Review Date: 5-2-2013

This 2011 Pascual Toso Malbec Maipu Valley is the sixth vintage in a row we have sold of this wine, and, year in and year out, it is always one of our best selling Malbecs from Argentina, as well as one of our customers' favorite everyday red wines. There is a lot of beef on the menu in Argentina, and locals consider it a birthright to enjoy well-priced Malbec with their steak dinners. This is the perfect BBQ wine, deeply colored with a hint of smoke on the nose. Full-bodied with ripe, sweet dark fruit, bright acidity and fine tannins. A balanced, complete wine, and a superb value.

Review Date: 5-2-2013

I have a regular customer who is always looking for great values in California Pinot Noir in the $15 to $25 range. I sent her home with one bottle of the 2010 Alta Maria Vineyards Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir and a week later she bought a case. Try it yourself and you will understand why. Intriguingly spicy nose with hints of nutmeg and allspice. Sweet black cherry and tart cranberry notes. Rich, ripe, and round, this is a generous but supremely balanced effort. Great wine. Great price. What's not to love?

Review Date: 5-2-2013

The Mâconnais district is well known as a great source of value-priced white Burgundy, but the 2010 Domaine des Niales Rhedon-Marin Mâcon-Villages Vieilles Vignes may very well be one of the best Chardonnays under $15 in the store right now regardless of region of origin. 2010 was a superb vintage for white wines in Burgundy, very classic, and this Mâcon-Villages does not disappoint. Wonderfully mineral in character with hints of wet stone and earth. Bright, fresh citrus notes. Round and smooth textured with surprising concentration and persistence. An extraordinary value at a mere $12.99.

Review Date: 4-25-2013

When I walked into the Saarloos & Sons tasting room in Los Olivos a couple of months ago, I wasn't sure quite what to expect. Which, in hindsight, is just as well, since Keith and Brad Saarloos are pretty good at defying expectations, challenging preconceptions, and gleefully poking with a stick anything that smacks of convention and pretense. We tasted a lot of great wines, most of which I don’t remember well because Keith insisted I stop taking notes. At some point he also insisted I stop spitting, so tasting became drinking. So we drank and we talked. About wine, about grapes, about music, art, and life. It is worth noting at this point that Saarloos & Sons are farmers first and foremost. They grow grapes of exceptional quality, most of which they sell to other winemakers. A small amount they hold back every year to make their own wine. They sell exclusively direct to consumer, not through retail wine shops. But at the end of that evening they paid us the ultimate compliment. They offered us a couple of wines to make available to our K&L customers, the 2009 Saarloos & Sons "His" Santa Ynez Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2010 Saarloos & Sons "Hers" Santa Ynez Valley Grenache Blanc. I absolutely recommend a visit to their tasting room in Los Olivos to taste their full selection, but until your next trip we are honored to share these two wines with you. I enjoyed the Cabernet Sauvignon at dinner the other night with my nephew. We grilled a 2 lb “Fred Steak” from Schaub’s in Palo Alto, serving it with roasted baby Yukon potatoes and fresh local asparagus. The Cab was a perfect companion to the spicy, smoky meaty deliciousness that is Fred steak. A hint of violets and new wood on the nose. On the palate the wine has a rich, silky texture with notes of blackberry jam and cassis. Imagine the blackberry jam your grandmother used to make, heading out before dawn to her secret spot to pick fresh wild blackberries, then spending the rest of the day canning blackberry preserves. There is a sweetness of fruit, a ripeness perfectly offset by a liveliness and a freshness that keeps the wine in perfect balance. The finish is framed by fine tannins that lie lightly on the tongue, caressing the palate like a finely woven cotton blanket on a cool summer night. If there is a perfect California Cabernet Sauvignon, this is it. Expertly crafted, and a pure joy to drink.

Review Date: 4-13-2013

No, I don't know who actually made this wine. Cameron Hughes seems to have a talent for finding and bottling great wines from top producers at unbelievable prices, but they are famously tight lipped about the wine's origins. I do know that this is really good cool climate California Syrah. A suggestion of tar on the nose. Ripe, fresh-picked blueberries and cracked black pepper on the palate. Lively acidity and fine tannins frame a perfectly balanced expression of this classic Rhone varietal. All for less than $20. You don't need to know who made it to enjoy it. And your wallet won't care.

Review Date: 4-13-2013

Great villages level Chablis for less than $20? Yes! From a distinguished vineyard where the YOUNGEST vines were planted in 1945. That old vine character really shines through in this classic expression of Chablis. Lightly floral nose. Superb mineral character with lively citrus notes. Wonderful midpalate weight and ripeness. Superb focus and character. These 2010's are just such a joy to drink. If you are a lover of fine Chablis as I am you ought to be buying this by the case. If you have yet to enjoy this particular expression of the storied Chardonnay grape, then this is your chance.

Review Date: 4-13-2013

From the southernmost part of the Cotes de Beaune. Mostly Santenay fruit. Lovely red fruits with a hint of spice. Charming. Approachable. Superb Pinot Noir at an unbelievable price.

Review Date: 3-27-2013

The most opulent of the Brewer Clifton Chardonnays. Super rich in style, yet with a bright, lively character and an adroitness that belies its size. A powerful focused effort that can be enjoyed now or over the next few years.

Review Date: 3-27-2013

The Mount Carmel Vineyard's cool, windswept site and old vine fruit produces taut, powerful wines with great potential for aging. Strikingly mineral in expression, intense and concentrated. A bit of air reveals ripe stone and orchard fruits, and a hint of toast. Much potential here. Needs time.

Review Date: 3-27-2013

A great introduction to Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir in general and to the Brewer Clifton wines in particular. These are beautifully balanced wines that offer generous ripe fruit on a solid frame of bright acidity and fine tannins. Ripe red cherry and cinnamon spice notes. This cuvee is produced from Pinot Noir grapes sourced from some of the best vineyards in the region, and is ready to drink tonight.

Review Date: 3-27-2013

A cascade of flowers, exotic spice and oolong tea on the nose. Bright red fruits on the palate, tart raspberry and sweet Rainier cherry notes. A structured, ageworthy effort that will reward a couple of years in the cellar.

Review Date: 3-27-2013

My introduction to this remarkable wine was a first for me. I tasted the 2010 Brewer Clifton "3D" Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay while standing in the vineyard, my feet in the same soil that grew the grapes that made the wine in my glass. It was a powerful experience, made all the more memorable by the quality of the wine. Intensely mineral in expression yet textured and rich with extraordinary length and persistence. Crisp apple and pear notes with a light toast from the barrel aging. A perfect example of some of the best Chardonnay being produced in the Santa Rita Hills AVA today.

Review Date: 3-27-2013

Generous red fruits and intriguing spice notes. Big and bold, rich and round. There is plenty of ripeness here, but with superb underlying structure. Drinking well now, but with sufficient character for near term aging. An unbeatable value at this price.

Review Date: 3-22-2013

This botrytis-inflected offering is the richest of the Rieslings produced by young Santa Barbara County winemaker, Graham Tatomer. A big style, but with exceptional balance and character. Well worth seeking out.

Review Date: 3-22-2013

I am going to apologize to everyone right up front because I know with absolute certainty that whatever I say about this wine I am simply not going to do it justice. The cold hard truth is that I am not as good a writer as Graham Tatomer is a winemaker. But let me say this. If you are a fan of Riesling, and especially if you are inclined to be dismissive of California Riesling, you MUST try this wine. IMMEDIATELY. This is a dry style of Riesling but with exceptional richness of texture. (Think Austria not Germany here. Graham has spent quite of bit of time apprenticing at Weingut Knoll, one of the preeminent producers of Riesling and Gruner Veltliner in the Wachau. If you want to totally geek out, try this wine alongside the 2011 Emmerich Knoll Riesling Smaragd.) Generous stone fruits. Lively minerality. Pristine focus and clarity. A game changing wine from one of the most exciting young winemakers in Santa Barbara County today.