2010 Kirkland Signature Series Red Wine, Washington

My fourth foray into Costco’s Signature Series line of wines that one can only assume are of higher quality, complexity and limited batches. While I loved the Stag’s Leap and Mountain Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignons, I was not a fan of the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon as it was far to fruit forward bordering on sweet. This particular wine is the first of the series that is not solely a Cab Sauv, as it is a red blend featuring Cab Sauv, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot; therefore falling into the Meritage family of red blends. I purchased two bottles of this particular wine right off the bat and popped the first that very same day. It is a very pleasant red blend that is dark purple in the glass, with violet bubbles and a black core. The nose is comprised of succulent, compact blackberry, black currant, molasses and oak notes; floating atop a vanilla, caramel and crème de cassis backbone. The attack is very balanced but focused; featuring black cherry, blackberry, black currant, cream/vanilla and oak. The mid-palate is near perfect, chewy tannins; semi-sweet astringency with perfectly balanced acidity from the alcohol lovely in every sense of the word. The finish is long and complex with blackberry and vanilla, swirling amidst sugared plums and coffee mixed amidst a backdrop of chocolate covered cherry and oak. This wine is a full bodied effort with a lovely aftertaste of blackberry, oak and coffee all flavors that bring me joy that knows no bounds.

Overall, this is definitely one of the better Signature Series wines that I’ve sampled. That being said two other Signature Series wines make the grade with only the Napa Valley Cab Sauv falling short. This isn’t the best of the winners, coming in second, below the Mountain Cuvee but above the Stag’s Leap. It features wonderfully focused and compact fruit and spice flavors that are married in perfection. The saddest part of this wine is it’s price point, coming in at 19 dollars and while this wine is a nicely complex red blend, it might not be as good a QPR as the Kirkland Signature Napa Valley Meritage. I would rate this a good-bordering-on-great QPR, but the Napa Valley Meritage gets the same rating, therefore it might be more cost effective and just plain easier to purchase a bottle of the Meritage. But if you can find this wine, I would definitely recommend purchasing a few bottles; one to drink and one to cellar.

2008 Bridgman Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington

Honored hues…Black core fading to dark ruby red and finally a violet tinted rim

Fragrance of familiarity...Black plum, brown sugar, leather

Smooth swallows…I grabbed this from Total Wine’s Featured Cabernet Sauvignon section. I’ve slowly made my way through the sub-20 dollar bottle that they place in this section, but I hadn’t sampled this particular wine yet. As soon as I got it home I poured myself a glass and slowly sipped. First impression: this is a very balanced wine both in flavor and texture. The attack is quite smooth with equal parts sugary fruit (blackberry and black plum) and strong herbaceous flavors (grass, leather and straw). The mid-palate holds firm tannins, evenhanded alcohol heat and tingle and perfect astringency. The finish is long and the least balanced part of this wine as the flavors, fruity and savory, fight for prominence. Neither actually win out, though the fruit comes on first with more plum added to currant and black cherry. The savory flavors hit with cut grass, tobacco, sage and dirt. This is a medium bodied wine that sometimes feels like a full bodied red wine; but in reality it doesn’t have the weight to drive it all the way into full bodied territory. The aftertaste is somewhat oaky but also has hints of plum and bitter fruit skins.

Overall, this is not what I’d expected from a Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon. It has more in common with a well balanced Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit here isn’t as forward, and the lack of spice box flavors left my palate longing for a different wine. What this wine does offer is a nice, smooth Cabernet Sauvignon with a fair price point. This particular bottle only merits a fair QPR even though it’s very balanced, it’s priced about a dollar or two above what I’d really want to pay for this wine. It does much better when paired with grilled red meat, even hamburgers; so if you do pick up this bottle make sure to pair it accordingly.

Precept Wines

2007 Hogue Cellars Genesis Meritage(49% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc), Washington

Oh Say Can You See…Ruby red fading to reddish violet at the rim

A Bouquet of…Dark cherry, blackberry, syrup

The Taste buds Tale…This is a Fry’s closeout wine that I found recently on the shelf for 50% off, it rang up at just under 13 dollars. Mostly I bought this in order to get another Meritage sample. While I realize all of the Meritages I have tried up to this point have had differing blends of grapes, it is still my aim to be able to compare and contrast them. A lot of my fascination with Meritage lies in my love of red blend. I believe a good inexpensive red blend can far outshine a single varietal wine purchased for the same price. It’s been my experience that blends in the 10-15 dollar range are more complex than single varietal wines at the same price while also being more balanced. So I popped the cork, poured, and sat back to let it get some air. I returned after 30 minutes, swirled, sniffed and sipped this wine…wow after a good 30 minutes this was still relatively piercing and hot where the tannins and alcohol were concerned. I set aside the glass for yet another 30 minutes. I came back around and repeated my process only to be greeted with the same result. I decided to finish my glass swiftly and return to the bottle the following day. On day two I poured another small glass, swirled and sniffed. The aromas coming off the glass were more well defined on day two; I could smell dark cherry mixed with blackberry, a hint of licorice and at the tail end what I can only describe generically as syrup. Upon the first sip this wine still tastes young and a little rambunctious. The flavors on the attack are big; cherry, blackberry, currant and pepper. Then a wild ride of a mid-palate defined mainly by rough and ready tannins, alcohol heat just a little on the warm side for me and a sourness that I didn’t expect right before the finish hits. The finish is medium in length and brings back the big, bold berry/cherry flavors, adds to them a healthy dose of tobacco, licorice and black pepper, then heaps on a huge helping of oak halfway through the finish that ends up being the main flavor in the aftertaste. I hesitate to call this a full bodied wine, though the flavors and textures would take me in that direction. This is really a medium bodied wine that is still a little young and rough around its edges.

Let Me Sum Up…If you purchase this Meritage make sure you give it ample time to breathe before you start to sip it. In reality you might want to let this sit in your cellar for a good 3-5 years before you pop the cork on it because I truly believe this wine will be good given a chance to mellow with age. Right now it’s just too young, full of tannins and overoaked on the finish. At 13 dollars this barely gets a poor QPR from me. Had I paid full price for this I would be kicking myself all the way into next month, as it stands I still feel like I got taken for a ride. The Genesis looks like an elegant bottle of wine with mature complexity and depth but shows more in common with a rowdy wine that wants to put a knock out punch on your palate. I’d recommend that you pass on this wine.

Hogue Cellars

2008 Columbia Crest Horse Heaven Hills H3 Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington

Harmonious hues…Very dark red (nearly black) with a ruby red rim

Sensationally scented…Black currant, blackberry, molasses, cedar

Quintessentially quaffs…Quite some time ago I went on a Columbia Crest kick and picked up just about every red wine with their label on it. At the time I could only find the H3 Merlot at my local Costco which was a wonderful wine and opened my eyes to what a decent 10 dollar Merlot should taste like. This recently showed up at my local supermarket and I just had to give it a taste. I will be honest and admit that I didn’t have a lot of preconceptions about this wine. I knew going in that this is a relatively inexpensive wine (though it is at the mid-to-high range as far as Columbia Crest is concerned). That it might not rate that high against other wines at the 10-12 dollar price range. But most of all I expected this to be a rather straightforward but big, oaky Cabernet Sauvignon that would be pleasantly drinkable with just about any hearty foods. I was right on that last point though I would rate this a little higher than wines in the same price range. That being said; the review…The attack is interesting, layered and more complex than I would expect from a wine that only cost me 10 dollars. There are the obligatory blackberry and currant flavors, “sweeter” than I had expected but they are mixed with warm oak and minimal licorice flavors. Normally this mix would be a little cloying but the mid-palate comes on with a healthy dose of alcohol warmth and rather robust tannins that tone down the fruit and wood flavors of the attack. The mid-palate doesn’t last long; it soon fades into a medium length finish that again brings to mind blackberry and oak, and then adds raisin, plum, vanilla, tobacco and brown sugar. This makes for a pleasantly warm, full bodied wine with a medium finish and an aftertaste of grape skins, vanilla and tobacco. Honestly this wine has more going for it than I had given it credit for.

Overall, this is a good QPR. I want to rate this higher than good, but it’s not great it just doesn’t show the depth that a wine should show for it to be rated that high even when considering Quality-to-Price ratio. It is certainly a more complex red wine for the price; you won’t find many wines that are this layered for less than 15 dollars. But it’s also a pretty big, robust red; so you also won’t find a lot of people seeking out this wine. Those of you that enjoy these types of reds already have your favorites (though this should be considered if you are still looking or just want to try something new). I’d be interested to see how “wine snobs” would rate this if they came over for dinner and you served them the wine without telling them what it was. I would hazard a guess they would guess this was a 15 dollar Argentinean Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec or a 20 dollar California Zinfandel. But they’d probably enjoy the wine in and of itself. I recommend at least giving this a try if not keeping it in your cellar at all times.

Columbia Crest Winery

2008 Gooseridge Vineyards g3 Red Wine, Washington

Color – Dark purple edging to black

Nose – Blackberry, black currant, spice box

Taste – Grabbed this on a whim when I was looking through the wines at my local supermarket. The bottle art reminded me of the Horse Hills Heaven H3 Merlot that I’d tried earlier in the year. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz and that particular blend of varietals grabbed my attention as well. That being said, this wine has everything that I love about a big, bold red. It looks amazing in the glass; dark and inky and when swirled it clung to the glass quite nicely. The aroma wafting from the glass after a good swirl brought to mind everything I loved in the Courtney Benham Cabernet and the Clos Pegase Cabernet; dark berries, spice box hints and musty/earthy compost tinges. On the attack this wine runs through quite the gamut of flavors and textures. Firstly I can taste blackberry, black currant and dark cherry with equal parts jamminess and chocolate riding behind the berry flavors. Second, comes slight flavors of black pepper, vanilla and licorice all mingled together with a butter-like mouthfeel. The mid-palate seemed strange to me, in that is holds little or no astringency, the alcohol shows up as sour acidity, and the tannins show up subdued but still present. The finish is medium-long with stewed berry goodness, semi-sweet dark chocolate, vanilla, licorice, spice box and wet leaves/forest floor flavors. There are textures of warmth, weight and “filmy” butter-like consistency as the finish fades into a rather dark, molasses/vanilla flavored aftertaste. This is a wonderfully full bodied wine that covers all the bases a good red should cover.

Overall, this wine was a pleasant surprise gaining it a good-to-great QPR. I believe I paid 10 dollars for this (it was on sale normally going for 14). Had I paid full price for this I would still be touting the qualities of this wine and how great it is for the money. I enjoy red blends, especially those that don’t bounce all over the place flavor-wise or simply end up bland and flat in the glass. This red blend fits the bill and has the quality/flavor to push the price point closer to 20 dollars without making me cringe. I’d recommend this wine to anyone that enjoys a big, bold red blend with wonderful complexity of flavor and rich textures.

GooseRidge Estate Vineyard & Winery

2006 Waterbrook Melange Noir (28% Cabernet Franc/21% Syrah/19% Cabernet Sauvignon/17% Sangiovese/14% Merlot/1% Tempranillo) , Washington

Color – Dark red, with a purple core

Nose – Blueberry, vanilla, grapes

Taste – I had hoped when I picked this up on clearance at my local supermarket, that this would be a standout wine. I had hoped it would surpass the two other Waterbrook wines I had tasted up to that point. Unfortunately I was sadly mistaken. This isn’t a bad wine, but it doesn’t have the depth and complexity that the Waterbrook Syrah and Waterbrook Cabernet-Merlot characterize so well. This wine looks big, bold and dark. It smells just a little more timid than that. But it’s in the flavor that it fails for me. The attack is full of jammy, fruity blueberry, raisin and plum flavors with veins of brown sugar, molasses and leather running through all the fruit. The mid-palate is relatively one dimensional, with the alcohol and astringency hiding and chewy, playful tannins showing up as the mid-palate makes its way into the finish. The finish might have redeemed this wine had it been just a little more complex and a little longer. It’s a medium finish that holds more brown sugar, molasses and plum flavors and brings on hints of vanilla, licorice and very minimal baking spices. The wine itself is medium bodied, though when left to sit and reach slightly above-room temperature this wine feels “heavier” on the tongue.

Overall, I can’t call this a bad/poor wine or QPR. At its normal price of 17 dollars I would have called it a poor QPR. But I picked this up at 9 dollars and for that price this wine is lightyears ahead of most other 9 dollar wines. The reason I deride it is because the other Waterbrook wines I’ve tasted have been so good, I expected the same from this wine. I didn’t get it. It’s a little thin, a lot confused as far as flavor goes and lacking anything I would call depth or complexity. If you can get this for under 10 dollars then I would recommend grabbing it just to try it and maybe you‘ll prove me wrong. If you can only find this for more than 10 dollars I’d advise passing and grab any other Waterbrook red wine.

Waterbrook Wines

2007 Waterbrook Syrah Reserve, Washington

Color – Dark purple with violet highlights on the rim

Nose – Blackberry, blueberry, black currant, molasses, licorice

Taste – Yet another recommendation from the Beverage Guru at Cost Plus, this wine was not on the top of my list as I chose my bottles. However upon opening and sipping all of my purchases, this one shot right to the top as the best of the bunch. This wine is not just big, it’s HUGE. Intense coloration, deep dark purple with violet and ruby highlights on the rim when held up to the light. Lots of fruit aromas pour forth from the glass with each swirl and underlying them is just a hint of molasses and licorice. And when the wine touches your lips and tongue, hold on because the flavors absolutely assault the palate. Sugared blackberries, black currants, and blueberries piled on top of licorice and vanilla that melt finally into very light notes of molasses, brown sugar and oak. The mid-palate is the only part of this wine that can be just a little rough as the astringency, tannins and alcohol push just a little too hard and bring out some pucker in the form of sour black cherry/blackberry flavors. But these soon give way to a nice long finish with leather, caramel, burnt sugar (think crème brule) and more oak. This is definitely a full bodied wine, I sipped the next to another full bodied red and the texture in this Syrah is much more mature and “heavy”. The aftertaste is quite pleasantly berry-ish with some sugar and a nice zing of alcohol.

Overall, this is a new favorite of mine. I am pretty sure I paid 13 dollars for this, and I think it’s worth every dollar plus about 7 more. I don’t even have to give it a second thought, this is a great QPR. The quality exhibited in this wine is truly a marvel. I was able to stretch this bottle over three separate tastings; once with a grilled top sirloin, the second with hamburgers and baked beans, and the third time all on its lonesome. Each time the wine held up superbly, though it tasted much better when it was warmer, this wine tightens up just a little on the palate when it’s chilled. I highly recommend this wine if you are a fan of fruit forward, big bold reds this wine is for you. If you are a fan of great tasting red wine in any form and want a great experience with a bottle of red then this wine is DEFINITELY for you.

Waterbrook Wine

2007 Waterbrook Merlot-Cabernet (56% Merlot/44% Cabernet Sauvignon), Washington

Color - Dark red

Nose - Plum, coconut, licorice, clove

Taste - I get spiced cherry, plum, tobacco and pepper right on the first sip. This is a great big red wine with huge spice box aromas that carry right over into the flavor. This is my favorite type of red wine; really big with massive spice flavors. I love the smooth flavor transitions between plum, licorice, tobacco, then lovely smooth warmth from the alcohol and finally a long finish personified by peppered cherries. This is a nice full bodied red with awesome mouthfeel and texture. It's got some rather nice astringency that blends quite well with the spices leaving a lovely tingle on my palate. As good as this wine is where flavor and texture is concerned the best thing about it is that I bought it for 8 dollars at my local supermarket. The last time I got this level of quality and complexity it was priced just over 15 dollars. The is a great wine.

Overall, this wine has great taste, texture and price. It should have a 20 dollar price tag, thankfully for you and I it doesn't. This wine isn't just a good QPR, it's a great QPR. I would say stock up on this wine by the case!

Waterbrook Wines

2008 Radius Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington

Color - Dark red

Nose - Blackberry, green bell pepper, molasses

Taste - On day one, glass one of this wine I thought it was going to be a nice even Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon that had dark fruits, oak and vegetal flavors. That's precisely what it was, though with less oak and more fruit. On day three, glass five this wine has lost most of the vegetal flavors and the bluberry, dark cherry and blackberry flavors have taken over. It's not bad, there's a nice bite right in the mid-palate and the finish is nice a smooth although only medium in length. There are some very subtle hints of brown sugar or molasses on the aftertaste which is very pleasant and fruity. The wine has a nice "warmth" to it that I've noticed in certain reds that I end up liking (perhaps a reaction of the acids and tannins, though I don't know).

Overall, I would say this is another wine that I've come to enjoy quite a bit. I would compare it to Columbia-Crest or Redwood Creek both in price and taste. It's an OK QPR, the wine is not complex but it's a great, smooth stand alone wine. Try it if you like fruitier Cabs or just need something pleasant and unoffensive for a get together.

Triple Your Pleasure?

Right off the bat I want to warn you that this might be a little long due to the fact that I am reviewing three wines. Also, these wines are reviewed in the order I drank them, which for the most part is spaced out by about two week overall. Now on to the reviews.

2008 Columbia-Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington

Color - Red

Nose - Cherry, oak

Taste - I've had quite a few wines that have oak featured in the nose and a few that had oak flavors to some degree, but this wine is VERY oak-y in both the nose and on the palate. I am of the opinion that those of you that drink this wine will either love this or hate it with no one in between. There is a nice fruit start to this wine and in the mid-palat vanilla-tinged oak comes on rather strong. I would normally dislike this but the oak isn't too strong and doesn't last too long, rather it covers my tongue perfectly. This flavor profile has me particularly intrigued. I'd say this is medium-to-full bodied with a medium finish. Not much heat to this and the tannins are rather subdued through they do show with certain foods. Day two brought hints of coconut, lessened oak-iness and more complexity. This is a keeper in my book. Nothing too complex, but the big oak flavor by itself is rather nice. I'd drink it frequently, especially for 6.99 a bottle. I think it's a winner and a pretty darn good wine. I'd recommend opening and sipping a glass on day one, then enjoying the rest on day two. Gains so much character, depth, and complexity after it is opened. Changes the wine to a must try.

2008 Columbia-Crest H3 Merlot, Washington

Color - Purple with a violet rim

Nose - Black Currant, tobacco, spice, hints of brown sugar

Taste - I can sum this wine up in one word - Intense. Merlot was the first red wine varietal I tried some 12 years ago, and I hated whatever cheap bottle my college buddy had on the particular day I decided to try red wine. Every since then I have shied away from Merlot except in blends. On a whim I picked this up from Costco and I am glad that I did. This wine has everything I've come to love about red wine. It's dry but not cloying. Has an amazing level of astringency. There is a very nice bite of alcohol. The flavor transitions smoothly from currant to spice (cloves I think) mixed with chocolate into a smooth long finish of smoke, dark cherry and leather. This is big and bold , full-bodied, a force to be reckoned with and has very nice tannins that don't hold back but neither do they overwhelm. This is a new favorite of mine. Costco's got it at 10.99 a bottle. I'd say that's great QPR and that this is easily a 20-25 dollar wine. This is a buy it now and drink it often wine.

2008 Columbia-Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington

Color - Dark Red

Nose - Blackberry, forest floor, vanilla

Taste - Nice and dry with dark cherry and hints of vanilla right out of the gate. This being the third Columbia-Crest wine I've had, I have come to expect good things even with their cheapest wines. This wine holds its own without a doubt. The fruit makes way to a nice semi-astringent mid-palate that has sour cherry hints with a tiny aftertaste of vanilla and fruit skins. There are some hints of clean herb, grass and vegetables, but it is right in the background and very pleasant. There is a slightly higher alcohol heat than I'd normally like, but it doesn't make this wine undrinkable. I paired this with meat lasagna and it brought out a lot more fruit and some buttery mouthfeel but lessened the intensity of this wine almost to the point of normalcy. I'd say leave this as a stand alone drinker or with steak, cheese, or other less acidic foods. A good wine with a good QPR. Nothing to rave about, but for the money it could become your "house Red". I'd buy it again because it's consistent and has definite depth without food.

Overall, I would rate each of these wines good to great. The H3 Merlot is a great wine with an amazing QPR. I like the slightly cheaper Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon more than I like the Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon, but they are both good wines. As far as consistency of good-to-great product goes, Columbia-Crest comes in second only to Anakena. Thank God I finally found a North American winery that can compete with the South American wineries. I would say go out and buy the H3 by the case, pick up a bottle or two of the Two Vines, and a single of the the Grand Estates (just to try it in case your palate differs that much from mine). I don't think you will be disappointed.

Columbia-Crest Wines