it is totally a cab and not super fruit forward, interesting single vineyard from kirkland
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1/13/2024 - cmmatthews Likes this wine: 88 Points
A much better Cab than it deserves to be...dark cherry, a pronounced leathery note, some oak/vanilla on the backend. I'd buy more of it.
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11/16/2023 - jwhiggins wrote: 82 Points
While some Kirkland wines punch above their weight and represent excellent QPR, this wine is not one of them. The nose seems promising enough, with dark fruit braced by some prominent secondary aromas of black olives, fresh steak, sweet wood smoke, and soy, all of which hints there might be some complexity and depth to the wine. Unfortunately, however, this does not correspond to the palate and finish. While initially there are pleasant plush notes on the tongue with a racy edge that becomes even more angular on the finish, the flavors overall just don't hold up to the nose. The wine simply lacks the complexity one expects in a Napa Cabernet. Not a bad wine, per se, just a very mediocre one. It's extracted fruit and simplicity won't allow it to hold its own as quaffer, but is decent enough with a steak, especially a less expensive cut that doesn't warrant opening a better bottle. All-in-all, there are much better $18 Cab options out there.
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11/5/2023 - Incurable_Botrytis wrote: 85 Points
The nose is 91 - lovely rich boysenberry pie and floral notes.
The palate is 84 - pretty straight down the middle napa cab, better with a few hours of air.
For some reason this math leads to an 85
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10/4/2023 - Pvaddadi wrote: 88 Points
Good value for money cab that is single origin from Napa. It is full bodied with good acidty to balance loads of fruit the wine carries. It has notes of plum, blackberry and a hint of coffee. It finishes with decent tannins but lack the complexity which you experience with cabs at a higher price point.
It is good for large parties, and goes well to drink by itself or pair with pizza, pasta, meaty dishes especially in fall/winter times.
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8/25/2023 - nimrod17 Likes this wine: 89 Points
가격대비 대만족
쉽게쉽게 마실수있는 미국까쇼
베리향이 두드러지며 세지않은 탄닌, 연유향도 적음
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7/6/2023 - Vinnut wrote: 88 Points
Deep, dark, reddish-purple garnet in color; almost opaque. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe dark fruit aromas of cherries, blueberries & plums with overtones of earthy & dusty & floral notes, spices, minerals, cocoa & vanilla/oak in the background. Medium bodied with a good concentration of balanced & smooth textured, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries & cassis with spices, herbs, minerals & a good dose of oak/vanilla. Lingering finish. Quite accessible at present & appears to be made for the near term. IMHO, similar in profile to Caymus/Quilt but not as overripe or over oaked & thus, has a better overall balance. Excellent QPR for a Napa Valley single vineyard Cabernet.
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7/4/2023 - BobMilton Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank this and forgot to enter a TN. Remember enjoying it a lot.
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6/17/2023 - EMark wrote:
An OK wine for $18. Dark purple color. Yeasty aroma. Blackberry on the tongue. Then LOTS of tannin. Suggestion of tar under the rear palate. I might buy another bottle, let it rest for a while and try it with a more worthy meal.
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6/11/2023 - Stampeder Likes this wine: 88 Points
This score is based on drinking now. It is young and will hopefully develop with time. This has the potential to be a super value buy if you are willing to wait.
No matter, it still is good now and really was better with food. A Napa wine with this price point and promise is rare.
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6/11/2023 - DNABog wrote: 87 Points
Too high alcohol for us
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5/22/2023 - Rbhan12 wrote: 88 Points
Splash decanted and followed for two hours.
Nose shows plums, cassis, purple red freshness. Palate has soft acidity and gentle tannins combining for a medium light structure. Again purple plums with a hint of cassis and a kiss of fresh tobacco. Finish is pretty short but shows some sweet purple plums.
Nice wine for the price but it isn’t earth shattering. there is clearly a lot of pressed juice here. The palate is sometimes hollow and other times slightly more filled out. It just feels like something is missing. Solid value at $18 or so, probably unbeatable in terms of single vineyard Napa Cab. Solid 88.
Drink now and within the next 3 years.
Edit to add: I’ve had this over 3 days now, and there *may* have been a subtle bitter dryness that was present on day 2. On day 3 it was gone and the wine was beautiful. Even if there is smoke taint, it is very minimal and still a solid value at $18.
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5/21/2023 - WineNerd76 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep purple in color; plum, bell pepper, and cinnamon on the nose; high acidty; bold tannins; tastes likes raisins, black pepper, and stewed prunes with a long finish.
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5/12/2023 - Deryck Likes this wine: 89 Points
Decent wine and a candidate for a daily drinker considering the price. Zorkieo's comments are spot on in my opinion. Went back to Costco and bought more.
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5/12/2023 - Raizzon Likes this wine: 89 Points
On the nose full of cassis with a bit of baking spice. On the pallet some plum comes through and dark chocolate. Medium finish and decent acidity. No smoke taint for a 2020. drinking well right now. Not an outstanding wine but good value for the cost. I bought 3 bottles so we will see how it develops.
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5/12/2023 - baranna1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
I was at Costco yesterday D found this Kirkland Napa Valley Cab Sav Suscol Vineyard 2020 for $17.99. This wine is delicious. Pours ruby, purple nearly opaque, full body. Dark berry fruit velvet finish Cellar defender ? Maybe. I’m going to buy more. Also bought the Stag’s Leap Petit Sirah 2019 for $32.99 which is a cellar defender for me.
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5/11/2023 - IndyTom Likes this wine: 88 Points
I was hoping for something like the Kirkland Rutherford cabernet, but it didn't deliver. A bit green on the initial taste. Still good value, but it didn't grab me like the Rutherford offering.
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5/4/2023 - samoss wrote: 88 Points
Dark red.
Prominent noise of ripe plums.
The plum carries over to the palate but the primary taste is bitter cranberry, grapefruit rind, tobacco and red fruit.
Tannin is present but the bitter notes are separate and distinct.
This is an unusual wine.
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4/24/2023 - zorkieo wrote: flawed
If you like a more modern style nab then this is for you. Drinks well above its price point. Very concentrated and dense but not over ripe. Ready to drink now. Probably doesn’t have the bones to age for long and I doubt it will improve.
EDIT: I tried this on day 2 and 3 and it improved significantly which makes me rethink my statement about its ability to age. I purchased a few more to cellar and see for my self.
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4/13/2023 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Neighbor dropped off a bottle. $18 at local Costco. Just poured a glass. Shy nose hints at big plummy fruit and some spice. Reasonable mid-palate fruit across the dark berry spectrum shows up in the finish. Texture--tongue coating, and it doesn't really go away, it's paint-like--has me wondering if there's such a thing as an additive that makes wine feel thicker, glycerine-y. I know, sounds crazy, but I'm looking for that clean feeling after I swallow and it's not there. Otherwise very pleasant and a solid deal for modern style cab lovers and under $20. Oh, and no fire smoke--first thing I think of when I look at some of these recent vintages.
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