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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
- Gambero Rosso
- James Halliday
- James Suckling
- Malt Advocate
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
- International Wine Cellar
- Wine & Spirits
- Wine Enthusiast
- Wine Spectator
- The Wine News
- Malt Advocate
Reviewers
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Staff Favorites - Jeff Garneau
Jeff Garneau
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Jeff has been a member of the sales staff in our Redwood City store for the past four years. His first introduction to wine was as a waiter in an upscale Italian restaurant in Hanover, NH more years ago than he likes to admit. He slowly made his way west to wine country, working his way across the US as a graduate student in geography, a public sector researcher in regional economic development, and briefly, in the wake of the Anderson-Enron scandal, a records management coordinator for one of the remaining Big Five accounting firms. Finally, surrendering to the inevitable, he accepted a position in the wine business here at K&L. His goals for the next four years include drinking more wines from Italy and France and trying to limit the number of open bottles on the dinner table on any given night to fewer than six.
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Reviews
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2010 Maison Jacques Bavard Saint-Romain Blanc "Sous le Château" --Returning Mid-June 2013
Review Date: 3-21-2013
This wine has everything going for it. Great small producer. Excellent old vine fruit from a cool site. Fantastic vintage. For Chardonnay lovers this is a "Don't Miss" bargain in a delicious, ready to drink white Burgundy. Round and richly textured. Bright, fresh citrus notes. Intensely mineral. Remarkable depth and concentration. Amazing focus and purity.
Price: $28.99
2011 Rickshaw California Pinot Noir
Review Date: 3-14-2013
This just released 2011 Rickshaw Pinot Noir is the third vintage in a row we have carried of this wine and it is fast becoming a customer favorite. Good Pinot Noir in the $10 to $20 range is increasingly hard to find but the boys at Banshee (Rickshaw is their second label) keep turning out dependable wines at affordable prices. Pure Pinot character here. Generous, high-toned fruit. Tangy cranberry and jammy raspberry. Barrel aging adds richness along with a hint of cocoa. Great value.
Price: $14.99
2010 Haut de Poujeaux, Haut-Médoc
Review Date: 3-13-2013
Good news about Bordeaux. You CAN afford to drink it. OK. Maybe you aren't popping the cork on a bottle of vintage Chateau Lafite every night (and if you are, good for you), but the truth is there is a lot of wine made in Bordeaux, and in the best vintages like 2009 and 2010, there are some astonishingly good values in the $10 to $20 range. Like this 2010 Haut de Poujeaux, Haut Medoc. From the owners of Chateau Poujeaux in Moulis, this Cab/Merlot blend is a big, full-bodied wine, rich and round with superb structure. Plenty of ripe red fruits here, cherry and plum. I like this even better than the 2009. Approachable now but will more than reward another 3 to 5 years in the cellar.
Price: $18.99
2010 Calèches de Lanessan, Haut-Médoc
Review Date: 3-13-2013
K&L customers will quickly recognize the name of Chateau Lanessan. We have sold many vintages of this historic Medoc property. But 2010 is the first time we have carried their second wine, Les Caleches de Lanessan. The 2009 and 2010 vintages were the first overseen by new director, Paz Espejo. While building on the 200 year history of the chateau, the young Spanish woman has brought Lanessan into the 21st century, introducing a cleaner, more modern style. The 2010 Les Caleches is the beneficiary of her efforts, displaying youthful, berryish fruit and intriguing spice notes. There is lively acidity here, but matched by ripe red and black fruits and a rich texture. Firm tannins frame the finish. Don't be fooled by the sub $20 price point. This is a serious wine that will reward 3 to 5 years in the cellar. 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc.
Price: $15.99
2009 Larmande, St-Emilion
Review Date: 2-25-2013
Consistently one of the best values in a Saint Emilion Grands Crus Classé, Chateau Larmande lies just to the north of the town of Saint Emilion itself on a mixture of sand, limestone, and clay soils. The vineyards are planted to 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. 60% new oak is used each year. The 2009 vintage is classically-styled, rich and round with good weight and mouthfeel. Sweet red and black fruits here with firm, fine tannins. Will reward time in the cellar.
Price: $34.99
2009 Arnauton, Fronsac
Review Date: 2-25-2013
Fronsac lies alongside Pomerol and Saint Emilion on the Right Bank, producing Merlot-based wines of good quality at good prices. A long, warmer than average autumn meant that much of the Merlot crop got quite ripe in 2009, resulting in some cases in full-bodied wines with a floral, almost exotic character. The 2009 Arnauton is one of these, richly textured with sweet, plummy fruit.
Price: $16.99
2009 Trébiac, Graves
Review Date: 2-25-2013
Our customers enjoyed both the 2000 and the 2005 vintage of this well-priced Graves red. The 2009 is another excellent example of the quality of the wines being produced within the appellation, one of the areas longest under vine in the entire region. The percentage of Merlot – at 80% – is unusually high for the appellation, and it shows in the intriguing spice cake and ripe plum notes. The decidedly mineral character of the wine is classic Graves, however, typical of the wines of the area.
Price: $14.99
2009 Mylord "Cuvée Milady" Bordeaux
Review Date: 2-25-2013
This AOC Bordeaux comes from the northern part of the Entre-Deux-Mers region. The vineyards – planted to 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc – are in the Dordogne River valley a few miles south of Saint Emilion. Soils are predominantly clay limestone. The 2009 vintage offers a rich, grapey nose with just a hint of oak spice. The wine is smooth in texture, round and open knit in style with ripe plum and cherry notes. A superb vintage and an excellent value in everyday Bordeaux.
Price: $11.99
2010 Château de la Charrière Bourgogne Chardonnay Domaine Yves Girardin
Review Date: 2-25-2013
If you are looking for great Chardonnay in the $10 to $20 range then look no further than Burgundy. In terms of consistency and quality you can do no better than the folks who invented the stuff and who have been perfecting it for, oh, a thousand years or so. A great example is this wonderful Bourgogne Blanc from Yves Girardin. For my money 2010 was the best of the recent vintages for white wine in Burgundy, at every price point. Lovely ripe fruit. Superb minerality. Purely delicious.
Price: $14.99
2006 Bodegas Casa Juan Señor de Lesmos Crianza Rioja
Review Date: 2-25-2013
In order to get the lowest prices for our customers we have for quite a few years now been buying directly from producers in France and in Italy. We have only recently however, extended this direct import program to our Spanish wines, and the efforts of Joe Manekin, our Spanish buyer, are really starting to pay off. Take for example, the 2006 Bodegas Casa Juan Senor De Lesmos Crianza Rioja. A traditionally styled Tempranillo blend at a jaw dropping price of $12.99. If you are a fan of Rioja buy this one by the case. If you have never enjoyed a wine from this historic region, then you have no excuse not to try it at this price. You'll be glad you did.
Price: $12.99
2010 Castillo de Monseran Garnacha Cariñena
Review Date: 2-25-2013
Without question our best value in an everyday red. 100% Grenache from northern Spain. Bright, sweet red fruits and an intriguing spiciness. Surprising concentration and length - the old vine character really shines through here.
Price: $7.99
2009 Pontet-Canet, Pauillac (1.5L)
Review Date: 2-14-2013
Tart berries and spice. Bright and lively. Superb weight and texture.
Price: $599.99
2010 Haut-Bailly, Pessac-Léognan Pre-Arrival
Review Date: 2-4-2013
A veritable maestro of a wine, deftly bringing together all of the powerful, disparate elements of the vintage in perfect harmony to produce a great red. Classic minerality. Ripe, sweet red fruits. Very bright and fresh in character. Terrific length and concentration. A supremely polished effort, and my pick for one of the wines of the vintage.
Price: $159.99
2010 Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan Pre-Arrival
Review Date: 2-4-2013
I haven't always loved this wine--too extracted and oaky. However, I quite liked the 2010. There's less apparent oak, and whether due to a change in winemaking or simply a consequence of abundant fruit, the results are exceptional. Generous, dark fruit, sweet and ripe, but with an underlying freshness. Tannins are quite firm.
Price: $249.99
2010 Smith-Haut-Lafitte Rouge, Pessac-Léognan Pre-Arrival
Review Date: 2-4-2013
One of the standouts of 2009 with its rich, dark fruit and silky texture. In 2010, it's more, more, more. More ripeness, more richly texture, with more obvious acidity and tannin. Big boned, structured, bright, fresh and very firm.
Price: $149.99
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