Costco's take on an iconic wine rarely found under $20, the Kirkland Signature Barolo DOCG.
Nebbiolo from Serralunga d'Alba, Piedmont, Italy. While we don't know the exact aging on this wine, the Barolo region requires 38 months of aging before release with at least 18 months in oak.
This Kirkland Signature wine is available exclusively at Costco for $19.99. It is imported by Ethica Wines.
Much like the Kirkland Signature Brunello, Champagne and Chateauneuf du Pape, Costco loves to drop these wines from big name regions at prices way below what you would expect to pay. So today we check out their version of one of the most iconic Italian wines out there, Barolo.
While we like to try and track down the true producers of these wines, we couldn't determine anything definitive on this one. Unfortunately Barolo doesn't have an online authenticator for the neck tag like Brunello does so that didn't help.
There is an additional tag that says "Simone Tablino" but an online search reveals that while he appears to have worked for Barolo producer Fontanfredda, it's not clear if he still does.
From the bottle:
Rich garnet red in color with notes of vanilla and rose petal on the nose, this full-bodied wine delivers notes of black currant and licorice on the palate. Great for long-term aging.
14% Alcohol
The 2016 Kirkland Signature Barolo begins with a pleasing aroma of leather, black cherry and cedar plus a little licorice and spice.
The wines tastes smooth and has good structure and acidity. Rather light to medium bodied, it features nice fruit with well integrated touches of spice. Firm and even slightly dusty tannins lead into the dry, chewy, tannic and long finish.
While I wouldn't cellar this one for a super long time it is still pretty young at this point so it really benefits from decanting.
Overall this is pretty tasty and definitely a step up from the Trader Joe's Corte Rossa Barolo we recently reviewed. Similar to that wine; however, at the end of the day this strikes me as a much better example of a Langhe Nebbiolo than it is really good example of Barolo.
Still, it definitely is an official Barolo and will give you at least a sense for what all the fuss about when it comes to Barolo and why they can be so expensive. It's not often you get to do that for just $20.
You can also find more of our favorite Italian wines here.
