Exceptional Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage from Domaine Belle

Domaine Belle is located in the village of Larnage, just to the north of the famous winemaking cooperative of Tain l’Hermitage, which the original Louis Belle helped to found in 1933. Today, the third generation, Philippe, is at the helm, and his son Guillaume is in the process of learning the ropes. Today, they own 25 hectares covering six communes and three appellations in the Northern Rhône. We added this fantastic family-run estate to our Direct Import portfolio five years ago, and they have quickly become a fan favorite for their deep, soulful wines.

The Annual Champagne Summit Dinner Sparkles with Billecart's Brightest

Earlier this week, the K&L Champagne team kicked off our annual staff summit with a dinner hosted by Billecart-Salmon. It has become a welcome tradition to start off our yearly survey of all the grande marque producers with a sushi dinner at my place featuring the wines of this great house. Christian Esser, who just returned from a visit to Billecart, and Eric Lecours presented the wines and treated Scott Beckerley, Michael Benoit, Philip Roufail, Will Langhi, Cinnamon and me to a great spread from Kanpai sushi in Palo Alto.

Interested in Maximizing Your Wine Cellar’s Potential? Start Here.

K&L Auctions is one of the most user-friendly and dynamic places to sell, reshape, and add to your collection. We offer market-low fees, up-to-the-minute online inventory, motivated customers from around the world, and a team of passionate experts to assist you in achieving maximum success. While we have our teams at the ready to talk you through current trends ([email protected]), we also wanted to share a snapshot of where the auction market stands this summer.

The Majestic Wines of Domaine Weinbach

Few wineries have a history as long and as storied as Domaine Weinbach, which can trace its origins back to vines that were planted on the property in the 9th century. It was eventually established as a winery in 1612 by the Capuchin friars. Named after a stream that runs through the property, it was purchased in 1898 by the Faller Family, which still runs it today. Since 2016 Catherine Faller has run the estate with the help of her two sons Eddy and Theo, employing both organic and biodynamic farming practices. The wines of Domaine Weinbach are wonderful representations of Alsace with a focus on purity, balance, and elegance. Weinbach consistently ranks among the top two to three producers in all of Alsace.

The Artistry of Charles Baur

It is truly a shame that Alsace gets overlooked when discussing the best white wine values in the world. Alsace may not beat their chest and scream from the mountain tops that they are the epicenter of white wine values, but there truly are some great wines that are priced incredibly well. Charles Baur is easily one of my favorite producers just based on the breadth of great white wines he produces across the aromatic spectrum. With a string of strong vintages, Charles Baur has stacked one great wine value after another. Regardless of vintage we have the right wine at the right price for you to explore the wonders of Alsace.

A Much-Awaited New Cuvée from Ruinart

This Wednesday I was invited to dinner at Selby’s by Louise Bryden, head of research and development and part of the winemaking team at Champagne Ruinart. She is touring the West Coast for the release of the Ruinart Blanc Singulier Brut Nature, the first new cuvée to be released by Ruinart since the non-vintage blanc de blancs over 20 years ago. It was a fantastic evening, and we were even served by the Ruinart Challenge winner—Lindsey Young from Selby’s—who had taken the prize that very morning in San Francisco!

Meet Chelsea, Our Newest Key Accounts Specialist

We’re pleased to welcome a new Key Accounts Specialist, Chelsea Herholdt, to our team. Chelsea, located in San Francisco, comes to us with years of experience in the biz, and can help guide you through the process of building your collection. If you’re curious about where to start with a collection, drop her a line.

French Regional Wrap Up: Corbières’ Clos de l’Anhel

Vigneron Sophie Guiraudon established Clos de l’Anhel in the appellation of Corbières just over two decades ago. She proudly states that she is a first-generation winemaker. Beginning her career at another winery in the region, she felt like she could do the same thing they were doing but better and organic—so why not strike out on her own?

The One-and-Only Jura

Jura has always been one of my passion projects. Early on in my tenure as the French Regional Buyer for K&L, I quickly became engaged by the unique flavor profiles of the wines from the region. The reds are light and crunchy with more structure than you might expect, which contributes to a myriad of food-pairing possibilities. The whites are, of course, epic, and the reason why most people are drawn to this category.

Limoux's Domaine Bégude Blazes Their Own (Organic) Trail

Well over a decade ago, we were introduced to an outlier producer in Limoux called Domaine Bégude whose focus was on pure varietal still wines, all farmed organically. Vigneron James Kinglake was and his wife Catherine established this small estate in 2003 when they fled London’s financial industry and decided to take on the “low-key” world of winemaking in the south of France. Of course, the dream never starts easily, but, now on their 20th vintage, they have grown the winery, received organic certification, raised a daughter, and created one of our favorite brands from the south of France!

The Zippy, Seafood-Friendly, Utterly Affordable Picpoul

The beauty of Picpoul: these are bright, fresh, and vibrant wines that should command summer drinking obsession!

Ile de Beauté: Wines of Corsica

Corsica is known as the Isle of Beauty (Ile de Beauté) in France, and deservedly so—the topography is wondrous. The island, which is the fourth largest in the Mediterranean, has beautiful mountains and is surrounded by over 600 miles of coastline and 200+ beaches. There seems to be no bad view anywhere.

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