Elegance Reimagined: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Australia and New Zealand

If you had to choose grape varieties to define New Zealand and Australia, they would surely be Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz, respectively. And with good reason, since both countries have made an indelible mark upon on the wine world with those varieties. In recent years, however, Burgundy enthusiasts increasingly have been turning to the Southern Hemisphere to explore new styles of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. With such a wide range of climates and regions across the two countries, there is a style to suit every palate.

How Well Can You Drink For Under $30?

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.

Holocene: Oregon Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for the Ages

The Holocene wines are some of the most exciting wines I’ve seen out of Oregon in the past few years. They’re very small production wines, typically only a few hundred cases of each bottling. The wines are made with precision and poise but without too much winemaking input. Native yeasts, minimal intervention, modest use of oak. The purity of all the wines is compelling, as is their vibrancy and transparent sense of place.

Celebrating 100 Years of La Chablisienne with an Exclusive Collaboration

Sometimes it’s simply kismet. Our latest private-label release is a collaboration with the famed Chablis producer La Chablisienne. K&L has worked closely with La Chablisienne for many years, and when the opportunity arose to create a private label together, we jumped at the chance. Adding to the magic is the timing: the 2023 vintage commemorates La Chablisienne’s 100th anniversary, while its release in 2026 coincides with K&L Wine Merchants’ 50th anniversary.

1er Cru Chablis Values with Pedigree from Agnes Gleizes

We’re thrilled to introduce Agnes Gleizes, a new K&L Exclusive Chablis label and a seven-generation family domaine with enviable holdings across top Grand Cru and 1er Cru vineyard sites. Domaine Gautheron, a top Chablis producer and a K&L fan favorite, is behind the Agnes Gleizes label. In fact, you’ll find the exact same juice in the Agnes Gleizes wines as in Domaine Gautheron’s. Thanks to our great relationship with Domaine Gautheron, we’ve been able to secure our own exclusive label! Not only are these wines fantastic but they are easily the best value we currently have in Chablis.

Breakfast Wines with Steve Matthiasson

A recent K&L staff trip to Napa Valley saw the NorCal sales team explore the cooler parts of the region with a day in Carneros and Coombsville, two of the southernmost sub-AVAs of Napa, with lots of moderating influence from the nearby San Pablo Bay. We started off the day with an incredible 8:30am visit with Steve Matthiasson at his Cressida Vineyard in the upper Carneros, right at the foot of the Mayacamas range as it descends towards the bay. The weather in Carneros behaved perfectly with thick morning fog slowly receding back to the bay as our crew walked up into the vineyard with the first patches of blue sky being revealed.

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.

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 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.

What I'm Excited About This Week: The Return of Anonymous

For these Anonymous Wine Collective bottles, we've given a pinky promise and staked our reputations on keeping certain particulars under wraps. In return for a little anonymity, we're able to offer incredible pricing on these wines. If these wines were bottled by the original producer, they would sell for 60-70% more. Fortunately for us, the producers had more wine than they needed, and we felt like, gosh that would be an outstanding product to be able to offer our customers. We are extremely fortunate and thankful that our positive reputation has given us access to these wines, and, as more and more of them are released, we hope that you notice the theme of extreme price-to-quality ratios.

Anonymous Wine Collective 2.0

After the incredible success of and great feedback on our initial Anonymous releases (that sold out VERY quickly) I’ve been working hard to get the next set of wines across the finish line. It’s taken a little longer than we hoped, but doing things right takes time, and good things come to those who wait! Finally I have not one, not two, but three new Anonymous wines to share with you all. I’m so unbelievably proud of these releases, I truly couldn’t be more excited about getting them in your hands and most importantly in your glass.

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