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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 - Joe Manekin
Joe Manekin
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Joe arrived at our doors in February 2007 from far away, Washington, DC to be exact. Just so no one gets the wrong idea, though, he was merely earning a living in DC; Joe’s cultural identity, as well as his professional sports allegiances and, when he has a few drinks in him, his accent, are all Baltimore through and through. After working on the wholesale side of the business for nearly 4 years, Joe decided that he wanted to work wine retail with the best, so he emailed Cindy Westby at K&L and the rest is history. While Joe is well versed in a number of wine regions, he most enjoys the wines of Europe, though he is growing increasingly interested in the great wines of the Santa Cruz mountains. When he is not at K&L, Joe enjoys cooking, traveling, catching up on The Wire, doing occasional PR, booking and recording work for reggae band JohnStone (www.johnstonemusic.com), and writing for his wine, food and music blog, Old world Old School (www.oldworldoldschool.blogspot.com)
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Reviews
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2009 Domaine Stephane Magnien Bourgogne Passetoutgrains "Cuvée Densité"
Review Date: 7-13-2011
Rich dark cherry aromas lead to a slihtly floral, red fruited palate. A pretty tasty (and for the style, richer) style of passetoutgrains.
Price: $14.99
2001 Lanessan, Haut-Médoc
Review Date: 7-13-2011
I'm stoked (that's Californian for "psyched"). We have a good chunk of this vintage of Lanessan and, for my money, it is the tastiest vintage of the several we have featured recently. I have some 1999 in the cellar and now I will need some 2001 to complement it. Here you will find expressive, pure, red cherry fruit coupled with warm earth. For a taste of what traditional Bordeaux once was then you should buy this wine. A way under-priced bargain. BARGAIN.
Top Value!
Price: $19.99
2009 Beck-Hartweg "Cuvee Prestige" Riesling
Review Date: 4-7-2011
Yesterday morning, if you were to tell me that one of the best rieslings I would taste in months would come from the Alsace and cost less than $15, I'd probably laugh in your face and get right back to Outlook. Last night, however, Florian Beck-Hartweg poured me something really special: this humble Alsatian riesling for $12.99. What a wine! Great purity, intense citrus, stone fruit and minerality, and just a wonderfully bright, delicious, dry expression of riesling. You should probably buy this. Yep - I think you should buy this.
Price: $11.99
Valdespino "Inocente" Single Vineyard Fino Jerez (375ml)
Review Date: 11-13-2010
This could well be the best fino I've tasted to date. And one of the best Spanish wines I've ever had - all at under $20 for a half bottle. If you're looking for perfection in the fino style, if you're seeking out the benchmark, than I would say that this is it. Citric, saline and appley, with a wonderfully pale straw color, the purity and minerality of this wine, made from grapes grown in pure albariza (chalky soil) on one of the best vineyard sites in all of Jerez, is breathtaking. I urge you to try it and see for yourself.
Price: $14.99
Ariston "Aspasie Brut Prestige" Champagne
Review Date: 3-31-2010
This shows the power and intensity of the great 2002 vintage in Champagne. Rich, yeasty, stone fruit inflected nose leads to a ripe, yet balanced palate - a fun wine for drinking.
Price: $39.99
2007 Quinta do Vallado Reserva Douro
Review Date: 3-25-2010
Considerably richer and slightly oakier, this reserve bottling has a larger proportion of old vine fruit, which is trodden by foot in concrete lagares, in the traditional Douro style. Though the wine is massively structured, the acidity adds some lift and keeps the wine nicely balanced. There are few $50 wines I can think of, from anywhere, that can so deftly balance this degree of flavor intensity, power and extract with an overall sense of balance. If you like your wine big and brawny, then this is the perfect bottle for you.
Price: $49.99
Bruno Michel Premier Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Review Date: 7-6-2009
I love all Bruno Michel Champagnes, but the Blanc de Blancs really distinguished itself from the pack when I last tasted it. Bright clementine aromas and a real sense of freshness and brightness characterize the nose. This follows through to the palate - full of pure, intense and amazingly persistent fruit. Delicious.
Franck Bonville "Brut Selection" Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Review Date: 7-6-2009
Very easy to like - soft textured, citrus and cream flavors. Plump, round and delicious. For someone who usually goes for a bit lean and austere, I'm always surprised I like this as much as I do. It's just delicious stuff.
Price: $32.99
Marguet Pere et Fils "Cuvée Reserve" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 7-6-2009
One of my favorite champagnes for the $. They just get better and better, each time we receive a new batch. This pulls off the neat trick of showing terrific, rich, biscuity pinot noir berry fruit as well as finishing fresh and cleanliy. As an aside, Benoit is a great guy, authentic and engaging. Even if he was a jerk, though, I'd still buy this.
Price: $34.99
Springbank 10 Year Old Campbeltown Single Malt Whisky 750ml
Review Date: 3-4-2009
If I'm in the mood for a bit of peat, this is one of my favorites. Scottland's oldest independent, continually-operated distillery, Springbank's 10 year is a great balance of judicious peaty smoke, malty, nutty flavors, a hint of sweetness, and an amazing saline tang on the finish, which lingers a while and then seems to dissolve effortlessly. Powerful and elegant, Springbank is a true original, and every bit as elegant as people say it is.
Price: $54.99
Hidalgo Pastrana Manzanilla Pasada Sanlucar de Barrameda
Review Date: 7-14-2008
The difference between this and Hidalgo's other bottling of manzanilla (La Gitana) besides the fact that it is in a 750ml (not a 500ml) bottle, is that the Pastrana comes from Hidalgo's best vineyard. It is also aged longer before bottling and retains a greater degree of richness and fuller mouthfeel. An amazing wine, especially for food pairing. For those who are adventurous/geeky enough to try this wine then surely you can come up with some creative pairings.
Price: $26.99
Caveau du Mont July Bugey Cerdon Rosé
Review Date: 4-20-2008
If you love rosé champagne (and who doesn’t), if you enjoy adventurous wine pairings (you know you do) and if you love raspberries (mmm…rasbpberries), then this is your wine. This pink-colored, off-dry (read: slightly sweet) sparkling wine from the Savoie region of Eastern France is made by spontaneous fermentation, otherwise known as methode ancestrale using poulsard and gamay. Enjoy this delicious sparkler as an aperitif, with cheeses, jamon Serrano or even spicier Asian cuisine like Thai or Burmese
Price: $15.99
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