We tasted this Champagne and liked it when it was expensive, but didn't feel that it offered great value at that high price. After months of going back and forth, we ended up with a better deal than we thought possible and bought everything the distributor had. This is a wine cut from the Ace of Spades cloth (which we sell for $269), both in production (the Ace is also a brand made by a separate producer) and in flavor. It is made entirely from the first press juice of a strict selection of Beaumont des Crayeres 212 acres of vines. It is very well balanc... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Redwood City San Francisco

This is another terrific bargain, purchased directly from France. All of the fruit comes from the Bonville's own estate vineyards in the marvelous Grand Cru of Avize. It is all Chardonnay blended from three very good years: '00, '01 and '02. This Champagne has exotic, ripe fruit aromatics and as the glass warms up there are also traces of clean clay and earth, just like in great Chablis! On the palate the Champagne has great fruit and a wonderful full texture. This is a perennial staff favorite, with cases and cases being sold to our own sales team. (Gar... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

This K&L favorite has a new package with an impressive old-fashioned bottle shape and new label. This spectacular Champagne is one of the most sought after in France, and Launois' cult status made it very difficult for us to make a purchase. We lucked out, and now we buy it directly, passing massive savings on to you. This house is from Mesnil, the southernmost Grand Cru in Champagne and home to Salon and Krug's Clos de Mesnil. This Champagne is all Chardonnay and all Grand Cru from the villages of Mesnil, Oger, Cramant and Avize - a roll call of the fin... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Redwood City San Francisco

96 points Wine Enthusiast: "The fabled Salon's latest release is much riper and softer than the great steely 1996 vintage. This suggests it is likely to be ready to drink soon. In the meantime, the acidity is supremely fresh, with grapefruit edges and green apple flavors. And then there is minerality and a tight, structured aftertaste as a reminder that this great Champagne is always going to be more than its fruit." (12/08) 95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (12/08) Salon is one of the great names in Champagne for a very good reason. It is made o... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse San Francisco

After a year and a half of negotiating (begging) we were able to buy our first batch of Launois Champagne. After two years of being their importer we were able to earn a 10 case allocation of this, Launois most sought after wine. This year we only got 5 cases! Made from two plots of 65-year-old vines, one in the Grand Cru of Oger called the Chenys and on in Mesnil called the Derriere Maison, this is one of the ultimate expressions of Chardonnay that we have to offer. This wine shows the balance of 2000 vintage and the richness of a Chardonnay selected fr... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Redwood City San Francisco

This super rare bottling is made with some of the nearly extinct, native varietals of Champagne. It is composed of 40% Meslier, 40% Arbanne and 20% Pinot Blanc. I think it is the best of the excellent Ariston portfolio, and it was my favorite Champagne from my 2009 trip. The nose has only hints of exoticism, the over all impression is of rich cream and toast, but underneath is a hint of pine and exotic white fruit from the old varieties. On the palate the Champagne makes for a double take: it is very rich and textural, but finishes with a laser beam of c... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

The Aristons vineyards are vastly different than the other blanc de blancs producers that we carry. The steeper slopes, less chalk and more fossils in the soil of Brouillet make for a rich, creamy style Chardonnay Champagne that will appeal to just about anyone. This is one of my favorite toasting Champagnes, all of the flavors are up front, it is open knit and fun. It is a perfect way to start a party. (Gary Westby, K&L Champagne Buyer) 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

This is one of the few "cult" Champagnes that we have been able to get for our customers. A K&L favorite, this has a new package with an impressive old-fashioned bottle shape and new label. Luckily we bought direct, making it a great deal! Identical to the Reserve but not as heavily carbonated - it has four atmospheres (59psi) of pressure instead of the normal six (88psi). While I would be hard pressed to tell by looking at or tasting this Champagne that it has lighter carbonation, it tastes very different from the Reserve. Since less yeast and sugar wer... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

Half bottles of Champagne are a terrific thing to have on hand, but nothing suffers worse from poor storage. These bottles come straight from Bonville in Avize to our air conditioned warehouse on a refrigorated container... It does not get any fresher! The direct pricing dosen't hurt either! All of the fruit comes from the Bonville's own vineyards in the marvelous Grand Cru of Avize. It is all Chardonnay blended from three sensational years: '96,'97 and '98. This Champagne has exotic, ripe fruit aromatics and as the glass warms up there are also traces o... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

This fantastic wine comes from a small, sandy plot on the Tarlants estate in the village of Oeuilly. The vineyard was planted in 1962 without the use of an American rootstock; in the 1950's the area was covered in trees with wild, pre-phyloxera vines growing up them! These vines, now planted in rows, but still only on their own French roots, give us a glimpse of what Champagne was like before the phyloxera louse wrecked havoc on the region. The Vigne d'Antan has a very rich Chassagne-Montrachet like nose that combines cream, honey and minerals. In the mo... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

Dry as dry can be, and all the more tasty for it! This is a new cuvee without any make-up, that is without any dosage at all. It was made from 100% chardonnay from Le Mesnil and Montgueux, the latter being the best cru of the Aube, the southernmost part of Champagne. It is a tremendously nervy wine, best enjoyed with oysters! 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

Champagne Philippe Gonet is a 43 acre estate with vineyards from Mesnil (where their house and facility is located), up to Chigny Les Roses, out to the west of the Valley of the Marne and down to the Aube. Managed by Chantal, Denise and Pierre Gonet, the family has been making estate bottled Champagne since the 1800's, and they have the old bottles to prove it! The Philippe Gonet Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, half from the Grand Cru of Mesnil and half from the Aube village of Montgueux. This batch, which is a combination of 2004 and 2003 harvests. ... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

Champagne always tastes better out of magnum! This is another terrific bargain, direct from France. All of the fruit comes from the Bonville's own vineyards in the marvelous Grand Cru of Avize. It is all Chardonnay blended from three very good years: '00, '01 and '02. This Champagne has exotic, ripe fruit aromatics and as the glass warms up there are also traces of clean clay and earth, just like in a great Chablis! On the palate the Champagne has great fruit and a wonderful full texture. (Gary Westby, K&L Chamgpane buyer) 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

This is the first wine from Olivier Bonville’s (of Champagne Franck Bonville fame) joint negociant effort with his wife, Delphine Cazals. It is named after their daughter, Camille, and is 100% grand cru Chardonnay from vineyards in Avize and Cramant. It is based on the 2005 harvest, with 2004 reserve wines and has a straw color that is touched with a little bit of green. It is fresh, fun and full of moreish, ripe Chardonnay that is the mark of the village of Cramant. This is a fantastic aperitif and dosed at 10 grams per liter. Like almost all Champagne,... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse

90 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: "Medium straw color. Fresh, exuberant aromas of white peach, crisp pear, apple and quince. Taut and wiry on entry, then fills out nicely in the middle, showing a combination of orchard and citrus fruit flavors complemented by a mineral element. The finish adds a note of yeasty bread along with a hint of marzipan. A very elegant non-vintage blend." (Nov/Dec 05) 

Inventory: Hollywood

For the first time in magnum... Very limited, only 30 mags imported! 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

Bonville is sold out of this vintage in 750's, so I guess we will have to drink it from magnum! The 2002 vintage is fantastic for the Cotes de Blancs wines, with much in common with the great 1990 harvest. The Bonville family owns 50 acres of Grand Cru vineyards and uses exclusively estate fruit in this wine. This Champagne is a great example of how much more wine you get for less money compared to a big name non-vintage Champagne when the export brokers, import companies and distributors are taken out of the deal. This is 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay from ... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

92 points an an Editors' Choice, Wine Enthusiast: "There is good bottle age here the wine full and ripe with an integrated dosage that is relatively high. Flavors of sweet pastry go with white nectarines and pears. It's so deliciously balanced, finishing with a soft, fresh aftertaste." (12/09) 90 points Wine Spectator: 'Light-weight and detailed, offering apple, peach, lanolin and mineral notes. Well-structured and intense, with a long, mineral aftertaste. Drink now through 2010." (12/08) 

Inventory: Hollywood

This is one of the most exciting Champagnes we carry! Franck Pascal has a tiny property in the western valley of the Marne- only eight and three quarter's acres, which he farms completely organically. This wine is a blend of 90% Meunier, 5% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Noir and composed of 70% 2004 with the balance coming from 2003 and 2002. The Champagne has an attractive straw color and a very nice, compact bead. On the nose it has an exotic, flowery personality anchored by savory croissant butter. It is exceptionally clean on the palate, with subtle pineap... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

95 points Wine Enthusiast: "This is a classic Dom Pérignon vintage. It's big and fruity initially, a mouthful of ripeness. Then the texture and structure of this dense wine come through. It’s as much wine as Champagne, rich, the apple and fresh pear flavors vying with yeasty and a tense crispness. Worth aging, it will be even better in 3-4 years." (12/08) 94 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The 2000 Brut Dom Perignon is a gorgeous, seductive wine that floats on the palate with remarkable grace. Toasty aromas meld into freshly cut flowers, apricots... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse San Francisco

The Bonville family were grape growers in the Côte de Blancs until after World War II, when they began making Champagne themselves from the fruit grown in the Grand Cru villages of Avize and Oger. The domaine, a true family enterprise, is now in the third generation. It’s run by Olivier Bonville, who grew up in the business working side-by-side with his parents, Ingrid and Gilles. Today the estate covers 20 hectares (45 acres) in the Grand Cru villages of Cramant, Avize and Oger. These exclusive Grand Cru vineyards guarantee the highest quality fruit. Th... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

So so little of this exquisite ancient vine, pure Mesnil Champagne were made. The name is Latin for the extinct, fossilized squids that are prevalent in the chalk soil of the village of Mesnil- chalk that is more than 120 feet deep! This Champagne is the essence of minerality with flavors and aromas of pure chalk, white flowers and fresh baked bread. This wine is a real lesson in purity and focus, and the opposite of the biscuity, richer style... It is also among the best we have at any price!!! If you are looking for something very special, look no furt... Read More » 

Inventory: Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco

92 points Wine Enthusiast: "Fresh apples and cream aromas with a tight citrus and mineral edge. The fruit is fresh but with the attractive ripeness of white currants. Very full in the mouth, very much a wine suggesting an ability to go with food." (12/09) "Gimonnet's wines are pure, sleek and lithe, demonstrating a classical character of the northern Côte des Blancs. They are polished in the best sense of the word, demonstrating a fine elegance and sophistication while remaining highly individual in personality and true to their terroir origins." - Pete... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood

This single vineyard, single varietal Champagne is among the very best that we carry at K&L. Although not labeled as a vintage, it is made entirely from the 2003 vintage and comes entirely from massal selected (not cloned plants) Meunier. The vineyard "La Plante Bleue" is located in Olizy and was planted in 1969. It is a light gold color and has a powerful but extraordinarily tight streamer fountain coming from the bottom of the glass. This is very complete Champagne, with a quiet authority and weight on the midpalate that is balanced by great freshness.... Read More » 

Inventory: Hollywood Main Warehouse Redwood City San Francisco