Yes, this is another review from over a year ago.
I haven’t tasted many Côtes du Rhône wines, so I’m not going to do a long review here. I like to have some reference for a wine when I write a review.
However, I will say that this is a very delicious wine. According to Wikipedia (which I’m hoping is reasonably accurate here), any Côtes du Rhône Villages wine must be at least 50% Grenache, with Syrah and Mourvèdre making up at least 20%. No more than 20% of the wine can be other varieties. I’m not that familiar with Grenache, so it’s a bit unusual to me. It’s a fairly dry wine, as is typical of the “old world” French wines, but it’s not overly tannic. Overall, a very tasty wine. I’m going to give this a Very Good rating, as it has good flavor and complexity without any obvious flaws, and it is very drinkable.
If you’ve been reading my blog recently, you may have already guessed that I bought this wine at Costco. This is the 2011 Kirkland Signature Côtes du Rhône Villages wine which sells for $6.99 at my nearest Costco liquor store. This is an AOC wine (Appellation Côtes du Rhône Villages Contrôlée), and was made by Patrick Lesec. Additionally, the bottle states, “Grapes 100% Certified Sustainable Agriculture”. (Due to the use of sulfites in winemaking, it is difficult to produce a wine that meets organic standards.)
In general, I have found that Kirkland Signature wines are fairly good wines, especially for the price. While they may not be the best wines out there, I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a better value for the quality. I highly recommend checking out wines at Costco if you have one nearby that sells wine.