Fast facts: 2020 Domaine des Quatre Vents, Fleurie, France ($14.99 @Trader Joe’s, California)   A wine from Fleurie?  This is is a first. Perhaps it’s because old world wines are not espeically well known or stocked here on the Left Coast and the wines from this area tend to be the priciest from Beaujolais. But Trader Joe’s has softend the blow here. Fleurie (which translates to “flowery”) is one of the 10 Beaujolais Crus, and perhaps its name is why we tend to think we smell floral notes from the wine in the glass: Tasting Notes: Pours a nice, deep ruby. The nose evokes the harve ..read more

Fast facts: 2021 Kirkland Signature Premier Cru Chablis, Burgundy, France $18.99 (@Costco, California, Item# 1043144)   Happy new year vino peeps! This perennial favorite has arrived in California a bit earlier than last year, when we reviewed it in March. The price has inched up from the odd (for Costco) price of $17.49 for the 2020 vintage. The good news is that it is as good a buy as ever. QPR for “legit Chablis” doesn’t get any better than this. Fact: it is very, very rare to find Chablis this good – or any Chablis for that matter – for under $20.  But be forewarned, this one’s ..read more

NV Ernest Rapeneau Champagne Brut Rosé, Epernay, France ($24.99@Trader Joe’s, California)   We are in the home stretch of 2023 people, and this bottle would be good to have in your fridge if you are preparing for some New Years’ eve merriment. If you are a long time reader of these posts, you know that we like to keep them light and fun, and to also provide some wine education in the process. Sometimes all at the same time. Seems like a good way to end the year. Our final Wine of the Week (WoW!) is this “real” Champagne.  We say real because it comes from that part of France that c ..read more

Fast Facts: 2021 Kirkland Signature Gigondas, France ($13.99 @Costco in California – Item #1134102)   Time and again, we keep reminding you how much we enjoy a good GSM.  The melange of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (GSM) consistently delivers high QPR. Or should we say G+S+M = QPR squared? We have reviewed this particular bottling every year we have gotten our hands on it, and it’s nice to see that the blend (Grenache 85%, Syrah 10% and Mourvedre 5%) is unchanged.  And the price has remained stable and even drifted down a buck from the crazy days of the pandemic.  The wi ..read more

Fast Facts: 2018 Château Bouscassé, Madiran, France ($14.99 @ Costco, California – Item #1053420)   With the exception of their ubiquitous Kirkland Signature Wines, the “wine sets” at Costco stores throughout the U.S. tend to differ based upon the region they are in.  One of the more noticeable differences is that here on the west side of the continental divide, stores stock more wines from the left coast including Washington, Oregon and, of course, California.  In the case of the latter, this is aided by the fact that in the Golden State, wineries can sell direct to retailers ..read more

Fast Facts: 2020 Kirkland Signature Saint-Julien, Bordeaux, France ($17.99 @Costco in California – Item #1494198)   We were excited to find this new (to us) Bordeaux wine under the Kirkland Signature label last week at our local Costco.  I was eager to get it home, rest it and –  taste it.  Not only because it was new, but also because its blend of Cabernet (24%) and Merlot (76%) breaks with convention for the left bank of the Gironde river, where these grapes were born. You see, conventional wisdom expects wines from the left bank be dominated by the wine grape Cabernet ..read more

Fast Facts: 2022 Lucien  Raimbault Pineau Exception, Sancerre, France ($16.99 @Costco in California – Item #1749206)   I’m feeling a bit like the forlorn Jack in a Box on the Island of Misfit Toys as it wails: “we might as well go to bed” when it believes that Santa isn’t coming for them. But then Rudolf saves the day with his nose so bright. Like Jack IB, I have been keeping a vigil for the Kirkland Signature Sancerre for months now.  It usually hits Costco stores in the Spring, but I have lost hope that we are going to see any this year.  Which is not entirely a surpris ..read more

Fast facts: 2022 Amuse Bouche, Pétillant Naturel, Sparkling White Wine, France ($11.99 @ Trader Joe’s, California) Sometimes it seems like there is very little new in the wine market. Then something like this comes along.  But it’s actually not very new, after all. Read on… Let’s assume you have never even heard of a Pét-nat wine, which is a pretty safe assumption all things considered.  It is an abbreviation for “pétillant naturel”—a French term that roughly translates to “naturally sparkling.” Maybe you already knew that. In certain circles, pét-nat has been hip for a few years no ..read more

Fast Facts: 2022 Kirkland Signature Côtes de Provence Rosé, Provence, France   ($7.99 @Costco in California – Item #1133993)  Another nice price discount from Costco – the 2019 vintage of this wine was $9.99.  A 20% reduction in price, in an era of inflation, is as refreshing as this wine is. But don’t wait if you are thinking about stocking up on this beauty for summer.  Two things I have noticed lately at my local Costco: one, the wine set is noticeably smaller and two, these Kirkland Signature bottlings seem to be flying off the shelves.  We had planned to purchas ..read more

Fast Facts: 2020 Kirkland Signature Gigondas, France ($13.99 @Costco in California – Item #11341020)   One of the nice things about Costco’s line of Kirkland Signature wines is not just their incredible QPR, but also their relative price stability in this era where most prices keep ratcheting higher. We have been mining a French wine vein here lately, and the reappearance of this wine at Costco made us happy to keep it going.   Lovely glass, lovely label set the table for a lovely pour.   This blend (Grenache 85%, Syrah 10% and Mourvedre 5%) is crafted from the fruit of old vi ..read more