Burgundy 2016: From Bargains to Ballers

Our very last tasting of the year is coming up this Saturday and it’s a doozy: all Burgundy, all grand, all 2016 vintage. This was a tricky vintage that was high in quality but low in quantity. A mild winter had people initially optimistic, especially after the gangbusters 2015, but frost and mildew came in hard and heavy. The good news is that the smaller crop was one of excellent fruit, and the wines all show super singing acidity.

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Merlot: To Be Taken Seriously

Today is International Merlot Day, so it got me thinking about this varietal –  in particular, how sorry I am that it has gotten such a bad rap. But in the hands of a talented winemaker, Merlot makes a beautiful wine. When grown in the right locations and given proper care, it can be a stunning, complex wine that combines both power and finesse, rivalling the finest Cabernets. Bordeaux, Napa Valley and Tuscany are probably the best-known regions in the world for producing exceptional Merlots.

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Les Vinifilles: Girl Power in the Languedoc-Roussillon

In the last few decades, there has been an influx of new vintners to the Languedoc-Roussillon, bringing with them both quality and excitement.  Nowhere is this energy more apparent than with Les Vinifilles (translated as “wine girls”), a trade organization of women formed to support one another and celebrate the “culture of wine.” They describe themselves as “beautiful, rebellious, active, food-loving, likeable, sociable and lively.” This infectious excitement and enthusiasm, for wine and for each other, is how our Buyer Keith Mabry progressively discovered the wines and brought them into K&L.

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A Tale of Two Houses: Ayala and Bollinger Champagne

We’re all super excited for this weekend’s Champagne Tent Events in Hollywood and San Francisco, so we’ve been talking about bubbles all week. I had a chance to chat with Valerie McDaniel, who represents both Bollinger and Ayala, and I learned a ton about these fascinating, historic houses. Ayala and Bollinger are two of the most notable producers in the village of Aÿ, in the heart of the Valle de Marne, and since 2005 they’ve been inextricably linked under the same ownership. But their friendship goes back even further. Ayala’s tale is one of riots and war and golden times, and it’s a great foray into Champenoise history.

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Angeleno Winery Is Putting Los Angeles Back in the Wine Game

And so there we were, in 1100 square feet packed with people and barrels and grapes and a forklift and a bucket of Tecate—at ground zero of what I have no doubt is a new moment for wine in this city, because here’s the thing: the wine is good. And they have the momentum and enthusiasm behind them to keep these wheels turning. Owner Jasper Dickson is a bon vivant/musician/winemaker/entrepreneur, who has a passion for wine and for LA—and he’s got a plan for both.

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Celebrating Champagne Day with Lanson

Last Friday was International Champagne Day and we hosted Enguerrand Baijot, owner of Champagne Lanson, in our Redwood City store for a special tasting. Baijot poured six of his wines and shared interesting insights with our crowd of guests.

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A Tasting to Remember—Roederer Cristal

This past Thursday I flew out to Hollywood for a very special vertical dinner of Louis Roederer’s Cristal. K&L’s own Sharon Kelly organized the event, and 25 happy customers joined us. Dirk Smits from Champagne Louis Roederer lead us through the wines, which were paired expertly by Chef Walter Manzke and his staff at République.

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Gary Westby
Ladies to the Front—Two Stand-Out Southern Rhône Producers

We’re still tasting our way through the bounty of Southern Rhône from the heralded 2016 vintage, and boy are the wines good. In Jeb Dunnuck’s words: “The 2016 vintage was truly extraordinary for the Southern Rhône and is a vintage that readers should buy with abandon. This is the greatest young vintage from the Southern Rhône Valley I’ve ever tasted, both in terms of quality as well as consistency… In fact, it’s difficult to find a truly bad wine in 2016.” From what I can tell so far, I can’t argue with him. And thanks to our Direct Import program, there are some great values on our shelves to boot.

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Bring on the Bubbly

Gary Westby, our Champagne Buyer, invited me to join them for their annual Champagne Summit, a daylong tasting that happens every fall. Each year, in order to get ready for the busy holiday season, the buyers invite some of the biggest houses in France to pour their Champagnes.

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