Blind Tasting: Kirkland Signature Côtes du Rhône vs E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône
2019 Kirkland Signature Côtes du Rhône Villages ($6.99)
vs.
2017 E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône ($12.99)
We love re-visiting wines that we have tried in the past just about as much as we love learning about and trying new wines. Year after year, these 2 bottles are stalwarts in the rotation at our local Costco. We have had each of them independently of one another, but never blind, and never in the same tasting.
Before the tasting notes, let's delve into what makes these good sparring partners as well as what marks them apart from one another.
Similarities:
Red
Made in France
Made in the Côtes du Rhône
Made from the typical Rhône varietals (Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre)
On sale at Costco
Under $15
Tasty!
The differences:
Vintage: 2019 (Kirkland) and 2017 (Guigal)
Village level wine (Kirkland) vs the more general Côtes du Rhône (Guigal)
Location: The Kirkland wine is in the aisle with the stacked boxes while the other is in the fancy wooden bins!
Price: KS is $6.99, while the Guigal is $12.99.
The Tasting!
Wine 1: The nose on this wine wafted of blueberry jam, the taste that followed was bright, acidic, tart, narrow, with a tannic finish. This wine paired beautifully with food.
Wine 2: Wine two had more of a complex earthy nose. The taste revealed dried raspberries, allspice, pepper, with a dusty finish. Less acid than wine 1, and therefore to our palate it didn't pair as nicely with food.
The Reveal!
The Kirkland Signature was wine 1 and walked away with 3 out of 4 votes - another victory for the Costco brand!
Both of these wines are very solid and the quality-to-price ratio here is absolutely terrific, especially for the Kirkland wine. For $7, you can't go wrong. If this wine was double the price under a different label, we would still be happy with the quality of the juice in this bottle! Costco, if you are reading this, don't get any ideas - we are definitely not suggesting any price hikes! We can think of only a few bottles at this price point that we enjoy this much - and go figure, they are all Kirkland Signature wines.