We are always happy to have a visit from our owner Clyde down in LA, and on Friday, Oct. 18th, we had the added bonus of a Clyde-hosted tasting–the first one ever in Hollywood! He poured a suite of Bordeaux wines from the 90s (which, to Clyde, includes 2000 but not 1990).
Read MoreOne of our oldest employees and Bordeaux specialists, Ralph Sands, has been here almost as long as the business itself. Over those past four decades, he’s amassed quite a few stories. Recently, he shared this one, taking us back to the beginning of K&L and the special wine that helped shape the company.
Read MoreThis week, we’re hosting Hélène Garcin-Lévêque in Hollywood for a special in-store tasting and then three-course pairing dinner at Michelin-starred Kali. But word got around! I’d planned to let readers know about the event in this post, so you could run out and buy tickets, but they’ve already sold out! So, instead, I’ll introduce you a bit to her and to her wines, and encourage you to bring home a few bottles for yourself so you can get to know her style. If you would still like the chance to meet her, you can get on the waiting list.
Read MoreThe 2016 vintage in Bordeaux is being heralded as one of the greats. Not only for the sheer quality of the wines - but for it’s breadth across tiers. In the upper ranges, you’ll find some truly stunning wines worthy of their expensive prices, but what is more exciting is how many mid-tier wines, in the $20 to $40 range, are equally as impressive. And, while you have to wait for some of these other wines, many of these mid-priced 2016s are arriving and ready to enjoy now.
Read MoreThis past Sunday evening, the K&L Redwood City team got together for our annual summer barbeque and bottle share party. We were using this occasion to bid farewell to our dear colleague Cameron Price, who is returning to Paris with his wife. In the past year, he has made a big impact around here, and we are all going to miss him a lot. So we toasted him, again and again with every type of wine imaginable. I was barely strong enough to wheel out our recycling bin the next morning!
Read MoreIt was a special treat for the LA team to get to do a Bordeaux tasting yesterday with K&L’s owner/founder/Bordeaux evangelist, Clyde Beffa.
Read MoreOur July 2019 newsletter is chock full of Bordeaux oldies, values, and classics, plus Clyde’s favorite picks.
Read MoreHere’s the much-anticipated report from Clyde and his crew after their spring trip to Bordeaux. Clyde’s verdict? “The wines from 2018 are, for the most part, quite good— especially the red wines.”
Read MoreToday, our staff was treated to a special visit from Mr. Florent Fresse, the export manager for Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The excitement for this visit has been building for weeks, and the seminar that he put on for us did not disappoint. He brought with him two vintages of Mouton, as well as one Petit Mouton, a Chateau d'Armailhac, a Chateau Clerc Milon, and the rare white from Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Aile d'Argent.
Read MoreLast week, I enjoyed another of Clyde’s fabulous, ready to drink Bordeaux bargains with a juicy steak, the 1999 La Closerie du Poujeaux, Moulis ($29.99). I felt that it was so good, with so much great Cabernet texture and dark cassis fruit I wanted to share the story with everyone. When I got up the next morning, I immediately started searching for information on it, but very little was forthcoming. They don’t have a website. When I found them in the “pages jaunes” online, the email that I sent to the chateau bounced. When we reached out to the big négociant house in Bordeaux where we bought the wine, they said that they had asked for technical information, but received nothing. So mysterious!
Read MoreLast Friday, we were treated to an incredible staff education seminar on Chateau Cheval Blanc by Pierre-Olivier Clouet, the technical director of the Chateau. He brought with him five vintages of Cheval Blanc, a generous lineup. For me, this was one of the big highlights of my year here at K&L, and the wines were so exciting that they made me feel like I was in my 20s again, making a personal wine discovery! To have wines at this price point and reputation live up to their billing is special indeed.
Read MoreOn Wednesday, K&L customers enjoyed a particularly rare treat at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco— for the first time in history, Saskia de Rothschild, the head of Chateau Lafite, producer of one of the world’s most famous and highly sought wines, came to Northern California for a special Masterclass Tasting of her properties’ wines.
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