Cinnamon and I try to make every Sunday special as it is our one day off together, and this week she treated us to a special Dungeness crab dip for our aperitif. To go with it, I opened perhaps the most “under the radar” of all the great houses’ tête de cuvée bottlings, the 2010 Drappier "Grande Sendrée" Brut Champagne. It was a great reminder of the incredible depth and pleasure that this single-vineyard Champagne has to offer and went fabulously with the crab dip.
Read MoreEach time we get a new shipment of Launois it is a cause for a little bit of celebration at K&L—and a lot of employee purchases! This is especially true each time we get a new vintage of their spectacular Special Club bottling, which is always one of the top Champagne cuvées that we have at any price. Last week, our first shipment of the year arrived, and we got our first look at the 2013 Launois “Special Club” Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut. It exceeded our high expectations.
Read MoreChampagne Liaison Scott Beckerley unearthed a treasure recently from his cellar: a bottle from LeClerc Briant, a beloved producer who sold off their exceptional biodynamic vineyards upon the owner’s passing. Luckily, the vineyards were bought by Roederer, and the superb terroir lives on in their wines.
Read MoreVintage Henriot and white truffles, oh my. Gary found a very special wine to go with his birthday truffle straight from Alba and handmade pasta. Though he’d intended to drink the 2008 Henriot as an aperitif, it paired so divinely with his meal that it became the star of the show.
Read MoreIt is not every day that one has the chance to drink a Champagne from the most sought-after villages in Champagne, or from the best vintage of a generation, or from vines of nearly 100-years old. When all of that can be found in one wine, it ought to be a special occasion indeed to taste it. The 2008 Philippe Gonet "Cuvée Belemnita" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne made my Thursday a special occasion—it delivers on all its promise, and then some. It is in contention to be the best bottle of Champagne in stock at K&L—at any price…
Read MoreLast night, Cinnamon and I drank one of the most long-awaited prestige cuvée releases, the 2008 Taittinger "Comtes de Champagne" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne. I can’t remember fielding quite as many calls and emails for a Champagne since the 2002 Krug was released, and for good reason—this is a prestige cuvée that delivers on all of its promise. I had already been extremely impressed with another preview bottle on Saturday with the team at work, but, at home, with time and food, I was blown away.
Read MoreIt’s no secret that we absolutely love Champagne at K&L. The reasons why are too many to count, but if we had to pick one, it could very well be the breathtaking diversity of this world-famous region. As such, our Champagne buyer, Gary Westby, makes the area’s impressive range of styles a central theme in this month’s newsletter. Gary and the team take us on a tour that winds its way to such locales as Tours-sur-Marne, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, and Drachy—some of Champagne’s most revered and celebrated sites. Along the way they delve into many of the region’s biggest names, including Laurent-Perrier and Billecart-Salmon as well as lesser known producers such as Fallet-Dart. Represented in these pages is everything from luxury cuvées to outstanding values.
Read MoreThe 2014 vintage in Champagne is one that all Champagne lovers should take note of. For me, it is only the second time since 1988 (the other harvest being 2004) that the region has produced wines of such streamlined and relaxed elegance…
Read MoreThe 2013 Blanc de Blancs from Launois is an electric, mineral-driven style on the dry side of most bruts, and it pairs beautifully with take-out sushi.
Read MoreWant to make your Valentine’s Day extra special? Then pop a bottle of Rosé Champagne! Our resident Champagne maven, Gary Westby, has some excellent picks and tells the story why Rosé Champagne is special.
Read MoreFebruary marks the 20th anniversary of our Champagne Buyer’s tenure at K&L, and over the years he’s built a remarkable Champagne program for us. The secret sauce: relationships with wonderful producers across the Champagne region, from small, family-run estates to infamous Grande Marques. In today’s newsletter, he and his team profile some of their favorites.
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This coming February will mark twenty years for me here at K&L, and I feel truly blessed as I look back at a great 2019. It was very difficult for me to narrow this list down to just ten most memorable Champagnes, as I have been lucky enough to have had so many great bottles over the last twelve months. Most of the wines on this list I drank, not just tasted, and I am pleased to report that after all this time in the business, my enthusiasm for Champagne has not faded at all.
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