This summer, our NYC store is pouring 50 days of free tastings at 270 Madison Avenue. Mouton-Rothschild. Cristal. Pingus. Dal Forno Amarone. No ticket. No sign-up. Just show up between 2 and 5 PM, May 26 through July 23. Meanwhile, our buyers are sharing what they're actually drinking this season. Aaron Hughes on the domestic rosés worth the fuss. Ryan Woodhouse on six Sauvignon Blancs built for summer. Jonathan Goldstein on the spirits worth stocking right now. Half a century of buying relationships. This is what it looks like.
Summer calls for a different kind of bottle. K&L NYC Spirits Buyer Jonathan Goldstein has five picks for the season — tequila, mezcal, rum, and Japanese whisky, all under $50, all chosen for one reason: they're genuinely delicious over ice on a hot day. Lost Explorer Blanco at $44.99. Hamilton Demerara Rum at $24.99. Iwai 45 Japanese Whisky at $32.99. Plus a South African pineapple rum that will surprise you. Read Jonathan's full notes and shop the complete summer lineup below. Shop Summer Spirits →
K&L Domestic Wine Buyer Ryan Woodhouse makes his case for Sauvignon Blanc as the ultimate summer grape—and backs it up with six picks spanning Dry Creek Valley, Coombsville, Rutherford, and Mendocino Ridge. From a $14.95 everyday crusher to a 50%-off Beckstoffer vineyard gem, these are the bottles passing through his refrigerator this season.
K&L Redwood City Tasting Bar Manager Aaron Hughes rounds up his favorite 2025 California and Oregon rosés, from a $14.95 Willamette Valley crusher to top-tier Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir rosé from Flowers and Marine Layer. All dry, all delicious, all worth your attention this season.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, K&L Wine Merchants' New York store is opening its cellar—free—for 50 consecutive days. Krug, Cristal, Sassicaia, Pingus, Mouton-Rothschild, Dal Forno, Bollinger La Grande Année, Dominus, Peter Michael and more, poured daily from 2–5 PM at 270 Madison Avenue (corner of 39th). No sign-up. No ticket. Just show up. Three 2 oz pours per visit, two visits per week per person. The full 50-day lineup is below.
K&L Burgundy Buyer Alex Pross calls 2024 one of the greatest White Burgundy vintages of the past quarter century—crystalline, precise, and built for the ages. Here's your complete guide to the best producers and pre-arrival offerings, from village Chablis to Grand Cru Montrachet.
99% no. Today's yes is a Syrah. When people hear "private label," they think corner-cutting. Anonymous is the opposite. The wines come from top-tier California producers under NDA so we don't undercut their flagship pricing. You're paying 2-3X less for the same wine. Ryan Woodhouse, our longtime CA buyer, turns down 99% of what crosses his desk. Bottles from winemakers he respects, brokers he's known for years, rockstar names. If the price isn't right or the wine isn't ready, the answer is no. I check in with him regularly to find out what, if anything, has cleared his bar. Usually nothing has.
Domaine Marc Colin is one of the great family trees of modern Burgundy—the estate behind Caroline Morey, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, and Joseph Colin. The original domaine remains every bit their equal. The 2024 lineup covers the full Côte de Beaune—Saint-Aubin Premier Cru at $89.99, Chassagne, Puligny, and a Montrachet Grand Cru that earned 96–98 from Vinous. In one of the greatest White Burgundy vintages in a generation, these wines deliver at every level.
Few estates tell the story of Puligny-Montrachet as completely as Domaine Jean Chartron. Founded in 1859 and led today by Jean-Michel Chartron, the domaine produces some of the most precise, mineral-driven White Burgundy on the Côte de Beaune. The 2024s are exceptional. Village Puligny and Chassagne at $99.99. A Premier Cru "Clos de la Pucelle" at $179.99—95 Decanter. And their monopole Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru "Clos des Chevaliers"—98 points from both Decanter and Jeb Dunnuck.
Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard is one of Chassagne- Montrachet's finest value producers—and the 2024 vintage is their best argument yet. Led by Céline Fontaine and Frédéric Robert (formerly of Domaine Armand Rousseau), the estate crafts richly textured, mineral-driven White Burgundy that consistently outperforms its price. Critics agree: 91–96 points across the board. Village Chassagne at $79.99. Six Premier Crus at $129.99–$159.99. Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru at $499.99. In a landmark vintage for White Burgundy, these are the bottles to buy.
The 2024 White Burgundy vintage is one of the greatest in 25 years; the wines are crystalline, precise, and classically Burgundian. The catch: yields are down 40–80%. These wines will disappear. 2024 belongs alongside 2014 and 2017 as a modern benchmark for White Burgundy. Don't sleep on 2023 Red Burgundy either. It's drinking beautifully now, built to age.
Our buyer Ryan Moses just returned from Bordeaux. His verdict: this is the vintage serious collectors have been waiting for. Low yields. Moderate alcohol. Classical structure. Pricing aligned with 2024—for a significantly better vintage. Pontet-Canet: 98–100 Wine Advocate—$89.99. Malescot-St-Exupéry: 97 points—$49.99. Laroque: 96 Decanter—$31.99 Critics call it "the concentration of 2022 with the freshness of 2016." Pre-arrival. Estimated delivery September 2028.
