Our annual Costco wine power rankings includes more Napa Valley cabernet sauvignons but fewer Old World vinos this year. That’s not by choice, but based on the bottles we found on the shelves at Seattle-area Costcos this holiday season.
Owen Bargreen, a certified Level 2 sommelier, and I made the rankings reader-friendly, grading each bottle “highly recommended,” “recommended” or “not recommended.”
As always, there were some surprise winners and clunkers this season. Read on for our review of 20 releases.
NV Kirkland Signature Asolo Prosecco
11% alcohol, $7.69
Owen: Peach and baked apple flavors mingle with copious minerals on the palate. Would work well in an Aperol Spritz. Drink 2024-2027.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Tan: One of Costco’s most popular wines, this sparkling goes down easy with Jolly Rancher green apple and peach flavors, a great patio sipper on a shorts-and-Birkenstocks day.
Verdict: Highly recommended
NV Kirkland Signature Prosecco Rosé
11% alcohol, $7.99
Owen: This is the fourth year I’ve seen this prosecco rosé in the Seattle market. It’s red fruit-driven on the palate and also has tinges of baked French bread and pear. Drink 2024-2026.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Tan: This is the better prosecco of the two Costco options, more complex with ripe berries and lemony tartness, followed by an earthy clay finish. Owen, it’s hard to find a prosecco rosé this good for under $15.
Verdict: Highly recommended
2023 Kirkland Signature Moscato D’Asti
5% alcohol, $7.99
Owen: This is the second year I’ve seen this in the Seattle-area market. Its sweetened kiwi and nectarine flavors combine with shades of guava and bright star fruit on the palate — nice body and finesse. Drink 2024-2026.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Tan: It’s a bottle that both wine connoisseurs and the White Claw fan club could share. I’m getting a surge of lychee syrup and orange blossom with some minerality. You can sip a bottle and not get sloshed.
Verdict: Highly recommended
NV Kirkland Signature Brut Champagne
12% alcohol, $19.99
Owen: Costco’s signature Champagne is sourced from a cru site located in Verzenay. A combination of pinot meunier, pinot noir and chardonnay, this possesses green apple and mixed nuts on the nose, alongside ginger and ripe peach. Bright, with a soft mousse and good salinity. Drink 2024-2028.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Tan: This consistently ranks in our top tier annually in terms of quality and price. Only Costco could pull this off for under $20. Some wild pairings to try: Owen suggests with Mexican food. I go with pho.
Verdict: Highly recommended
2023 Kirkland Signature Friuli Grave Pinot Grigio
12.5% alcohol, $4.99
Owen: This pinot grigio comes off a bit simplistic and drab on the palate, with light white flowers alongside wet stone and pear flavors. While I think this is somewhat bereft of flavors, it’s hard to find a wine from this region this dirt cheap and decent. Drink 2024-2027.
Verdict: Recommended
Tan: (The most contentious debate in our tasting.) Owen, I get that this $4.99 bottle is cheaper than a tall latte, but I won’t let you price shame me. It’s an inferior representation of this region.
Verdict: Not recommended
2024 Kirkland Signature Marlborough Ti Point Sauvignon Blanc
12.5% alcohol, $7.49
Owen: Coming from the Ti Point Vineyard in Marlborough, this shows good freshness, with gooseberry and cantaloupe notes alongside wet stony accents. This is drinking nicely in its mineral-laden youth. Drink 2024-2027.
Verdict: Recommended
Tan: This lacks the depth and the pleasant Sprite and flinty notes I usually taste in a Costco sauvignon blanc from this winemaker. It’s quite tart compared to past vintages, but pleasant with the kiwi and the melon notes. As Owen reminded me: Whine all you want, but you can’t find another New Zealand sauvignon blanc that’s drinkable for under eight bucks. This is me begrudgingly typing “recommended.”
Verdict: Recommended
2022 Kirkland Signature Premier Cru Chablis
12.5% alcohol, $18.99
Owen: This Premier Cru Chablis spent 12 months in stainless steel tanks prior to bottling. Lemon rind and toasted hazelnut notes fill the nose alongside shades of kumquat zest and brioche. The palate is soft and elegant, showing a smooth texture. Drink 2024-2030.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Tan: I would have thought this was a $40 bottle, Owen. This Costco hall-of-famer is the best white wine on our scorecard again this year. It goes well with sushi.
Verdict: Highly recommended
2023 Kirkland Signature California Chardonnay (1.5 liters)
13% alcohol, $8.99
Owen: Its label reads “vibrant tropical flavors,” but it’s unbearable in terms of sweetness and devoid of anything other than butterscotch and toasty oak. Drink 2024-2025.
Verdict: Not recommended
Tan: My “when-life-gives-you-lemons” spiel: If you’re stuck with this liter, make sangria.
Verdict: Not recommended
2023 Kirkland Signature Sonoma County Chardonnay
13.5% alcohol, $7.99
Owen: Smooth and soft, this chardonnay shows good drinkability in its buttered brioche, Pink Lady apple and sweet cream tones. Drink 2024-2026.
Verdict: Recommended
Tan: This is a perennial favorite of Costco consumers who ask every year why this is NOT our top-rated white. Well, for starters, it tastes hotter than the listed 13.5% alcohol. Mercifully, it’s not too buttery nor too oaky. Other Cali chards under $10 are just awful. You can’t score a decent Sonoma County chard for eight bucks anywhere else.
Verdict: Recommended
2020 Kirkland Signature Barolo
14% alcohol, $19.99
Owen: Tart cranberry, anise and dusty soils mark the palate alongside soft tannins. Quite juicy, this Barolo is delicious with tart red fruits and soil tones. This might be a slight touch less enticing than the 2019 edition but still exudes quality. Drink 2024-2030.
Verdict: Recommended
Tan: I get licorice and much rose petal and earthy stems. This Barolo would taste even better paired with roast duck.
Verdict: Highly recommended
2023 Kirkland Signature Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
14.5% alcohol, $11.99
Owen: Costco has a new winemaker for its Russian River Valley pinot noir, Alison Crowe, a University of California, Davis, School of Viticulture and Enology graduate. Juicy red fruits line the palate alongside salty minerals and a light cola note. Drink 2024-2027.
Verdict: Recommended
Tan: Past Costco pinot noir vintages tasted like flat Coke to me. But I’m warming up to this, Owen. Bursts of berries and dark cherries coat my palate along with some tobacco. The Russian River region produces some of America’s best pinots. This isn’t a complex pinot but to score any decent Russian River bottle at this price is a win.
Verdict: Recommended
2023 Kirkland Signature Côtes du Rhône Villages
15.5% alcohol, $7.49
Owen: This is another good wine made by Patrick Lesec. A combination of mourvèdre, syrah and grenache, this delivers heady red and dark fruits with black olive, tar and tobacco leaf. Drink 2024-2027.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Tan: Owen and I are chowing on a pepperoni-confit garlic pie from Dantini Pizza during this two-hour tasting, and we agreed this slice pairs best with this southern Rhône gem.
Verdict: Highly recommended
2022 Kirkland Signature Gigondas
14.5% alcohol, $13.99
Owen: An outstanding Gigondas made by winemaker Guillaume Gonnet. It combines 85% grenache with smaller parts mourvèdre and syrah and comes off soft and fresh, with a beautiful red floral note on the nose alongside red fruits, kumquat zest and flinty notes. Drink 2024-2031.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Tan: Usually stellar, affordable Old World bottles don’t linger long on Costco shelves, but this French vin did because Gigondas isn’t a household name. Don’t walk past the aisle without snatching a bottle or three.
Verdict: Highly recommended
2021 Kirkland Signature Saint-Julien Bordeaux
12.5 % alcohol, $17.79
Owen: This shows cassis and anise notes alongside a smooth texture and Earl Grey tea notes. A bit more fruity and leaner than the 2020 edition. I think you can do better. Drink 2024-2030.
Verdict: Not recommended
Tan: This debuted at Costco two years ago. The Bordeaux comes from the Saint-Julien region, home of famed wines like Château Léoville Barton, Château Léoville-Las Cases and Château Beychevelle. Cabernet sauvignon is the signature grape of this region, but this wine is merlot-dominant. Lots of chocolate, plum and dark fruit, with cracked peppercorns. I agree it’s not as good as last year’s, Owen, but still solid.
Verdict: Recommended
2022 Kirkland Signature Series Columbia Valley Red Wine
14.9% alcohol, $16.99
Owen: This 2022 edition has a new winemaker, Gilles Nicault of Long Shadows fame. A blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot with a pinch of syrah, this shows off a smooth texture of chocolate, black currants, tar and tobacco leaf. Well done. Drink 2024-2030.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Tan: Costco carried just a few Washington state reds under its Kirkland banner this season. This is one of the few home team wines I found at branches around King County. The highest-rated red in our tasting. Buy stock now.
Verdict: Highly recommended
2022 Kirkland Signature Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon
15% alcohol, $22.99
Owen: From a high-elevation site in Napa Valley, this offers black plum and cassis with shades of anise and wet stone accents on the palate. Slightly sweet, this shows the heat of the vintage but bears decent acidity to back it up. Drink 2024-2030.
Verdict: Recommended
Tan: This is the most expensive wine in our Costco lineup, but I would buy a case of this. You can’t find a better Napa cab in this price range.
Verdict: Highly recommended
2022 Kirkland Signature Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
14.5% alcohol, $18.99
Owen: Made by winemaker Glenn Hugo, this delivers a soft mouthfeel with nondescript sweetened black fruit flavors and hints of milk chocolate. This lacks regional typicity and shows too much heat from the vintage. Drink 2024-2028.
Verdict: Not recommended
Tan: It doesn’t go down easy, too boozy.
Verdict: Not recommended
2021 Kirkland Signature Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Suscol Vineyard)
14.5% alcohol, $17.99
Owen: A bit out of balance, this tastes of dried herbs and sweetened black fruits. Drink 2024-2027.
Verdict: Not recommended
Tan: The worst of the three Napa cabs.
Verdict: Not recommended
2022 Kirkland Signature Malbec
14% alcohol, $6.99
Owen: From Broquel winery and winemaker Sergio Casé, this delicious Mendoza wine possesses a core of chocolate, black fruits and herbal accents. Drink 2024-2029.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Tan: To readers who bemoan that our top-rated wines are hard to find, you can find stacks of this cheap Malbec at every Costco branch.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Kirkland Signature 10-Year-Old Tawny Porto
20% alcohol, $16.99
Owen: Orange peel and rum raisin flavors combine with baking spices and shades of loganberry compote on the palate. Drink 2024-2029.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Tan: It’s chef’s kiss of a pairing with a Black Forest cake.
Verdict: Highly recommended