How Well Can You Drink For Under $30?
After the frequent excesses of the holiday season, the early months of the year often have folks (myself included) looking for great values in wine. That transition from pulling the best bottles from the cellar for celebrations to grabbing wines for daily drinking can be a process. But fear not. Here at K&L we consider finding great wines at modest prices one of the most important parts of our business. If you’re spending big dollars on expensive, high-end wines, they’d better be exceptional. However, as the Domestic Wine Buyer at K&L the part of my job that takes up the vast majority of my time and effort is making sure we have a best-in-class selection of wines that over-deliver on value for money. I taste hundreds of wines every week, travel to wine regions to seek out new talent, and work with dozens of suppliers to try and find you the very best deals in wine, and to do so without cutting corners on quality, and still focusing on small production, artisanal wines. My hope is to gain your trust and earn your ongoing business just as K&L has done for the past 50 years. Whether you’re just starting out on your wine journey exploring new regions and varietals, or if you know what you like and and just looking to stock up the cellar I’m confident we have something for you.
Here are some current wines that I believe to be among the very best QPR wines in our inventory while still providing a distinctive, engaging sip from the novice to the seasoned connoisseur.
2023 Anonymous Wine Collective Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay $24.95 (Elsewhere $50) If you're looking for wines that massively over deliver at K&L, our Anonymous Wine Collective wines are the best place to start. They are the culmination of decades of partnerships with top wineries and the almost too-good-to-be-true savings that our commitment to anonymity brings. Concealing who made these wines allows us to partner with exceptional wineries to bring you some of the most incredible deals I’ve seen in my 20 years working in the industry. This Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay is made by one of the most famed and critically acclaimed estates in the region. Organic/biodynamic farming, top-notch artisanal winemaking, long slow elevage, all for a price that's 50% off what this wine typically sells for. A focused, mineral driven style, with beautiful crystalline fruit, subtle oak, and incredible length on the palate.
2024 Brick & Mortar Anderson Valley Chardonnay $19.95 (Elsewhere $30) 94JS Brick & Mortar’s wines often provide some of the very best QPR in the business. This husband and wife team have secured access for many exceptional vineyards across Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino. This particular wine is actually entirely from the renowned Ferrington Vineyard in Anderson Valley. A longtime source for greats such as Williams-Selyem, Failla, and Auteur. The wine sees just 15% new oak, and only partial malo, and no battonage—all designed to keep the wine bright, fresh, and focused. Think of this as a Chablis-inspired style wine, from a great vineyard… then consider its sub $20 price point!
2019 Barden "Sanford & Benedict Vineyard" Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay $29.95 (Previously $80) 93VN I managed to work out a great deal with Barden on a small parcel of this wine while they rolled into the next vintage. Coming from old Wente clone Chardonnay at the historic “Grand Cru” Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, this wine delivers this site’s signature combination of power and grace. The mature vines here grow in clay soils full of chunks of fractured chert. The almost seems to mirror this geological origin with some nice textural softness and breadth on the palate brought into balance with a more firm, flinty acid line and lovely seasoning of quality French oak. This wine is drinking in its sweet spot and allows you to access one of the most renowned vineyards in the state for a very modest price point.
Ruben Solozarno, Stolpman’s Viticulturalist.
2023 Stolpman Santa Barbara County Grenache $19.95 93JS 93VN A definite contender for best value in the domestic wine section right now has to be this beautiful and expressive Grenache from Stolpman. We have long enjoyed a great partnership with the Stolpman family and always carry a range of their exceptional estate-grown wines. With this 2023 Grenache, the Stolpman team had a chance to purchase fruit from a neighboring vineyard also farmed by Ruben Solozarno (Stolpman’s longtime viticulturalist) for a great price so long as the name of the source was redacted. The wine is a showcase for just how pure, vibrant and downright delicious Grenache can be. A very deliberate mid-weight style, steering away from the big, saturated, high-octane styles that can dominate the Central Coast. This wine is full of red brambly fruit, baking spice, black raspberry, hints of white pepper, crushed rock, and dried floral notes. Beautiful wine for a sensational price.
2023 PROJECT M "Bednarik Vineyard" Tualatin Hills Pinot Noir $19.95 93IWR Once again we’ve secured some of this beautiful Bednarik Vineyard Pinot Noir from Project M. Bednarik is a fascinating old planting of Pinot Noir in the cool, coastal range AVA of Tualatin Hills. These vines are over 40 years of age, own-rooted, Pommard and Wadenswil clones. This small but mighty vineyard produces one of the most distinctive styles of Pinot Noir in the region and the fruit is highly sought after. To me the wines always have a complex, savory, brambly element with alpine herbs and an earthy base note. More wild and savory than the modern Dijon clones. A wine with way more complexity and depth than its Insider’s Advantage pricing might suggest.
2023 Lioco Mendocino County Pinot Noir $24.95 95JS At a tasting a few months back I really enjoyed the lineup of Lioco wines. These wines have long been staples on our shelves, but running through the whole lineup with owners Matt and Sara Licklider reminded me of just how excellent the wines are. The Mendo Pinot is a benchmark wine in the range, perennially one of the most overtly delicious and accessible Pinot Noirs of the region. The wine captures not only wonderfully pure fruit but also those telltale Coastal Redwood forest tones that typify the area. Aromatic cherry liqueur, rose petals, woodsy spices, forest floor.
2023 Bedrock "Old Vine" California Zinfandel $24.95 92WS 92JS Still the best bottle of Zinfandel you can buy for $25. Bedrock’s hold on this category comes from their incredible list of vineyard sources allowing this wine to average 80-year-old vines. Also, the team’s commitment to farming many of the vineyards that go into this blend with progressive organic and regenerative methods continues to pay dividends in the quality of even their “base level” wine. And of course there’s the winemaking team’s commitment to excellence. The cool, long, moderate growing season in 2023 played perfectly into the hands of wines like this where winemakers were spoiled for choice with exceptional fruit.
2017 Copain "Brosseau Vineyard" Chalone Syrah (Winery Direct Library Release) $29.95 (Elsewhere $70) 96VN This is a fun one: I got my hands on a beautifully aged parcel of Copain “Brosseau Vineyard” Syrah. This remarkable vineyard up in Chalone (near the Pinnacles National Monument) has a terroir unlike just about anywhere else in California. The combination of elevation, limestone soils, modest coastal influence produces distinctive, powerful, and ageworthy wines. The very shallow, rocky soils mean that yields here are often painfully low with concentrated, muscular wines. This classically styled Syrah has not had the benefit of almost ten years of age and has developed beautifully. Dried flowers, wisps of smoked meat, dusty dark red fruit, dry chaparral, toasted spices. Quite a powerful wine, but one that has the beautiful benefit of time to relax and show its true colors.
2019 Twelfth Labour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $29.95 (Elsewhere $60) 92DC 92WA How about a stunning value in Napa Cab!? Twelfth Labour is a rocking bottle of Cabernet taking fruit from Calistoga, Rutherford, Howell Mountain, and Stags Leap. The wine was made by Robbie Meyer, a hugely experienced winemaker who learned his craft at places such as Peter Michael and Lewis Cellars. This is a seriously satisfying, ready to go Napa Cab that is priced to sell. I have no doubt this will be a huge crowd favorite at K&L.