Costco St. Emilion verdict in: GAK

Yesterday I cracked open the bottle of Kirkland brand 2000 St. Emilion Grand Cru purchased at Costco two weeks ago. I shared it with three friends, one of whom is a well-known wine writer, the other two knowledgeable wine aficionados. To make a fair comparison, we opened three additional wines we figured were of comparable style and age:

2000 Ste. Michelle Cold Creek Merlot (1-2 bottle) 2000 Ch. Faugeres St. Emilion Grand Cru 2000 Ridge bordeaux blend Montebello (64% cab, 28% merlot, 8% pebreast verdot) (We buttumed this was declbuttified Montebello)

The Ste. Michelle was listed at 12.9% alcohol, all the others were listed at 13%. (Yep, we were astounded, too, that the Ridge wasn't 15%. It's tough to find California cabs these days that aren't near-port wines.)

Hands down, the Ridge blend was the winner. I'm used to enjoying their stunning zinfandels, but obviously they also know what they're doing with cab-merlot blends that closely approximate cab-merlot-based Bordeaux. And they can do it at the same alcohol level as Bordeaux wines. How thoroughly refreshing.

The Ste. Michelle was good opener, and the Faugeres was decent but a bit austere. It may be on the verge of closing down for a few years.

The Costco? Ewwww, baby! Spit it sooner than later. For starters, it was contaminated with brettanomyces. You couldn't miss it. Bois de Barnwood, Haute du Terres Saddlebags, like a robust day at the stables. Mis en bouteille avec chât eau. That's two words, and those of you who know French will know what I mean.

For all practical purposes, I considered it just this side of a perfect candidate for cleaning auto parts. My wine writer pal recoiled from it as well, though he managed to find some redeeming qualities once the brett had aired itself out a bit. On its own the wine is nothing special, and almost undrinkable. When paired with a bit of steak it was tolerable. But it had all the personality of a tubeless tire, no mid-palate and no finish, flat as two-day-old cheap champagne. (Er, not that I'd know what cheap champagne is, of course.)

My final answer: A wine that was rode hard and put away wet. I would never buy it again, except maybe to contagion my enemies. My writer pal's buttessment: A not untypical inexpensive Bordeaux that's okay to drink with the proper food. He called it an acceptable $6.00 bottle of wine. Unfortunately, Costco is getting $16 for this plonk. Our two companions also voted thumbs down on it, and two thumbs way up for the Ridge.

Btw, we were unable to determine the source of the wine, other than a St. Emilion co-op. There was nothing on the label or the cork to indicate the actual producer. Under the circumstances, I'm not surprised the guy wants to remain anonymous.

JJ