If you want a Champagne that never misses—for mom, for the table, for any occasion worth celebrating—Franck Bonville from the Grand Cru village of Avize is the answer. Gary picks three bottles for every kind of mother, from $53.99 to a once-in-a-while splurge that will genuinely stop her in her tracks.
Read MoreThe gift that keeps arriving. Our Champagne Club delivers two bottles every other month — each from a different corner of France's most beloved region. Starting at $69.95 a shipment, with member discounts on every bottle. Cancel anytime. Give mom something she'll actually look forward to.
Read MoreEven though they are an historic property, Mas de Libian still falls a little under the radar. For me, though, they check a lot of boxes. They have long practiced organic farming and are now Demeter-certified biodynamic. They make fresh, vibrant wines that are accessible, quaffable, sumptuous, and compelling. It doesn’t hurt that the property’s terroir is a dead ringer for that of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with its calcareous iron-rich clay soils and galets roulet (the rolled stones) sitting on the surface and radiating warmth back to the vines. With all these pluses, it is hard to believe that not a single one of their delicious wines retails for north of $30!
Read MoreJoin me on this journey through the Loire as we highlight some of the best bottles on our shelves and hear from team members who share this passion for one of France's most diverse and exciting wine regions.
Read MoreThe title of this article might get me into hot water with some of my colleagues—especially our Burgundy buyer, Alex—but hear me out. I subscribe to the thesis that the new wave of Muscadets entering the market can offer a similar experience to drinking lovely Chablis but at a much more competitive price. First a little backstory.
Read MoreWith its steep hillsides, clay-limestone soils, and legions of passionate devotees, Sancerre remains at the pinnacle of Sauvignon Blanc in the Loire, if not the world. This is the style of Sauvignon Blanc that has set the bar to which all other versions of that animated grape aspire. But hardly to be forgotten are the astonishing wines of its next door neighbor Pouilly-Fumé, where the silex soils lend subtle and engaging aromas of gunflint to the wines.
Read MoreBertrand's Domaine de Pallus holds prime parcels in Cravant-les-Côteaux, in the heart of what is often called the "golden slope," facing the Vienne River between Chinon and Panzoult. The estate's flagship, Les Pensées de Pallus, represents his vision of classic Chinon, while his limited single-vineyard bottlings each speak to distinct parcels and terroirs. Across the range, Bertrand favors long, gentle extractions and patient aging in neutral Burgundian barrels; it’s a quiet, unhurried approach that lets the land do the talking.
Read MoreVielle Vignes Cabernet Franc from Joël Taluau comes from a single plot planted in 1934, so when they say “old vines,” they aren't just joshing around. These are wines that are made with high tannin and high acid to lay down and age in their air-conditioned cellar for decades. These are wines that are crafted to be aged longterm, bottled and then not touched or moved until they're ready to be released. I don't know the story of how Keith found these wines, but we are so fortunate that we have these. Thanks to their singular nature, there's nothing else quite like it in our store.
Read MoreI have long been a fan of Loire wines, well before I became the buyer for the category at K&L. The crisp, mineral-driven Sauvignon Blancs of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé were among the first wines I drank, even before I joined the wine industry. Back then, Pouilly-Fumé was the region to watch, driven by the cult producer Didier Dagueneau and the vibrant, smoky whites produced there. Sancerre was still a few years away from becoming the ubiquitous wine you now see on restaurant menus around the world.
Read MoreMost serious collectors share a common frustration. The desire is there: the curiosity, the passion, the genuine excitement about what's in the glass. What's harder to come by is the time to track down the right bottles, the relationships to access what never makes it to a shelf, and the confidence to know you're building something coherent rather than just accumulating. The wine world doesn't make it easy. Allocations disappear before you hear about them. Producers you've read about for years are nearly impossible to source. And the sheer volume of what's out there, across regions, vintages, producers, and formats, can make even an enthusiastic collector feel like they're perpetually one step behind.
That's the problem Private Client Services was built to solve.
Read MoreWhile 2022 had more predictable yields, 2023 saw a harvest around 30% higher than normal, forcing winemakers to be selective both in the vineyard and on the sorting table. If there is a key word repeated to describe the 2023 vintage, it is abundant.
Read MoreFirst Growths remain the gold standard: stalwarts with a proven track record and the anchor of any serious cellar. They are the foundation of the kinds of collections we are most privileged to help our private clients build.
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