With the release of Figeac’s 2020 this week, I’m reminded that much of the conversation around Bordeaux often has to do with prices and critics scores, rather than the people at the heart of the wineries. Figeac certainly has the scores—all the critical ratings I’ve seen hover in the 95-99 range—but they also have a family devoted to the property, working to make better wines every year.
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As some of the first Americans to step foot at Bordeaux châteaux since the borders reopened, we’ve got the inside scoop on the 2020 vintage. We’ve tasted the wines, we’ve toured the cellars, we’ve spoken with the winemakers—and there’s no doubt about it: this is a wonderful vintage, marked by freshness and complexity. A modern classic.
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With France’s borders open again to foreign travelers, we’ve booked the next plane out of Dodge! We’ll be on the trail, in real life, in France starting June 10. Watch this space for news of the (wine) world beyond.
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One of the things we do best at K&L is Bordeaux, and our Bordeaux Buyer/co-owner Clyde Beffa is the reason why. After nearly forty years of travel to the region, he knows the people and the châteaux like the back of his hand. Today’s newsletter is chock-full of new arrivals, stellar bargains, blue chip icons, and oldies but goodies.
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The 2020 Bordeaux campaign is off and running with the release of Ch. Cheval Blanc from St-Emilion taking the lead. Unable to travel to taste the new vintage for the second year in a row, some estates overnighted their wines for us to taste; so, it’s still exciting. But it’s also bittersweet as, for the first time in 30 years, Mark Levin will not be a part of this campaign, as we lost him to COVID-19 on December 27th.
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I have a dear friend Julie who hails from Bordeaux and is an excellent cook. She loves the challenge of matching her food to whatever wine I pick out for our dinners together. So, when I told her I’d picked up the 2017 Haut Charmes from Sauternes and the 2010 Lestage from Listrac-Médoc on the Left Bank, she said we’d have to have a traditional Bordeaux dinner like she did with her family growing up. She tout suite dispatched an order to D’Artagnan, her favorite purveyor of meats and other French products. Foie gras and duck were on the menu, and we timed the event for Easter weekend.
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K&L's Team Bordeaux has sampled the 2018 vintage in bottle and their first reports are glowing. In today's blog, they've provided their notes on the exceptional wines from St-Julien, one of the standouts of the vintage. Many of these bottles are available on pre-arrival.
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While many others have made resolutions to exercise more and diet this January, I have decided to set my sights firmly on routine. I am not going to be skipping my steak and claret on Fridays. It is a big commitment—but I think I am up to the task.
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K&L's Bordeaux Guru Clyde Beffa introduces us to a bunch of new-old wines on our shelves (some are new-new, as in young). You don't have to be a longtime collector or invest a lot of money to try mature Bordeaux! Check out why it's one of the longest-lived, most complex wines in the world.
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We’re beginning the new year by taking a look at new arrivals from one of our favorite categories: Bordeaux! Co-owner/Bordeaux Buyer Clyde Beffa introduces us to the wines—some with age, some still babies—that will soon be landing on our shelves. Whether you’re looking to collect bottles from celebrated vintages, like the 100-point 2009 Pontet-Canet; looking for great values from older vintages that are hitting their sweet spot now, like the 1996 du Val d’Or from St-Emilion; or just looking for an excellent to bottle for dinner tonight, like the 2016 Bellegrave du Poujeau—we’ve got something for you in these pages. After 45 years in the biz, Clyde never steers us wrong, and this new batch definitely won’t disappoint!
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This past Friday night my wife, Cinnamon, treated me to a lovely steak and claret dinner at home. She prepared a prime top sirloin in the cast iron pan, her excellent empress rice, and also served some wok-fried green beans. I decanted the 1998 Haut-Franquet Moulis to go with it. I woke up inspired to write about it—it was a great experience…
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