I have received more calls for the Billecart-Salmon "Le Rendez-Vous" Pinot Meunier Extra Brut #1 Champagne than any other bottling this year. Yesterday, our small allocation of 180 bottles finally arrived. I didn’t waste time—I am just as excited as all of the customers who called and emailed—so I chilled one down and drank it last night. Cinnamon and I had the wine both as an aperitif, and with the excellent Taiwanese food of I-Dumpling here in Redwood City. It was a huge success both ways and “a small bottle”—our code at home for “we liked it so much that we drank it too fast.”

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Last night, I was treated to an early birthday treat as my friend, Henry, who manages the Fish Market restaurant, called and said that he had fresh king crab for us. Once a year, he gets an allocation aired in from Alaska that has not been frozen, and it is an over-the-top delicacy. We paired it with the most elegant of tête de cuvée Champagnes, the 2012 Louis Roederer “Cristal” Brut Champagne, and I don’t know if my real birthday is going to be able to compete.

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It is not every day that one has the chance to drink a Champagne from the most sought-after villages in Champagne, or from the best vintage of a generation, or from vines of nearly 100-years old. When all of that can be found in one wine, it ought to be a special occasion indeed to taste it. The 2008 Philippe Gonet "Cuvée Belemnita" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne made my Thursday a special occasion—it delivers on all its promise, and then some. It is in contention to be the best bottle of Champagne in stock at K&L—at any price…

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Last night, Cinnamon and I drank one of the most long-awaited prestige cuvée releases, the 2008 Taittinger "Comtes de Champagne" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne. I can’t remember fielding quite as many calls and emails for a Champagne since the 2002 Krug was released, and for good reason—this is a prestige cuvée that delivers on all of its promise. I had already been extremely impressed with another preview bottle on Saturday with the team at work, but, at home, with time and food, I was blown away.

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It’s no secret that we absolutely love Champagne at K&L. The reasons why are too many to count, but if we had to pick one, it could very well be the breathtaking diversity of this world-famous region. As such, our Champagne buyer, Gary Westby, makes the area’s impressive range of styles a central theme in this month’s newsletter. Gary and the team take us on a tour that winds its way to such locales as Tours-sur-Marne, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, and Drachy—some of Champagne’s most revered and celebrated sites. Along the way they delve into many of the region’s biggest names, including Laurent-Perrier and Billecart-Salmon as well as lesser known producers such as Fallet-Dart. Represented in these pages is everything from luxury cuvées to outstanding values.

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The 2014 vintage in Champagne is one that all Champagne lovers should take note of. For me, it is only the second time since 1988 (the other harvest being 2004) that the region has produced wines of such streamlined and relaxed elegance…

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