Today's buying guide gets us (re)acquainted with the people and places that make our Champagne portfolio the best in the business. Fresh off a visit to the region, I've come back with a renewed appreciation for these treasured estates, a few of which I've worked with for going on two decades. Recent containers have just dropped a treasure trove of unbeatable direct-import buys on our shelves, so I invite you to explore below and take a deep dive into these beloved wines and producers.
Read MoreNo visit to Champagne would be complete without a drive out to Charly-sur-Marne in the westernmost part of the region to visit Sophie and Ignace Baron at Champagne Baron Fuenté. This year, they have gone through a big label change, with the entire Esprit range now renamed Quinconce. Don’t worry—the great quality and the prices have not changed, just the name.
Read MoreOur ship of Launois recently arrived, just before I shipped out to Mesnil to visit the property. I just tasted all of these wine with Séverine Launois and as usual, their range of estate-grown, Grand Cru Chardonnay–centered wines were amazing. There is a reason that these are the best-selling Champagnes at K&L; they refuse to use anything other than their own vineyards, and those vineyards are exclusively planted to massal selections from their own mother vines—they do not have any cloned plants at all here. The heart of the vineyard, the place where they have the most land, is none other than the legendary Mesnil Grand Cru—the most expensive and most sought-after in all of the Champagne region.
Read MoreI don’t know if I am ready for a better Champagne to be released in 2024 than the 2012 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Louis" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $199.99. I have been lucky enough to have tasted it three times since its release this April, and to drink it once at home as well. This is a Champagne that epitomizes the elegance of this great house, and of Grand Cru Chardonnay from the region.
Read MoreIn the part of Champagne known most for Pinot Noir, there is a magical place called La Perle Blanche de la Montagne de Reims, the east-facing slope of this small but prominent hill. The first village of this sub-region is the Premier Cru of Trépail, where the Petiau family tends to a small but exceptional vineyard... Because we buy the bottles directly from the family, the value is also outstanding.
Read MoreAll of the big houses say that this part of the Marne is just for Meunier and only good for the shortest-aged blends. Fallet-Dart proves them wrong. They grow great quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir here as well as fantastic Meunier and offer the longest-aged current release Champagne that we stock at 19 years old. Everything that they make is grown on their own estate. I should not have been surprised by how well the wines showed given how long we have worked together, but wow, these are world class, and the value from top to bottom is simply amazing.
Read MoreAfter returning from my fifth visit to Bordeaux to taste the new vintage (where’s my 5-timer robe??), I can say with confidence there is a lot to like about the 2023 vintage. This is a vintage like no other, where the best wines are exciting, vibrant, and emotionally thrilling, capturing the best of warm-vintage depth-of-fruit and the alluring qualities of cool-vintage freshness and minerality.
Read MoreI’ll have to admit, and have received feedback as such, that I’ve often been a bit too cynical about the vintage at hand, or the market conditions that challenge the primeur campaign. Perhaps I’m just trying to make sure producers share our stress and reduce their prices. It’s also a tough position to be in–we’re dropped into the middle of the action for a brief week, being pulled in many directions. Avoiding the stress of it is like landing in the middle of a storm and trying to ignore the wind. But today, we’re starting to slow down, and perhaps it is time to focus on some of the bright spots from the last few days.
Read MoreAfter tasting through the Médoc for two days straight, we have a few things that seem to be clear–this is a vintage with compelling wines that deserve collectors’ attention, but it is also one that comes with much less clarity and consensus as the easy-to-understand vintages of the past five years. While many reach for a recent vintage as a parallel, the 2023s have a character all their own–something that makes us love wine in the first place.
Read MoreDomestic Buyer Ryan Woodhouse has been on a tear lately, unearthing one new fantastic discovery after another. This month's newsletter shines the spotlight on three exceptional finds from California, encompassing not only some of the best hidden-gem, hand-crafted Pinots and Cabs, but also a sparkling wine producer that's set to make a big splash on the scene. We'll also check in with a perennial favorite Oregon producer that's taking their game to a whole new level in the 2022 vintage.
Read MoreYesterday was a day of exploring Bordeaux, discovering a vintage, tasting First Growths (and wines that rivaled them), and spending time with friends new and old. All in all, it was a great day to be part of the people, wines, and region of Bordeaux. Unfortunately, it has become clear that it will take a bit more than a day to figure out this sometimes confounding, sometimes profound, and very unique vintage that’s about to shape the market. Conclusions for these wines will come in a matter of days, weeks, and years, but I’ll not be able to draw anything today.
Read MoreAfter 47 years in the wine biz, we’re thrilled to announce the opening of our fourth location. Get ready for us, Westside LA, because K&L is now open in Culver City! K&L Culver City is built on the same foundation we’ve built our whole company on: expert staff, small producers, customer service, excellent prices, and community—but now you don’t have to sit in traffic on the 10 to get there!
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