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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
- 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 - Leah Greenstein
Leah Greenstein
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3 parts nerd. 1 part wordsmith. 1 part wine geek. A pinch of east coast sarcasm. Stir it up in a bright orange Mario Batali-branded bowl and you have K&L's other writer and editor, Leah Greenstein. A graduate of California's Sonoma State University, Leah skipped more than a few Friday nights at Red's Recovery Room in favor of Saturdays listening to Led Zeppelin and drinking gewürztraminer in the Kunde tasting room. After undergrad Leah continued her education in Oregon, making cabernet and merlot in her friend's garage while working on her master's in journalism. Over the years she's written on a variety of subjects—from snowboarding and rock climbing to politics and the arts—managing restaurants, juggling publishing jobs and learning about wine all the while. She joined K&L in June 2007 after working harvest at Pax Wine Cellars in Sonoma County and managing Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton's new Los Angeles hot spot, Pizzeria Mozza. These days she spends her time crafting tasting notes for K&L's website and working on the K&L newsletter and trying as many different wines as she can. Already a fan of Rhône reds and all things Italian Leah's been drinking her way through the German, Austrian and Loire Valley sections of K&L Hollywood. She spends most of her spare time cooking, pairing wine with her meals and writing about it for her blog, SpicySaltySweet.com. She also likes to hike, bike and watch Red Sox games.
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Reviews
2006 Poggiarellino Rosso di Montalcino
Review Date: 3-11-2009
From one of the best vintages in recent history, the 2006 Poggiarellino smells like a hike in the
Armstrong Redwood Preserve coupled with deep red fruit, spice and hints of pipe tobacco. The wine
evolved dramatically over the two-hour tasting, coming across with high-tone cherry and savory
herb notes towards the end of the evening. Nobody could get enough, and it went perfectly with the
pan-seared meats, cooked pefectly medium-rare and seasoned only with salt and pepper.
Price: $17.99
2006 Cantemerle, Haut-Médoc
Review Date: 2-25-2009
If you're in the market for Bordeaux, you shouldn't miss the '06 Cantemerle. If someone was willing to subsidize my wine collection, I would by multiple cases of this gem. Remarkably affordable, this may very well be THE wine of the vintage. I love it's barnyard-y nose and melange of plum, cherry and coffee flavors on the palate, kissed by a healthy, but not overwhelming, dose of oak spice and vanilla. Amazing, long finish.
Price: $29.99
2006 Kirwan, Margaux (was $49.99)
Review Date: 2-25-2009
I was really taken aback by the approachability of the 2006 Kirwan. Its nose was, in a word, pretty, with jammier fruit on the palate than I'd expect from a youthful Bordeaux from a so-called lean vintage. This is anything but. Soft, lovely with balance in the mouth.
Price: $29.99
2006 Domaine Chicotot Nuits-St-Georges (Was $40)
Review Date: 1-28-2009
I really loved this wine. It had a little stink on it, the kind I like, that speaks of the earth. There is beautiful red and blue fruit on the nose, and it's so pretty on the palate, with good strawberry fruit and spice that's wonderfully integrated. I can't wait to taste what a few years in bottle does.
Price: $32.99
2004 Weingut Allram Heiligenstein Riesling
Review Date: 1-28-2009
This pale celery-colored Allram was a great indicator of what the youthful vintages from this producer are capable of. With just a few extra years in bottle it has an intoxicating petrol nose, with a dry, saline, peachy palate that I immediately fell in love with. Wow.
Price: $29.99
2002 De Meric Cuvée Rene Millesime (was $99.00)
Review Date: 11-25-2008
If you buy one special bottle of Champagne this season, this should be the one. A wonderful homage to the 100% meunier Champagnes of Rene Collard, this is beautiful AND made from organic grapes to boot. I love the hazelnut and puff pastry aromas, the slightly sherried quality on the palate and the maripan notes that marry perfectly with the cherry fruit. Delicious.
Price: $49.99
2002 Louise Brison Vintage Brut (was $39.99)
Review Date: 11-25-2008
I usually have a hard time identifying "potential" in Champagne, deferring to an expert like Gary Westby. But with the 2002 Louise Brison I finally got it: this 80/20 blend of pinot and chardonnay is a bit muted on the nose right now, but with some air it revealed elegant fruit and came across the palate as wonderfully complex, comparable to the 1985s. Buy this and stick it in your cellar; you won't regret it.
Price: $34.99
Marguet Pere et Fils "Cuvee Reserve" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 11-25-2008
I love this Champagne so much that I put three stars next to it in my notes and almost put a hole through the paper trying to make sure they were dark enough to catch my attention at a later date. Made entirely of Grand Cru fruit from the Montagne de Reims, I love the creme fraiche and lemon zest aromatics on this - really gorgeous. On the palate it is tangy, with a lot of acidic verve and a lovely mousse; this is a Champagne that keeps on giving. And the price? Why buy grand marque when you can have Marguet?
Price: $36.99
Philippe Gonet Brut Reserve Champagne
Review Date: 11-25-2008
Most of the fruit from this Champagne comes from the Valley of the Marnes. The bouquet on this gem reminds me of Thanksgiving, with hints of pumpkin spice, minerals and hazelnuts. It's good and rich on the palate with a creamy finish and a fine bead. Another stellar DI deal that Gary lined up for us here at K&L. Wow!
Price: $33.99
2006 Domaine Fèry Vougeot 1er Cru "Les Cràs"
Review Date: 11-20-2008
This organically grown 1er cru is going straight into my cellar. Full of plum and blackberry fruit, currants and a high tone floral quality that starts on the nose and carries over to the balanced palate. This wine is quite pretty, but with a substantial meaty undertone and a kiss of spice on the finish.
Price: $54.99
2005 San Vincenti Chianti Classico
Review Date: 8-21-2008
Who doesn't like Chianti? This classically structured wine comes from the southernmost point of Chianti Classico, planted in gallestro soils. Its smoky nose is heady with black fruit and cherry aromas. On the palate it's linear, with good acidity and grippy tannins. This is not a tippling wine, but something to enjoy with food, perhaps eggplant cutlets and Sicilian-style pasta with sardines. And it will definitely just get better with time!
Price: $19.99
Philippe Gonet Brut Rosé Champagne
Review Date: 8-14-2008
I have a rule, derived from many a Champagne hangover, to only drink one glass of bubbly per night. Unfortunately for my aching skull, I could not stop sipping this gorgeous Brut Rosé! Its beguiling berry nose with hints of brioche and crisp, watermelon fruit and mineral-kissed palate, balanced by vibrant acidity, make it great with caprese salads in the backyard. Just describing it here, now, makes me want to crack another bottle, rules be damned.
Price: $34.99
2007 Curran Santa Ynez Grenache Blanc
Review Date: 7-9-2008
This wine will pair perfectly with the chilled cucumber and avocado soup I’m making for dinner tonight. Its vibrant acidity will cut through the avocado’s richness and highlight the cucumber. The wine’s aroma was like a citrus-scented breeze and the flavors were redolent of fresh-squeezed Oro Blanco grapefruit, lemon, lime and pear. Kris Curran really nailed this Spanish varietal that’s planted sparsely here in the States. I hope this success of this wine encourages growers to experiment more!
Price: $23.99
Jean-Louis Denois Brut "Tradition"
Review Date: 7-9-2008
We tried this bubbly at a recent staff tasting and it blew me away. A blend of 50% chardonnay and 50% pinot noir done in the traditional Champagne method, this sparkler from the Languedoc could easily pass itself off for Champagne. It was crisp on the nose and palate with limestone and slate minerality, apple fruit and a generous texture from attack to finish. A recent convert to bubbles, I’m going to keep plenty of this on-hand for impromptu celebrations.
Price: $15.99
2005 Les Trois Croix, Fronsac
Review Date: 7-9-2008
After the palate-blowing affair called the 2005 UGC tasting I didn’t want to try another 2005 Bordeaux for another 10 years, but I’m awfully glad we poured this one at a recent staff tasting. Still a little closed on the nose, the wine is just starting reveal plum and blueberry fruit on the nose and palate, framed by fine-grained tannins and a rich, vanilla character. I can’t wait to see how this recession-buster value evolves!
Price: $21.99
2000 Señorío de P.Peciña Crianza Rioja
Review Date: 7-9-2008
This is an earthy number with elegant blackberry fruit that K&L’s Bryan Brick describes as old school in style, packed full of warm earth, crushed flowers and pipe smoke aromas with flavors of orange peel, red currants and tobacco.
Price: $19.99
1998 Señorío de P.Peciña Gran Reserva Rioja, Spain
Review Date: 7-9-2008
This wine shows depth and elegance, steering clear of the new oak and slick texture of many modern Rioja.Wisps of pipe tobacco curl around toasted anise and porcini mushrooms on the nose, and there are plenty of red berry and licorice flavors to energize your palate. Framed by fine-grained, well-integrated tannins this wine has the build to drink well for a decade or more.
Price: $42.99
