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Wine Scores
Below is a listing of the wine review scores we frequently reference in our notes. While these sources remain an excellent source of information, we always recommend that you trust your own palate. Scores in these publications often represent the personal taste of an individual critic, which may not always coincide with your own. We have a huge team of excellent wine professionals that can match wines you've had in the past with new arrivals that meet your flavor profile.
- Allen Meadows - Burghound
- Connoisseurs Guide
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- James Halliday
- James Suckling
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- International Wine Cellar
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Customer Reviews - KLF
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KLF
12 year customer of K&L, a serious amateur wine drinker. Passionate about finding value wines that trump the bigger brands of their class. Love all things Rhone, Piedmont, Chianti, Spain and the up-and-comers of California.
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Reviews |
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2007 Miner Family "Simpson Vineyard" Viognier
(out of stock)
Review Date: 9-19-2009
Above average for California viogniers, but for me, it's stuck between the 'poles' that I appreciate more. (And I think this one is getting more ado because it's a Miner family wine.)
If you are considering viogniers of this style and price, I like Stag's Leap. Or value-priced French names.
On the richer side, I like Copain Tous Ensemble, Alban, Condrieu...
If you are considering viogniers of this style and price, I like Stag's Leap. Or value-priced French names.
On the richer side, I like Copain Tous Ensemble, Alban, Condrieu...
Price: $16.99
2007 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier
(out of stock)
Review Date: 9-19-2009
(Score based on my assessment of quality for price.)
An outstanding wine for this price. Suggest pairing it with food rather than drinking alone.
An outstanding wine for this price. Suggest pairing it with food rather than drinking alone.
Price: $9.99
2007 Miner Family Napa Valley Chardonnay
(out of stock)
Review Date: 9-18-2009
There are SO many chardonnays of this quality for ten bucks less...where do I even start?
When to buy this wine: when you have someone to impress with a name brand, who wouldn't appreciate your otherwise astute sense of value that would instead bring the Broadside 2008 Wild Yeast Ferment to the table, or something hip and fabulous and $17 like that.
When to buy this wine: when you have someone to impress with a name brand, who wouldn't appreciate your otherwise astute sense of value that would instead bring the Broadside 2008 Wild Yeast Ferment to the table, or something hip and fabulous and $17 like that.
Price: $19.99
2007 Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Drachenstein "Dragonstone" Riesling
(out of stock)
Review Date: 9-16-2009
This one is lost on me, although I'll guess that Dragonstone is intended to be Lietz's entry-level wine to get non-riesling lovers hooked on their more interesting ($$) stuff...of which there is plenty that Lietz can offer. :-)
Price: $16.99
2007 A to Z Oregon Pinot Noir
(out of stock)
Review Date: 9-16-2009
Score based on my opinion of quality to price ratio. You have to like lightweight-styled, cherry-ish Oregon pinots, and if so, you are in luck...this reliable A to Z came down by $2 per bottle for the '07. If you like the richest Russian River names, take a pass on this one.
Drink from
2009
to
2012
Price: $11.99
2007 Willowbrook Mendocino County Pinot Noir
(out of stock)
Review Date: 9-13-2009
(Score based on my assessment of quality for price.)
I wish there were more cool-climate American, sub-$20 pinot noirs on the market that are worth drinking.
But thankfully, there is Willowbrook, which as knocked it out of the park again! Their '06 DuNah is stunning, and this '07 Mendocino will likely get my Value Wine of the Year award (my blog) for pinot noir.
Buy this buy the case and be forwarned: two years from now, this very wine will be in the mid-$30s and you will be looking elsewhere for the next underpriced up-and-comer in the pinot game.
I wish there were more cool-climate American, sub-$20 pinot noirs on the market that are worth drinking.
But thankfully, there is Willowbrook, which as knocked it out of the park again! Their '06 DuNah is stunning, and this '07 Mendocino will likely get my Value Wine of the Year award (my blog) for pinot noir.
Buy this buy the case and be forwarned: two years from now, this very wine will be in the mid-$30s and you will be looking elsewhere for the next underpriced up-and-comer in the pinot game.
Drink from
2009
to
2012
Price: $16.99
2007 Copain "Tous Ensemble" Mendocino County Viognier
(out of stock)
Review Date: 9-3-2009
My current top pick for best American viognier (100%) under $30.
This wine gives me great hope that one day the US could become known for viognier.
This Copain is comparable to some mid-priced Condrieu names in terms of richness, minerality and overall lusciousness.
This wine gives me great hope that one day the US could become known for viognier.
This Copain is comparable to some mid-priced Condrieu names in terms of richness, minerality and overall lusciousness.
Drink from
2009
to
2011
Price: $19.99
2006 Valpane Barbera del Monferrato Rosso Pietro
(out of stock)
Review Date: 9-3-2009
WOW. At the 8.99 club price, there cannot be a better barbera on the market right now. Even at 15.99, it's a show stopper. (This wine is exactly why I am a member of Club Italiano.)
Drink from
2009
to
2012
Price: $15.99
2007 Bridlewood Central Coast Reserve Viognier
(out of stock)
Review Date: 9-3-2009
The nose is ideal, which unfortunately sets my expectations for greatness that creates a crash-and-burn situation at the midpalate that has me asking: what is this varietal again???
I wish I had the eneological background to tell you what this is, but instead, I'll say this: The Copain 2007 viognier is my current value-wine standard for American-made viognier if you are looking for flavor sets that flirt with Condrieu. If you are looking for a more mellow, higher-acid-and-mineral European value, try the Guigal Cotes du Rhone blanc. It has 50% vioginer this time around (which is a strange blend for CdR) but it works really well...especially at 11.99.
I wish I had the eneological background to tell you what this is, but instead, I'll say this: The Copain 2007 viognier is my current value-wine standard for American-made viognier if you are looking for flavor sets that flirt with Condrieu. If you are looking for a more mellow, higher-acid-and-mineral European value, try the Guigal Cotes du Rhone blanc. It has 50% vioginer this time around (which is a strange blend for CdR) but it works really well...especially at 11.99.
Price: $14.99
2008 Domaine de Guillemarine Picpoul de Pinet
(out of stock)
Review Date: 8-31-2009
Score is based on quality for price.
Why you should buy this wine: because you are hunting for a value priced wine that is food friendly wine, yet quaffable by itself.
This is the ideal sub-$10 white choice for pairing hot summer summer dishes including cold shellfish, salads, Provencal faire.
This is one of the hundreds of wines that has me scratching my head and askingwhy it's so rare that the U.S. can't deliver a comparable wine on our home soil...and then I am all the more thankful that Coteux du Languedoc can!
Why you should buy this wine: because you are hunting for a value priced wine that is food friendly wine, yet quaffable by itself.
This is the ideal sub-$10 white choice for pairing hot summer summer dishes including cold shellfish, salads, Provencal faire.
This is one of the hundreds of wines that has me scratching my head and askingwhy it's so rare that the U.S. can't deliver a comparable wine on our home soil...and then I am all the more thankful that Coteux du Languedoc can!
Drink from
2009
to
2010
Price: $8.99
2007 Undone Pinot Noir
(out of stock)
Review Date: 5-18-2009
Not a fan of this at any price. Just not the flavor set I am looking for (I love Oregon, Sta Lucia, Santa Ynez, Mendocino).
That said, this is the pefect "mystery wine" to take to a brown bag tasting, because many will be dumbfounded by the flavor set...and perhaps miss that it's a pinot alltogether.
That said, this is the pefect "mystery wine" to take to a brown bag tasting, because many will be dumbfounded by the flavor set...and perhaps miss that it's a pinot alltogether.
Price: $4.99
2007 Poppy Monterey Pinot Noir
(out of stock)
Review Date: 5-18-2009
Pros: this is the best $11 pinot noir on the market. Buy this by the case for your next event with mixed-palate company. Cons: I need more in a pinot than what Poppy gives...If I must, I'll pair some meals during the week with beer just so I can justify case-purchases of $15-20 Oregon and cool-climate names from California.
Price: $10.99
2006 Fort Ross "Sea Slopes" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
(out of stock)
Review Date: 5-18-2009
An excellent cool climate name for those who have disdain for pinots that could possibly be mistaken for another varietal (read hot-climate, over-oaked, high-production Napa wines). Try this one along with the Willowbrook 2006 and see which one will become your go-to $20-ish pinot. Comparatively, the Fort Ross is a more structured wine with deeper and more mushroom flavors. I paired it with an Alaskan black cod dish featuring mushrooms and a pinot sauce. Wow.
Price: $21.99
Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne "Perle d'Aurore" Brut Rosé
Review Date: 5-18-2009
We served this sparkler along with Jean Louis Denois Brut NV to for a wedding cocktail party of 50. The guests were uniformly raving about these wines saying they don't usually receive this kind of wine quality at a large party...one guest asked me if I was able to keep my bottle price under $45! These are exactly the kinds of compliments I hope to hear...and why I shop often at K&L.
Price: $13.99
Jean-Louis Denois Brut "Tradition"
Review Date: 5-18-2009
We served this sparkler along with the Boillot Cremant Rose to for a wedding cocktail party of 50. The guests were uniformly raving about these wines saying they don't usually receive this kind of wine quality at a large party...one guest asked me if I was able to keep my bottle price under $45! These are exactly the kinds of compliment I hope to hear...and why I shop often at K&L.
Price: $14.99
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