TN: 2007 Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Signature Series (USA, California, Napa Valley)

WINE TALK
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  • 2007 Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Signature Series - USA, California, Napa Valley (9/20/2009)
    Dropped into the decanter for about an hour before pairing with filet mignon. Very aromatic nose with heavy notes of cassis, crushed red and blue berries, and a touch of menthol. Dense plum and cassis flavors with a pretty heavy dose of mocha and sweet, buttery oak. As yonster mentioned, there is a chalkiness to it that makes it a bit sloppy, and I found that big oakiness he mentioned about midway through the bottle (maybe 2-3 hours in). It balanced out somewhat by the end of the bottle, and ultimately pair very nicely with the steaks. We don’t drink much CA Cab to be honest, but I would love to try this blind against other, more expensive bottles to see if it stands out, good or bad. (87 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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I had this a while back and decided that when I had it again I would do just what you mention and try it blind against another CA cab. So yesterday Lisa and I had it in a single blind tasting against the 05 Mondavi Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, which is normally about $35 but KL had them on for $22, which makes it the same price as the Kirkland wine. The wines were both pop and pour with no decant.

My blind note on the Kirkland nearly mirrors yours, with the cassis and menthol notes, dense flavors, etc. The Mondavi showed a little more of a green olive note and didn’t show the alcohol quite as much, nor was it quite as jammy. Initially, I had picked the Kirkland as my preference between the two but with extended airtime, the Mondavi showed more complexity and came around quite nicely. We ended up finishing the Mondavi and leaving the rest of the Kirkland for tonight. Lisa picked the Mondavi as her preferred wine and that falls right in line with her dislike for overly jammy wines.

The blind tasting showed the ‘drink nowness’ of the Kirkland Cab VS the ‘give it some timeness’ of the Mondavi Cab.

Based on someone’s personal preference in the style of Cabernet Sauvignon they are looking for, there is a place for either wine in your cellar.

For those of you out there who have a mental palate block on Costco branded wines, give this one a try. It’s certainly better then any of the others they put their name on.

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FYI - after leaving about 3/4 of the Kirkland cab in the bottle overnight, it has really softened nicely and is quite nice.

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Rob,

great price on the Mondavi, I would buy a bunch at that price. Was this in store only as I didnt see it on the website.

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It was on the web site last week. They had about 120 bottles of it at that price. I bought a couple, then did a little twitter tweet on the deal, which KL retweeted and within 36 hours, all gone. Sadly, no commission for me. :frowning: