Kirkland's Hidden Gem: The $7 Sonoma Cabernet That Punches Above Its Weight

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Bargain wine lovers, rejoice! We've unearthed an incredible find that proves exceptional wine doesn't require emptying your wallet. The Kirkland Signature Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 from Costco breaks all the rules of wine pricing, offering genuine Sonoma County quality at a jaw-dropping $6.99.

What makes this bottle truly special is its refusal to compromise on classic Cabernet character despite its budget price. Unlike many value-priced wines that strip away tannins fearing consumer rejection, this Kirkland gem embraces a gentle tannic structure that provides authentic Cabernet backbone. The flavor profile dazzles with blackberry, raspberry, plum, and cranberry notes, enhanced by subtle herbs, spice, and a touch of licorice that adds remarkable depth. Perhaps most surprisingly, it features French oak influence rather than the cheaper American oak typically found at this price point, delivering more refined, spicy complexity.

Behind this exceptional value is Precept Wines, the Northwest's largest independently owned wine company and masters of crafting affordable quality for retailers like Trader Joe's, Aldi, and Costco. They've leveraged Sonoma's diverse growing regions to create a wine with surprising complexity and balance. Whether you're hosting a gathering (four bottles provide 16 glasses for under $30) or simply want an everyday wine that pairs beautifully with everything from comfort food to grilled steaks, this Kirkland Cabernet stands ready to impress. Ready to discover what might be the best Cabernet value on the market? Head to Costco before word gets out, and visit CheapWineFinder.com for more exceptional wine bargains that keep your palate happy and your budget intact.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, it's Domain Dave , again from CheapWineFindercom
talking about anothervalue-priced wine Today is from
Costco.
It's a Kirkland SignatureSonoma Cabernet Sauvignon 2023.
And this is really avalue-priced wine because it's
$6.99.
Which, for a Sonoma wine, iskind of unusual.

(00:26):
But there you go.
Wine industry is a little bitdown right now.
You're getting some bargains.
The wine is made for Costco byPrecept, their largest wine and
spirits company, the Northwest,independently Owned.
They made wine for Trader Joe'sAldi Costco.
They're good at makingvalue-priced wines.

(00:50):
So there you go.
So you've got a.
Sonoma's a huge area.
There's all sorts of climates,soil condition, there's
mountains, there's valleys,there's plateaus, and this is
just from Sonoma, so we don'tknow where it is or what it is.
I'm gonna take a sip.
It's $6.99, though you don'task questions.

(01:30):
This is a very drinkable,classic California Cabernet
Sauvignon.
It's got a little bit oftannins.
Tannins are usually a littlerougher edge.
It's a chemical from the skinof the grapes and usually on
lower price red wines it'smissing.
Winemakers think that youprobably won't like them, but
here there's a slight pull whichshould be there A California

(01:50):
Cabernet Sauvignon which shouldhave satanins.
French Cabernet.
Yeah, any Cabernet Sauvignonshould have its satanins.
Doesn't have to be the dustykind, the like 1990s or 1980s
Chianti where you got cottonmouth from drinking it if you
didn't have a meal with it.
There's just a little slightpull.
It's supposed to be there.

(02:12):
The flavors are blackberry andraspberry and plum, maybe some
sour cranberry, a little bit ofspice, a little bit of herbs
yeah, nice.
Maybe a little bit of licoricejust to kind of make that nice,
maybe a little bit of licoricejust to kind of make that
blackberry a little darker.
Got good acidity.
The flavors unfold.
There's nothing wrong with it.

(02:32):
It kind of does everything.
A Cabernet Sauvignon shouldguess.
I'm done.
It's $6.99 you, there's a lotof places that Cabernet
Sauvignon from the West Coast isgood value priced.
You know, there's ColumbiaValley, there's Lodi, there's

(02:54):
Mendocino, there's Lake County,there's a central coast.
Certain areas of the centralcoast that are a little warmer
is for good for Cabernet.
Paso Robles for one.
But Paso Robles is getting alittle expensive lately.
So Sonoma is just a really anice place and often at this

(03:15):
price you get California label.
Not that that's a bad thing.
They're picking from differentlarge ABAs, central Coast along
with Lodi, or Central Coast withNorth Coast.
You know that type of thing.
Nothing wrong with adding somedifferent flavors in, because it
does for an inexpensive wine.
It gives it some complexitythat it wouldn't normally have.

(03:36):
But Sonoma is a large enoughplace that if you have it from
three different growing regionsyou're going to get that
complexity too.
There's a lot of ways to getsome complexity and interest
into the wine.
I'm going to take another sip,because when it's really cheap
and a really good wine, there'snothing wrong with this wine.
It's $6.99.

(03:57):
You're not going to expect tobe drinking Screaming Eagle or
anything, but you're going toget a nice sipping wine.
It will pair with all thecomfort foods.
It'll even if you throw acouple of steaks in the grill
and you forgot to go out and getsomething, you know, maybe a
little bit steaky, this will dothe trick.

(04:29):
It drinks.
It's smooth.
It's got a little rough edgesfrom the sour.
The acidity is fine.
It gives it a little bit oflength.
It's got french oak rather thanamerican oak.
American oak gives you thatchocolate vanilla thing that
people like, but here they gaveit french oak.
French oak was far more subtle,more more spicy than than those
bigger flavors, but it's gotsome.
How they got the French oak, Idon't know.

(04:49):
It says you know they're veryvague and everything which is
fine at $6.99.
I don't need to critique it thesame way I would a you know
more expensive wine.
That's trying to compete withmore expensive wines.
That's trying to compete withmore expensive wines.
The Kirkland Signature, sonomaCabernet Sauvignon 2023, has

(05:10):
kind of got the 699 CabernetSauvignon market to itself at
the moment.
It's just a good wine.
It's not the greatest wine inthe world, but it's just a good
wine.
And to get a 699 good wine thatyou would want that not only
you would drink one to go,that's nice and never drink it
again, but you would want tomaybe buy a couple of bottles.
This is a great party wine.

(05:30):
You can get four bottles for$30, and that will give you four
glasses.
That's 16 glasses of wine.
Even a small little party,everybody's going to be happy
with the flavor and you'll behappy with the price.
So, adios, this is Domain DaveCheapWineFightercom, hit the

(05:52):
subscribe button if you will.
If you don't, I never do, butif you will, I would like it.
Adios, keep it cheap.
We got more wines coming, likealways.
We've been like a train.
I'm good doing all these winesfor years, so we got a whole
bunch of on the website.
There's all sorts of wines, socheck it out.

(06:13):
There's also some podcasts, andthanks for listening.
Adios, keep it cheap.
I'll be talking to you later.
Bye.