If you put your ear to the ground, you’ll hear a lot of buzz around Tuscany’s 2015 vintage, especially around two wines in particular: Sassicaia just topped Wine Spectator’s top ten list with an illustrious slot at #1. Meanwhile, Solaia has raked in two 100-point scores from James Suckling and Robert Parker. These are from world-class winemakers at the top of their game, making the most of an exceptional vintage.
Read MoreIt’s the most wonderful time of the year! The foodie/wine-lover smorgasbord that is Thanksgiving, where the stuff we love is front and center: cooking, eating, drinking, and merriment with those dear to you. But let’s face it, it’s a lot of work. So, we’re here to help. French-Regional-&-Miscellany Buyer Extraordinaire, Keith Mabry, and I put together a Thanksgiving game plan, complete with accompanying wines, that is sure to knock your turkey day out of the park.
Read MoreAfter reading David’s piece on the independent bottler L’Encantada in the sprits journal, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a bottle. My birthday was this weekend, and my father was coming to town (our birthdays are only four days apart and we always celebrate together) which is a perfect occasion for a great spirit. When my dad arrived in town, his first stop was K&L, and I talked him into buying a bottle of the 20 Year Old "Bellair #36" Bas-Armagnac, which was distilled in 1997.
Read MoreHappy International Tempranillo Day! What a wonderful grape to celebrate. Today, we’re toasting Spain’s most famous grape with some wines that just landed from Bodegas Casa Juan Señor de Lesmos. They have long been one of our favorite Rioja producers, and with good reason: this family-run winery makes classic, expressive wines at a price you absolutely can’t beat. If you’re looking for balance and character and value, you’re going to love this bodega.
Read MoreAt our Champagne Tent event, I had the chance to catch up with Alexandre Le Brun. He is one of the smallest producers that we import at K&L, with a total production around 700 cases. He has a small winery in the basement of his ancestral home in Monthelon, which is surrounded by old vines that date back to 1950 and 1902. In total, he farms seven acres over 22 different plots. Although he sells a majority of his grapes to the big houses (Bollinger, Moet, Laurent Perrier, etc.), he keeps a small amount for himself, which he lovingly crafts into five stunning Champagnes.
Read MoreOur 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.
Read MoreToday 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.
Read MoreOver the past week, I previewed two of my favorite Champagne and food pairings for the holidays. The first is old vintage Champagne and foie gras. My other favorite pairing is crab cakes and extra brut blanc de blancs.
Read MoreOur 12th Champagne Tent Event is in the books, and it was truly one to remember. There were 26 producers at the event, many coming to California all the way from Champagne for our back-to-back events in LA and SF. Had we been revelers at Versailles, I don’t know if we could have enjoyed ourselves more.
Read MoreIn 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.
Read MoreAfter several months of anticipation, our new Club Français has finally launched and the bottles are being shipped out today!
Read MoreWe’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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