What I'm Excited About This Week: Bordeaux and New Discoveries!

The wines that I'm most excited about this week are all wines that tell me a story with every sip—be it the story of the vintage, the land, the people, or our relationships—it's all something of interest. The story of the wine makes it that much more special. We have new Discovery Series wines, and they're just absolutely mind-blowing Crazy Eddie deals that we're just casually dropping. Both of the new K&L Discovery Series St-Emilion wines—2005 K&L Discovery Series Bordeaux, St-Emilion (Elsewhere $40) $19.99 and 2009 K&L Discovery Series Bordeaux, St-Emilion (Elsewhere $40) $14.99—are outstanding, showing incredibly well even though they're pretty much fresh out of the container from France.

Aaron HughesAugust 28, 2025K&L Wine Merchants

Newsletter: The Bordeaux Buying Guide

Bordeaux is having a moment. Between the precision of 2022, the ripe classicism of 2019, and the structure of 2016, there’s never been a better time to buy smart—whether you’re building a cellar, restocking weeknight staples, or hunting blue-chip collectibles. In this guide, Bordeaux Buyer Ryan Moses highlights where value lives today, introduces the K&L Discovery Series, spotlights top in-stock 2022s, and curates age-worthy picks for the long haul—then invites you to a high-energy, side-by-side tasting: a rare chance to experience world-class producers and vintages in one sitting.

The Heart of Value is Still in Bordeaux

One of the quiet reasons the fine wine world is struggling is that there are simply too many great wines. This may sound counterintuitive, but the more I think about it, the clearer it becomes: so many bottles now overdeliver at their price point that some of the traditional powerhouses feel less essential. Plenty of cult labels, lacking true scarcity, raised their prices dramatically over the past decade—while some deserved the acclaim and rewards, others pushed their customers to look elsewhere. And that “elsewhere” has gotten so good, it’s hard to go back.

2022: Investments in What Bordeaux Does Best

It may sound surprising to describe 2022 as a breakout, turn-of-the-decade moment—especially at the outset. The vintage began with unusually warm and dry conditions, prompting many of us to brace for excess, over-extraction, or relentless heat. Yet as the wines start to land and open in bottle, I’m sensing something else entirely: an unlikely alchemy. The season’s heat became a crucible—sharpening focus, forcing the vines to tap deep into their roots; the consistency of the weather (no late drought shocks, no mildew threats) allowed each château to lean into detail, precision, and balance. What emerged is less about ripeness and more about architecture—wines that feel built to last, with energy, nuance, and a compelling tension.

Tariff Update: Navigating a New Reality with the Same Values

There are times in this business when the ground shifts under your feet. Some changes are seasonal—tied to harvests, vintages, or evolving tastes. Others arrive with more permanence. The introduction of new tariffs on imported wine and spirits is one of those moments.

Giuseppe Quintarelli – A Legacy Bottled in Time

During the last hundred years the Quintarelli family has established its reputation through their estate located on the eastern slope of the Negrar Valley in the middle of Valpolicella. Silvio Quintarelli established the winery in 1924. It was his son, Giuseppe, also known as Bepi, however, who helped the winery achieve worldwide recognition. The winery has maintained its dedication to traditional methods and patient winemaking since Silvio’s era, but Bepi’s influence is incalculable. His manual label writing became an unmistakable signature for the brand, showing what a labor of love each and every bottle is. Combined with his use of ten-year Slavonian-oak barrel aging, Bepi developed a signature Amarone style that established itself as the reference point for many Italian winemakers.

What I'm Excited About This Week: Chablis and a Little Treat!

What a wonderful time to be alive—we have a ton of amazing Chablis right now.

Our New Discovery Series - Wines Worth Discovering

The K&L Discovery Series is a curated collection of wines selected by our expert buying team to spotlight what we believe are the hidden gems, overlooked vintages, and exceptional expressions worth discovering in today’s wine world.

Open Cellar: Mid-August Round-up

Open Cellar is ready for a mid-month refresh, so here’s a little sneak peek of some crowd favorites, some up-and-coming greats, and one legendary wine from an all-time-great vintage—each ready to be discovered one ounce (or two) at a time. Consider this your invitation to stop by to explore the greats or discover a new favorite before the lineup changes.

The White Burgundy Issue—Names to Know + Blue-Chip Collectibles

K&L Buyer Alex Pross maps the White Burgundy landscape, highlighting his current obsessions. Inside: a Chablis discovery (Seguinot Bordet), Sauzet’s benchmarks, Samuel Billaud’s standout 2023s, a blue-chip in-stock roundup, and our upcoming White Burgundy tasting—a rare opportunity to taste some of the region’s top crus, producers, and vintages side by side! Use this guide to target what to drink now, what to cellar, and where to focus.

The 2023s from Samuel Billaud Are Top Notch

Domaine Samuel Billaud has definitely entered the discussion about top domaines in Chablis. They are definitely shoulder-to-shoulder qualitatively with Droin, Fevre, Pinson, Billaud-Simon, Christian Moreau, and Louis Michel.

A Wonderful Chablis Discovery: 2023 Seguinot Bordet

The roots of Seguinot Bordet trace back as far as 1590 in Chablis. The modern incarnation is the Domaine Seguinot Bordet, which is run by Jean-François Bordet. Jean-François Bordet fashions top-notch estate Chablis, Chablis Vieilles Vignes, as well as 1er Crus and Grand Cru offerings. Aiming for wines of purity that display both Chablis typicity as well as a wealth of gorgeous fruit notes, the wines of Seguinot Bordet are fantastic drinking from Chablis.

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