2013 Kirkland Signature Columbia Valley Merlot

I made it through hump day and once I got home that's when the chaos started.  It was 90 here today and although my house was still a comfortable 71 degrees (thank you shade trees!) I decided to turn on the air conditioner.  But before I did that I wanted to go check and make sure there were no branches, vines or bird nests in the unit.  That's when apparently I upset a bee and it stung me square on the nose!  That's when I gave up, went to the gym and then came home to open a nice bottle of 2013 Kirkland Signature Columbia Valley Merlot that I recently picked up at Costco.

The wine is a brooding ruby color in the glass with nice clarity.  The nose is a pleasant combination of ripe plum, blackberry and leather with just a hint of dusty limestone, a classic CV merlot nose.  The taste was a rush of warm ripe fruit intermingled with a bit of anise and baking spice which transitioned nicely to some notes of mocha and violets midpalate.  The finish was very nice, firm but youthful tannins providing for a long, smooth dry finish that seemed to last a good 30 seconds.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, it's not very exceptional but a very good everyday wine, particularly at the $9 price point at Costco.  Tonight I am enjoying this with a rare grilled Angus ribeye, big baked potato and some grilled leeks and Brussels sprouts.  A great steak wine!