It’s raining Bordeaux! Another nice selection from a big name area. We review the Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Saint Julien Lot 126.
It’s a good time to be a lover of French wine and Bordeaux in particular. We’ve seen a number of budget examples of big name regions recently.
From Costco we had their own Kirkland Signature Saint-Julien as well as the Kirkland Signature Pauillac, Kirkland Signature St-Emilion and Kirkland Signature Margaux.
From Trader Joe’s we had the La Devise De Lilian Saint-Estephe, the Trader Joe’s Reserve Puisseguin Saint-Emilion and the Trader Joe’s Reserve Medoc Grand Vin de Bordeaux as well as the Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Saint Emilion Grand Cru among others. And we’ve got more on the way!
Today’s example comes from Saint Julien which is a Left Bank appellation in-between Pauillac and Margaux in the larger Medoc region of Bordeaux. This is an extremely prestigious area, with many bottles selling for hundreds of dollars. As such, anything under $35 is a very low price for the area.
When we reviewed the Kirkland Signature Saint Julien, which retails for the same price of $17.99, we found it a bit odd that the blend was primarily Merlot with only 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, which is the opposite of most blends coming from this area that focus on Cabernet Sauvignon.
Unfortunately Trader Joe’s doesn’t give us the blend on this one, but we’ll compare and contrast it to the Costco version in our tasting notes below.
From the bottle:
Would You Like To Save This?
Subscribe and we'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
We won't send you spam, unsubscribe at any time.
Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Saint Julien
Appellation Saint-Julien Controlee
2023
Lot #126Vinted and Bottled by Mis En Bouteille Par MJ A F33760 Pour DHF 33330
Imported by Latitude Wines
14% Alcohol
The 2023 Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Saint Julien Lot 126 opens with lots of cedar and other woodsy aromas on the nose. There’s dark fruit, a little vanilla and spice too. It’s a nice start.
Taking a sip reveals a smooth, tasty and bit tannic wine in its youth. It features similar flavors to nose with good acidity. It’s good, it’s just young and will surely be better in a couple years. It’s also not nearly as earthy and much more of a crowd-pleaser type of wine than the Kirkland Signature bottle.
It ends dry with decent length and some lingering tobacco notes and was even a bit better on day 2.
2023 Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Saint Julien Lot 126
RECOMMENDED BUY
As always you can find an updated list of our recommended wines from Trader Joe’s as well as more info on their pricing model and some tips and tricks for shopping the store in our giant guide.
You can also find more of our favorite wines from France here!
Review Summary
Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve Saint Julien Lot 126 Review • Reverse Wine Snob
It's raining Bordeaux! Another nice selection from a big name area. We review the Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve Saint Julien Lot 126.
7.5
Pros
- Great price for this exclusive area of Bordeaux
- 89-90 points
Cons
- You're paying a premium for the region
