Which 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Wines at Costco to Buy Now

Which of these Cabs under $20 should you be buying at Costco?

Best Buy – 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon at Costco

The 2014 Vintage in California will go down as one of the great ones and especially for Cabernet Sauvignon. The best of the California Cabs from 2014 are out on the wine shelves. Stock up and age them in your wine cellar for the next ten years.  For this Vintage Wine Club blind tasting, our host Jim shopped exclusively at Costco for the wines. Jim found several excellent Cabs at the San Francisco Airport Costco in San Bruno. He tasted them over a two-month period and narrowed his selection to six for the blind tasting event. Here is what we tasted and the order in which in we scored the wines.

1. Black Stallion Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $19.49, reduced to $17.99 as of Sept. 13 – 90 Points Wine Enthusiast
2. Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon  $18.99 –  90 Points Vinous
3. Beaulieu Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $18.99 – 92 Points James Suckling – $33 at BV online wine shop
4. Joel Gott  Cabernet Sauvignon, California $12.59 – 90 Points James Suckling & Wine Enthusiast
5. Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley $9.99
6. Americana Proverbial Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley – $19.99

My Notes on the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon

Black Stallion and Robert Mondavi

The Black Stallion and Robert Mondavi are two wines to stock up on now. They will age gracefully but are also quite drinkable today. Both wines are in balance with a strong aroma, great Cabernet flavors on the palate, and a lovely finish. The Black Stallion Cab is mainly from vineyards in Oak Knoll and Rutherford. It has 86% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and interestingly 7% Petite Sirah. Here is the full spec on this wine.  The Robert Mondavi is from two vineyards in the Napa Valley: The famous To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville and from Wappo Hill in the Stags Leap AVA. In January I received a sample of this wine and posted this article. I will purchase six of each of these two wines and put them in my cellar.  Black Stallion is owned by the Delicato Family, and Robert Mondavi by Constellation Brands. Both of these wines are big-production wines. I believe that because they are sold in places like Costco, Trader Joe’s, and various supermarkets, they do not have a boutique wine appeal. Don’t bow to the wine snobs; these are terrific values. These are well-made wines, excellent tasting, and I doubt you can beat the Costco price anywhere. Don’t miss out on the 2014 vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Other Cabs

The Beaulieu Vineyards Napa Valley Cab seemed to improve as it sat in the glass. It’s an excellent wine but, for myself, the Black Station and the Mondavi offer much more. I downgraded the Joel Gott and Kirkland Alexander on the abundance of spice and vanilla notes. The Proverbial was my third choice but again, it did not measure up to the Black Stallion or Mondavi.

Lunch Fun

Vintage Wine Taster Jim and his wife Kris provided us with a spectacular lunch and additional bottles of wine to try. But the food was the story here, so delicious!

The menu:

• Avocado shrimp salad
• Angel hair pasta with heirloom tomato and Italian sausage
• Goat cheese bread
• Dessert: Mini desserts duplicating those served at Café Gourmand in Paris including a fantastic Chocolate Moose

Shrimp and Avacado delight

The scrumptious pasta

For the next blind tasting event in November, the wines to be featured will be GSM wines. Perhaps a mix from the Southern Rhone and the Languedoc. We may even slip in a Spanish GSM.