Was at the Carlsbad Costco today with a mission to buy cheap wine, ended up with:
Ciabot Berton Barolo $25 (have had this few times its great)
Tres Picos $13
Juan Gil Jumilla $11
Cap Insula 2013 GSM from Languedoc $9.99 Opened it tonight what an amazing value, very enjoyable. Anything at this price point I usually end up pouring out but this is seriously good and my wife thought so too.
Think the Kirkland CdR Villages was mentioned here somewhere so today found the 2015 for $11 Cdn.
It would be so much better if they had either
a)their wines online (maybe members only?)
or
b)some database where I can check what stores hold which wines.
It’s only one label but Cameron Hughes sends emails (if you sign up) giving details about which Costco stores are getting which of their wines.
Textbook Napa Cab, 2014 $20.99.
You can call the service desk and ask them about specifics, i.e. if you want to check if your local outpost has something that has been mentioned on this thread. However their system doesn’t always record the vintage on the inventory descriptor. In general the stores with the better wine selections will always be like that, and the stores with lesser socioeconomics/wine consumption will persist that way too.
If you see an empty spot on their racks with signage you can also ask a staffer/service desk, as they might have more in the store somewhere, although it doesn’t mean they’ll pull it for you right there and then, if they’re busy.
You did great…I’ll have to be on the lookout for those.
2015 Kirkland Cotes du Rhone Villages $6.99 at the west LA location. It’s a nice fresh wine, good fruit. I’d think it’d be hard to find something better for the price.
Two CdR Villages mentions in one day!!
I guess it bears repeating!
Our Costco had some 2013 Opus One a week and half back.
They had a price of 199.99
I got one.
They told me the distributor made an error and they were going up to 219.99.
They only got 6 of them and 2 were gone when I got mine.
When I saw Suckling’s review saying “The Greatest Opus Ever”
I had to take a plunge.
Is 200 a good buy for this one?
If it’s the 750 and not the half bottle, it’s a good price. Even $219.99 is a good price.
My local Costco had the 13 Opus for $249.99. Quite the markup than your location.
It’s the 750
Wow!
249?
I saw the previous vintages and their prices on Wine Searcher and took the plunge.
It’s sitting right next to the 2010 Chateau Montrose and the 2 bottles of Caymus 40th Anniversary that I got the summer of 2015.
Now I see that these are going at auction for like 189.
Is that right?
I would part with them for 130 if they were really going for that.
LOL
Fairfield, CA (12/28/16)
2014 Ken Wright Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir $33.99 ($62.50 winery retail)
Is this the silver label Monastrell? I’ve had that and enjoyed it.
2013 Kirkland Alexander Valley Cab. $9.99. Awesome QPR. Drinks at 3x the price. Could be the best under $20 wine I’ve had. Black cherry, earth, cigar box and leather. Nice tannic structure to go a few years yet. Going back for more of these.
I have an impression that most larger metropolitan areas have one store that stocks the more allocated (pick an adjective) wine in an area. For instance in the Washington, D. C. area Pentagon City is worth driving past Fairfax, Sterling and a whole bunch of other stores to get to.
I once stopped in Scottsdale and was floored at what they had. Is this among the highest grossing Costco’s in America? It must be.
In L. A. I used to stop in Marina Del Rey once a year (for a long time) but have not been in enough CA stores to draw a comparison. Still, Marina Del Rey had twice as much wine as any store in the D. C./Boston/any area that I have been in.
FWIW the Total in McLean is FAR superior to any other Total in the Mid Atlantic.
I like Costco because, across the board, their prices are good and occasionally something really “interesting” shows up.
Best American wine store I have ever been in is Wade’s Wines in Westlake Village with the Wine Library a very close second. In the D. C. area probably MacArthur over Calvert Woodley and Schenider’s. I ahve a feeling the preceding comments have touched a real nerve…
Every Costco “region” (e.g., much of San Diego county is a region, a bunch of stores in the greater Bay Area makes a region) has it’s own wine buyer. One or two stores in each region tend to get a higher concentration of “goodies”, but if you hear of something, you can always get them to check stock in the rest of the region’s stores.
The Scottsdale Costco is easily the best location here in AZ. Like you mentioned…worth driving a little further to shop at that one.
But from what others post here and the couple I personally visited in the San Diego area while on vaca…you CA folks have it pretty damn good!