Review Date: 6-13-2013

Seven Hills has long been one of favorite Washington producers here at K&L and one of my personal faves for about as long as I’ve been in this business. This first generation Washington winery has made great wines, seemingly continuously, since its founding in 1988 in all price points and from numerous varietals. This wine shows what the winery can do using fruit from their oldest Estate blocks and make a wine truly built for the future. The youthful nose is dominated by low toast oak at this point but if you give it enough air you can begin to coax an intriguing combination of wet clay, fried sage, garrigue and pastille. This wine has a stunning mid-palate that bursts open in the mouth that is packed with plum, wild berry, sandalwood, black currant and new leather. The wine almost seems to grow out from its center filling the entry and finish as it goes. I loved this wine and why it will be fine now with a couple hours of decanting this is really a wine that will greatly reward patience and do so while not asking much from your wallet.

Review Date: 6-13-2013

Seven Hills has long been one of favorite Washington producers here at K&L and one of my personal faves for about as long as I’ve been in this business. This first generation Washington winery has made great wines, seemingly continuously, since its founding in 1988 in all price points and from all varietals. A perfect example of how it can make amazing value driven wines is the 2010 Seven Hills Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This bottling , vintage in and vintage out, has been one of the best relatively unknown values in Domestic Cabernet for around $20. This year is no exception, the cooler 2010 vintage allowed for exceptional hang time letting the fruit ripen slowly and create added complexity and structure. The nose of this wine wowed me with layers of sweet licorice, cola, caramel and nervy Asian plum fruit. Open and fleshy this can be drunk right away with ease and has gobs of precisely ripened blue fruits and a depth of confectionary spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. The finish has ample but pliable tannins and plenty of fruit driven complexity bolstered by earthy notes and touches of violet. If you haven’t ever tried this wine now is a perfect time to start.

Review Date: 6-13-2013

On a recent trip down the Central Coast I was lucky enough to get an appointment at Ojai Vineyards. Tucked away in a beautiful spot in the town of the same name it would be easy to overlook the winery being that there is no advertising, no ballyhoo, heck there isn’t even a sign on their gate letting you know where they are. But once you are there it becomes readily apparent the level of attention and detail that is put into all of their wines. A perfect example of this is the 2010 Ojai "McGinley Vineyard" Santa Ynez Valley Sauvignon Blanc. 2010 was a cooler vintage in the Santa Ynez Valley and the wine shows that vintage character with its brisk acidity and pleasing, varietal muskiness. Fermented in old oak barrels this is allowed to come along slowly and frame the truly complex flavors that are rarely found in today’s Domestic Sauvignon Blancs. Quince, musk, lime, chalk passion fruit and Meyer lemon flavors swirl around the palate, all noticeable in their own right but meshed so tightly that they all become a sort of new flavor: Ojai “McGinley” Sauvignon Blanc. The finish is long and lasting and will certainly make you mouth water and ask for simple, nor not so simple salads, roast chicken or pork tenderloin. This is a rare find in Sauvignon Blanc that will hold up with the best in the world.

Review Date: 6-12-2013

Due to our wonderful relationship with the folks at Au Bon Climat we are lucky enough to bring you this tremendous Chardonnay. Back in May I went down to ABC and had lunch, tasted a bunch of cool new wines and put together a Pinot Noir blend that we’ll be seeing later in the year, but that is a totally different story. One of my favorite wines from that day was the 2009 Au Bon Climat "Talley Vineyard-Santa Barbara Historic Vineyards Collection" San Luis Obispo County Chardonnay which I was told that K&L could have an exclusive on. I was floored I couldn’t believe that a wine with this level of poise and balance could still be kicking around and furthermore we could be the only ones selling it, but both were certainly true. A lovely pithy nose of custard, egg cream, peach pit and nutmeg builds richness as its airs in the glass. Alluring and feminine that nose is a perfect prelude to the nectarine, apricot, apple skin and tea leaf qualities found on the palate. Stylistically speaking this is just about in the middle of the Domestic Chardonnay spectrum, oak and texture is there but it is not overwhelming the pretty stone fruit and integrated acidity. Seamless and bordering on beautiful it is rare to find such a complete chardonnay at the apex of its drinking window for $25.

Review Date: 6-5-2013

Simply put David Ramey is one of the most popular and influential winemakers in the United States today. His wines, whether from his own winery or one of the numerous wineries he consults for, are not only well received year in and year out by all the major wine publications but also by the vast majority of our customers. Simply put his wines are about as “can’t miss” as they come. The 2010 Russian River Chardonnay shows exactly what Mr. Ramey is all about: texture, richness, mouth feel and counterbalance. The round, invitingly rich aromas of apple pie, lychee and passion fruit here let you know right away what to expect. A rich, but precise, Chardonnay that is bold enough for the bigger is better fans and has enough acid and balance for those that want something more classic. Packed with vanillin oak, a touch of coating texture and fresh flavors of Rome apples, Clementine and passion fruit this is about a stylistically pleasing as it gets.

Review Date: 5-29-2013

Walter Hansel has done it again. Somehow they consistently churn out some of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay the Russian River Valley has to offer. This year’s South Slope bottling is surely the most open and forward of the 2010 bottlings. Pure red cherry, red currant and pastille notes combine on the nose with a touch of spice cake for a very ripe and alluring introduction to the wine. This ripeness and willingness is mirrored on the palate with a continuation of cherry fruit, apple skin, pomegranate and rhubarb notes. Long and lasting this is one of those easy to drink pinots that you don’t need to think too much about but has plenty to keep you interested and involved in the wine.

Review Date: 5-29-2013

It is nothing new for us to expound on the quality and relative value of the Walter Hansel wines, we’ve done it for years, but we are very excited about their new Chardonnay bottling. The Meadows bottling, from a new parcel on the estate, is a tremendous value for $25. This offers the same texture and pitch as their more familiar offerings for a fraction of the cost. Fleshy with a creamy core of peach pit, honeydew melon and apricot preserves this has all the richness you’d want. But it also shows the hallmark balance of the winery with pretty herbal tones of thyme and a surprising base of minerality. Surely this is one of those Chardonnay perched squarely in the stylistic middle ground, not too buttery and oaky but surely has both and not to strict and linear either. In other words I think this is a wine that almost any Domestic Chardonnay drinker will enjoy.

Review Date: 5-23-2013

The wines of Brewer-Clifton have long been some of the K&L staff’s favorite Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays made in California. Maybe it was because of their unflinching stylistic choices to make energetic, sunny, fresh wines. Maybe it was due to fact that they offered some of the best values in their respective price points. But mostly I think that it was just because they made wines that just about anyone could enjoy. The wines from B-C straddle a perfect line between the modern, richly flavored, bold wines that I like to call “new-school” and the subtle, thoughtful, precisely balanced wines of the old world. This Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay, pulled from some of the most famed vineyards of the region,Mount Carmel, 3-D, Gnesa, Sea Smoke, and Zotovich , to be exact is just a silly value for $24.99. Full of vibrant aromas like cantaloupe, kiwi, clover honey and apricot one would think that this would be one of those monster chardonnays but it is far from it. Sure it has a wonderful, round, filling texture on the mouth but it is far from heavy. Richly flavored, check, but this is no hammer with lifting tones of Kaffir lime, peach skin and orange flesh and a long nervy finish that speaks of the cool climate of the region. If you never had a wine from B-C this is a perfect place to begin and if you already have you know what a tremendous value this really is.

Review Date: 5-23-2013

After a considerable absence we couldn’t be happier to have the Kenneth Volk wines back at K&L. Honestly, I couldn’t really tell you why they’ve been gone so long because there really wasn’t a distinct reason. What I do know is that the Jaybird Chardonnay is a perfect reintroduction of the winey which began operations in 2004 under the watchful eye of Ken Volk, the original proprietor of Wild Horse Vineyards. A large proportion of this wine comes from the tremendous vines at the Sierra Madre Vineyard just down the road from the winery and that is exactly what shows up here, those wonderful raw materials. Completely unoaked this is a refreshing Chardonnay akin to those of the Macon in riper years. The think that I really loved about this wine is that it doesn’t fall into the trap of so many Domestic unoaked Chards which is picking the fruit so ripe that the wine is uber-tropical/textural even if there is no oak. Here you get just delicious flavors of apple skin, Bosq pear flesh and lovely zesty acidity. Far from linear in scope this also shows nice breadth on the palate and just a touch of leesy richness on the finish. Welcome Back Kenneth Volk!

Review Date: 5-23-2013

This delicious Pinot is a combination of 85% Rincon and 15% Rosemary’s vineyards, Talley two famous estate blocks. Pretty and full of spice cake/ginger bread aromatics and bold, expanse flavors of cassis, fennel and tar this is very complete for such a young wine. I love the way this wine unravels and rolls over the palate giving you everything it’s got. Talley nailed this one.

Review Date: 5-7-2013

At some point last year I was sitting at my desk thinking about some of the wines I’ve had from what I believe to be truly great wineries in the fine state of California. One of these great wineries that kept popping into my head was York Creek. The saddest part is that I hadn’t carried the wine for a couple of years due to lack of distribution. So I picked up the phone and made a call, long story short James Beard Award winner, beer icon, owner of York Creek Vineyards and an all around great man Fritz Maytag was at my desk a couple of weeks later showing me the lineup from his estate high upon Spring Mountain. From that meeting a fruitful business relationship developed which began with us selling almost 300 cases of the highly touted 2007 Estate Cabernet, followed by the possibly even more popular 2004 Estate Cabernet that flew out the doors during the Holidays of 2012. Well we’ve gone back to the well once again and found another true gem at a completely ridiculous price. We recently tasted every vintage, minus the 1998 which they did not make, between 1994 and 1999 of the Estate Meritage. What we found was amazing, all of the wines were wonderful in their own vintage specific way but we really loved the 1999 vintage. I feel like this vintage is really at its apex right now and is a wonderful example of an old wine with plenty of freshness and life. Sure there are some secondary notes of tobacco, sandalwood and mint in the nose and of course the tannins here are polished to a fine patina but this is insanely drinkable and full of fresh red fruits and a deep set forest driven spice that only Spring Mountain can deliver. Add that all up, plus you get a wine that is almost 15 years old, for $24.99 and this maybe the bargain of the year.

Review Date: 4-3-2013

This small, family-owned project really impressed me with their two wines, the other a solid, crowd-pleasing Rutherford Cabernet for a reasonable price. But this Sauvignon Blanc is really something special. Riding a perfect line between the spicy, capsicum-driven nose of Kiwi SBs and the fruit-forward, citrus-driven nose of Napa, it is wildly alluring. Linear and alive, from the onset this delivers plenty of Meyer lemon, Key lime, Thai basil and mango flavors that dovetail to the broad, mouthwatering finish. Add just a kiss of 10% new oak to give a little dimension and added complexity and this is a bottle that you can go back to time and time again.

Review Date: 4-3-2013

One of the most truly delicious wines I’ve tasted in 2013 is the 2011 Halcón “Esquisto” Yorkville Highlands Rhône Blend ($25.99). Halcón was one of the revelations of 2012; they shocked me early on with their outrageously good Syrah and this new release did nothing but fortify that burgeoning reputation. Their estate vineyard is planted in the Mendocino County appellation called Yorkville Highlands. The vineyard sits at 2,500 feet in elevation, above the fog line, on fractured shale, quartz-rich rock and mica-schist, which is a very similar soil composition to the famous Côte-Rôtie appellation in the northern Rhône. People like Wells Guthrie at Copain have already taken notice of the relatively young vineyard and are bottling vineyard-designated Syrah from there. This estate blend of 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 30% Mourvèdre is wild, nervy and full of flavor, with tremendous aromatics of pithy raspberry, dried strawberry and a slight touch of cured meats. Weightless and full of energy, this is perfect for lighter meat dishes with its flavors of fennel pollen, lamb jus, black raspberry and a streak of white pepper. Rhône lovers shouldn’t miss this bottle.

Review Date: 4-3-2013

Sometimes you just know. You just sort of have a feeling that everything is going to work out just fine. Some call it ESP, some say it is their gut feeling and some are just so braggadocios that they will tell you they knew all along. Well, whatever you want to call it I think all of us that visited Saarloos and Sons on our recent trip to the Central Coast back in late February knew pretty quickly that we were going to do some really cool stuff together. I originally heard a hot tip about this winery from Bob Lindquist at Qupé a while back and if Bob says someone is doing a good job than that is good enough for me. What I didn’t know was just how much this family is committed to making great wines, being true stewards to their vineyards all the while having ridiculous amounts fun and trying to pass their wines onto people in a truly different way. I mean cupcakes with wine pairings at the tasting bar??? Seriously rad. Gift Certificates made out of barrel staves. Totally bitchin’ right? Letting their 6 year old daughter decide when to begin harvest on their Sauvignon Blanc? Genius! Writing a sustainable 250 year business plan? That is just plain cray-cray. But even without all the coolness surrounding this family project I would have loved these wines every bit as much. The reason: purity. These wines are the essence of well farmed fruit made gently into even better wines. Sometimes when you taste wines with the people behind them it gives you a better context in which to understand the wines. Here we instantly saw the personality of the people in the wine: honest, dedicated, farmers, looking to do something classic but always with a modern spin. Basically what I’m trying to say is these awesome guys and gals make wines that perfectly personify that awesomness.

Review Date: 4-3-2013

Sometimes you just know. You just sort of have a feeling that everything is going to work out just fine. Some call it ESP, some say it is their gut feeling and some are just so braggadocios that they will tell you they knew all along. Well, whatever you want to call it I think all of us that visited Saarloos and Sons on our recent trip to the Central Coast back in late February knew pretty quickly that we were going to do some really cool stuff together. I originally heard a hot tip about this winery from Bob Lindquist at Qupé a while back and if Bob says someone is doing a good job than that is good enough for me. What I didn’t know was just how much this family is committed to making great wines, being true stewards to their vineyards all the while having ridiculous amounts fun and trying to pass their wines onto people in a truly different way. I mean cupcakes with wine pairings at the tasting bar??? Seriously rad. Gift Certificates made out of barrel staves. Totally bitchin’ right? Letting their 6 year old daughter decide when to begin harvest on their Sauvignon Blanc? Genius! Writing a sustainable 250 year business plan? That is just plain cray-cray. But even without all the coolness surrounding this family project I would have loved these wines every bit as much. The reason: purity. These wines are the essence of well farmed fruit made gently into even better wines. Sometimes when you taste wines with the people behind them it gives you a better context in which to understand the wines. Here we instantly saw the personality of the people in the wine: honest, dedicated, farmers, looking to do something classic but always with a modern spin. Basically what I’m trying to say is these awesome guys and gals make wines that perfectly personify that awesomness.