Costco Is the Only Place You Should Buy This Super-Popular Rosé
There’s something about pushing a giant cart around Costco. For me, it’s the ultimate in suburban luxury: discounted copies of Ina Garten cookbooks, giant flats of vaguely fancy sparkling water, and, of course, wine. But despite the rush I get from buying enough Pellegrino to last me until the next presidential administration, not everything is a great deal at Costco.
In the wine department, the Kirkland house brand is almost always a great value. But when you venture into more widely available brands, it pays to know your prices. Sometimes the price at Costco is about that same as what you’ll pay anywhere else; sometimes the discount is huge. That’s the case with this super-popular bottle of pink, which goes for $17 at Costco, compared to $20 or $23 elsewhere. I’m talking about Chateau d’Esclans’ Whispering Angel Rosé.
Chateau d’Esclans’ Whispering Angel Rosé, $16.99 for 750 ml
No wine exemplifies the type of luxury and comfort Costco sells better than Chateau d’Esclans’ Whispering Angel Rosé. So when I saw it at Costco for $16.99, I knew it had to be my rosé pick for this summer’s Costco shopping. As I mentioned, I usually see it for more like $20 to $23, unless there’s a sale or promotion. Certain wine retailers will sometimes undercut this price by a few cents, but who wants to go to another store just for that? Certainly, not me.
Even though I sometimes rag on Whispering Angel for being so popular, my only real beef with the wine is the price. The wine itself is a lovely, classic Provencal rosé: notes of peach, strawberry and melon; nice crisp acidity without being too tart; and enough body to stand up to fairly robust food if you’re serving it with a meal.
A lot of my fellow millennials and I came out of the last two years of pandemic life suddenly feeling old. Rosé isn’t cool and cutting edge anymore, and neither are we. But Whispering Angel is still great — just in a more settled, classic way. Maybe we are, too.
Have you tried this rosé wine from Costco? Tell us about it in the comments!