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Staff Favorites - Gary Westby
Gary Westby
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Subscribe to My Sommelier Service
I started at K&L in February of 2000, after 4 years of working down the street for another retailer, and although I take care of the Champagne buying here at K&L, I love to drink wine from all over the world. I prize authenticity in wine, and love representative examples of many different styles, whether it is a spicy dry creek zinfandel or a mineral driven Manzanilla. I almost always drink my wine with food, and am drawn to food wines rather than the softer styles that are good for drinking on their own. My wife Cinnamon and I cook a lot of Italian & French food at home, and my list of wines reflects those food choices. I also love value, at every price point, and can't stand "prestige" labels that under deliver in the bottle. I love honest wines for the table. If you love good wine to go with your good cooking too, I think that by joining my personal Sommelier list you will be treated to a wide variety of wines that represent a strong value for money at what ever price range you feel comfortable with. Give it a try!
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Reviews
2020 Pauline Collin Bérêche Ludes 1er Cru Vieilles Vignes Extra Brut Champagne
Review Date: 05-28-2026
We only received 60 bottles of this tinyproduction champagne from the Bereche family, which is sure to quickly gain a cult following. This wine is made in the style of all the hottest producers right now and is super saline, ultra dry, with a nutty hint framed by baguette toast. The 2020 vintage was a warm one and this bottling shows not only the great ripeness of the harvest, but also good back-end acidity. If you love producers like Selosse and Egly, this is a great producer to buy- at the "ground floor" price- this is only the 2nd vintage!
Price:
$109.99
Bollinger "Special Cuvée" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 05-28-2026
Bollinger has a sterling reputation for standout quality in Champagne for a great reason—they do the hard work to make great Champagne, and their "Special Cuvée" is the standard bearer for their range. Along with Krug, Bollinger is the only grand marque to refuse to give up their barrels, which they still ferment the wine in to this day. They are located in the village of Aÿ, famous for being the chalkiest terroir for Pinot Noir in all of Champagne, and Aÿ is the soul of this blend. It is one of the fullest, most powerful non-vintages from the grand marques and also one of the driest. If you are a fan of Champagne and haven't tried this classic lately, you should!
2015 Billecart-Salmon Rosé Champagne
Review Date: 05-28-2026
What an unbelievable deal. The Billecart family decided not to release this 2015 as cuvée Elisabeth Rosé (at more than double the price) because they don't think it will age for two full generations... To me, the only problem with this wine is that it is too delicious! I have found it to be the best 2015 vintage champagne that I have tasted period, with great complexity and depth hidden behind freshness and ease of drinking. I love the blood orange and black cherry depth from the ancient vine red that makes up 6.6% of the blend, and chalky, bright drive from the 52% of chardonnay. In the mouth, this wine has incredible texture from 100 months of ageing on the lees, and an airy ease that belies its depth. The finish is a wower, a real peacocks tail display, just as long as it is spectacular. Don't miss this one!
Price:
$119.99
Fallet-Dart "Heres" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 05-19-2026
The Fallet family has been growing grapes in Drachy since at least 1611, and this long history has given them the luxury of incredible patience. This bottle has been aged for a full seven years on the lees, longer than most of the vintage releases we sell, and has the pin point bubbles, fine brioche and silky texture that only long cellaring on the lees can deliver. The style of the wine is refined, but also quite precise and dry. For the price, this wine is unbeatable. If you like fine toast, tight streamers, and great refreshment, this is one to case up on!
2018 Billecart-Salmon 250th Anniversary Vintage Champagne
Review Date: 05-06-2026
I love this- what a great combination of the elegance of Billecart-Salmon vintage champagne inside the bottle, and celebratory fun on the label! This celebrates not only the 200th anniversary of this house, but also 250 years of the USA. I love how the frame of baguette toast and dark cherry Pinot Noir power coalesce on the generous nose of this wine. It has great richness in the mouth without being heavy and features lovely white flowers as well as super salinity. This is a great 2018 from Billecart!
Price:
$119.99
Le Brun de Neuville "Côte Blanche" Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne
Review Date: 04-20-2026
The Le Brun de Neuville "Côte Blanche" Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne is from the chalky slopes of the Sézanne sub-region, the first place in Champagne to harvest, and the riper style comes through in this Meursault like cuvée. This all chardonnay champagne is fermented in stainless steel and aged on the lees in the bottle for more than three years. The pear fruit is framed by baguette toast from the five years on the lees making a great partner for shellfish or sushi, but works perfectly on its own as well.
Charles Heidsieck "Brut Réserve" Champagne
Review Date: 04-20-2026
My jaw almost dropped when I learned the story of the new Charles Heidsieck from Cecile Bonnefond, the CEO of both Charles and Piper. Instead of the normal package change / price increase rationalized by “increased international demand” this wine had been improved at great cost to the producer before the price went up! The new package contains a selection of half the vineyard sites of the old one, and older reserve wines. The result is non-vintage Champagne that is better than most big house vintage wines and a stronger value now at the current price than the old Charles was at $34.99. In the years since the change, this bottling has gone from strength to strength as the average age of the reserve wines inside has increased. When we poured this at a recent in-store tasting on “House Style” it was one of the stars of the night. This Champagne has depth, combining maturity and freshness, nutty intrigue and minerality!
Michel Arnould "Gènese" Verzenay Grand Cru Extra Brut Champagne
Review Date: 04-14-2026
This is Verzenay grand cru Pinot Noir in its purest form. I love this wine for its intricate hazelnut aromas, its frame of warm baguette toast and electric, bracing back-end acidity. With fantastic texture and tiny bubbles from over four years of ageing on the lees, this Genese Extra Brut is dry, but not austere. I love it with sushi to go, but it has enough substance to drink on its own. What an incredible deal in grand cru champagne!
Price:
$44.99
Krug "Grande Cuvée" 172ème Édition Brut Champagne
Review Date: 04-09-2026
How can one bottle of champagne have so much going on inside it? Not only does this have the toasty brioche richness that one expects from Grande Cuvée upfront, it also has spectacular citrus refreshment on the back end, and a layered, chalky, expansive finish that mesmerized me. The fact that this wine took 26 years to create does something to explain it- the bottle contains wines from 1998 to 2016! Krug Grande Cuvée is and expensive wine no doubt, but I believe it to be the best value of the true icons- so much of the ageing has been done for you in Reims, yet there is still so much potential for more cellaring... But now that the wine is almost sold out, it is showing so well that I'll have to bury it in my cellar to keep my hands off of it!
Krug "Grande Cuvée" 173ème Édition Brut Champagne
Review Date: 04-09-2026
When I tasted this edition at Krug, it immediately reminded me of one of my favorites when it was young—the 160th, with the youngest element being 2004. With a white gold color, this wine has a fantastic bouquet of drawn butter, black truffle, and Pulingy-Montrachet like lime- the last element almost certainly due the fantastic quality of the youngest vintage in the blend, 2017. The combination of richness and lively acidity, decadence, and chalk are unique to Grande Cuvée- I believe this is one of the great wines of the world!
Dérot-Delugny "Milieu Naturel" Blanc de Noirs Brut
Review Date: 04-09-2026
This is an outstanding value in grower champagne and was the number one seller at our "Misunderstood Meunier" tasting! The natural environment for the meunier grape is the western valley of the Marne, so this Derot Delugny Milieu Naturel Blanc De Noirs Brut is aptly named. The Derot family is the oldest grower producer in this sub-region of Champagne, and has been making their own wines for a 100 years. This has given them a lot of patience, and this wine is given a full year in tank before being bottled, then aged for at least three years on the lees before disgorgement. I love the super clean tarte tatin aromas, the delicate pearl of bubbles in the mouth and the fresh finish. What a good bottle of champagne- what a great deal!
Price:
$39.99
Launois "Veuve Clemence" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Review Date: 04-09-2026
This is the "insiders" Launois, and most of what we can get sells very quickly to people who have visited the property in Mesnil. This comes from the tops and bottoms of the slopes in the grand crus of Mesnil, Cramant and Oger, and is aged for an extra year compared to the reserve. These cooler sites used to be at a disadvantage compared to the mid-slope, but with warmer and warmer vintages this is no longer that cases. This has classic chalky drive and length, with more than a little complexity. Don't get hooked- we never get much and it always goes fast!
Price:
$49.99
Jean-Jacques Lamoureux "Les Amoureux" Pinot Blanc Champagne
Review Date: 04-09-2026
This is rare stuff! The Lamoureux Pinot Blanc is one of the very few champagnes to be bottled exclusively with this grape variety, and it has been five years since we got an allocation- Vivien Lamoureux rarely has enough of this to load the press! I love the candied citrus exoticism that show on top of the pain au levin like aromatics, and the richer texture that this grape variety brings. This is broad, silky Champagne, but still has the bead, refreshment and length of top-quality Champagne. I love the hint of pumpkin on the finish and think this would be excellent with any white fish. Don't fall in love, it might be years until we get more!
Price:
$49.99
Pascal Doquet Mesnil Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne (1998 Base)
Review Date: 04-02-2026
Once in a great while, something great turns up in the lost and found. Pascal Doquet lost this batch of pure Mesnil Blanc de Blancs in his cellars for over two decades... And now we have the exceptionally rare opportunity to experience the top terroir in for Chardonnay in Champagne aged for over 20 years on the lees for an unheard of value. This wine not only has the fine, warm brioche aromas one would expect from a nearly 30 year old champagne, but also fantastic texture from ultra fine bubbles, beautiful white fruit and a still very fresh and chalky finish. We have never had anything like this and might not ever again- so don't miss it!
Price:
$109.99
2008 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne (direct from Roederer 2026)
Review Date: 03-30-2026
The 2008 Cristal is one of the greatest wines of the greatest vintage of my career. Just starting to open after 17 years, it still has white flowers and clean white fruit backed by baguette toast and subtle nuttiness aromatically, and incredible verve, brilliance, and concentration in the mouth. The finish is nearly endless, a true peacock’s tail display of chalk, mouthwatering acidity and layers of complexity. This is a unique opportunity to go back to the well on a long-sold-out legend of the Champagne region!
Michel Arnould "Observation" Grand Cru Verzenay Brut Champagne
Review Date: 03-25-2026
All grand cru- and Verzenay no less- at this price? Don't wait on this one! The wines of Verzenay are some of my very favorite in all of Champagne, and Patrick Arnould of Champagne Michel Arnould makes some of the very best. This wine has the magical hazelnut quality that many (including myself!) often miss for wood treatment in blind tastings. Because this Grand Cru village faces north the wines are always electric and vibrant, even with high percentages of Pinot in the blend. Stunning wine and an unbelievable value!
Laurent-Perrier "Grand Siècle" Iteration #26 Brut Champagne
Review Date: 03-16-2026
Every year the whole K&L champagne team meets to taste the grande marque producers we carry- and this year we tasted 71 different wines from 21 producers, and this was flat out my favorite of all of them. The delicacy and balance of this masterpiece make words fall short- it is the ultimate cure for the jaded palate- and I am still thinking about it everyday. This champagne in the clean, stainless steel style, with a profound depth that is countered perfectly by an aqueux ease of drinking. I hope I'll be lucky enough to drink this again soon, and to encounter it for years into the future. After more than 10 years of ageing for its youngest component, this great tete cuvee is ready now, but will continue to develop for decades in your cellar. Wow.
Laurent-Perrier "Grand Siècle" Iteration #27 Brut Champagne
Review Date: 03-16-2026
The Grand Siècle from Laurent Perrier is true tête de cuvée; the tiny amount of this wine is selected out from only the very best parcels and vintages of their quite large production. The tank room for the reserve wines is smaller than my living room! The 27th iteration is an audacious blend of three vintages: 2015, the hottest in history up to that point, 2013, the only cold October harvest of my career in champagne and 2012, the “has it all” vintage to tie it all together. This wines 10 years on the lees has given it a classy, subtle brioche frame, but the star of the show is the freshness and the high-quality citrus fruit. I love the Puligny like lime and rich Meyer lemon in this wine. We paired it at home with stuffed avocados and the spicy tuna brought out the cut and highlighted the minerality of this delicious champagne.
Jean-Jacques Lamoureux "Réserve" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 03-03-2026
This all Pinot Noir blanc de noirs is one of our very best values in the category, and has clean baguette style toast married to quite impressive Pinot savor on the nose, as well as great texture and a compact, pretty bead of bubbles. This champagne comes from Les Riceys, the most famous village in the Aube department of Champagne, located on the border with Burgundy. With a dry, but in no way austere finish, it is a fabulous bottle to start your next weekend with, and affordable enough to pour for a party!
Price:
$34.99
Boulard-Bauquaire "Trepail" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Vieilles Vignes
Review Date: 03-03-2026
This is our most exotic and intense Blanc de Blancs, all from one ancient vineyard in the 1er cru of Trepail, now over 75 years old. This bottle just took the staff by storm when I poured a flight of all Chardonnay Champagne for my final training seminar of the year. The Boulard Bauquaire made bottles twice the price seem hollow with its wonderful richness and white fruit quality. Luckily, this Champagne also has a great dry, long, chalky finish!
Price:
$44.99
Michel Arnould "Acuité" Grand Cru Extra Brut Champagne
Review Date: 03-03-2026
Anyone who loves champagne should try this exceptional bottling! The Acuité from Michel Arnould is a great example of top grower champagne at a wonderful, accessible price. The seamless blend of two of the top grand cru villages in the region (Verzenay and Mesnil no less!) gives us beautiful hazelnut and baguette toast as well as super clean minerality and lively acidity. While this is labeled as an Extra Brut, the wine is balanced like Brut and comes across as dry without being austere. I cannot overstate just how good the balance is of this wine- it is impossible to get tired of and reminds me of tete de cuvée!
Price:
$44.99
Pierre Mineral Brut Rosé Champagne
Review Date: 03-02-2026
This elegant, delicate rosé champagne has the soul of the blanc de blancs. It is 90% chardonnay, and not just any chardonnay, but Mesnil grand cru and Montgueux, two of the best terroirs in the region for the variety. The pretty, subtle strawberry fruit that this wine delivers comes from 1er cru of Vertus pinot noir vinified red. The result is a clean, refreshing, dry rosé with a bright, mineral finish. If you like the rosé from Billecart-Salmon and Damien Hugot, this is a must try!
Price:
$49.99
Dérot-Delugny "Retour en Avant" Brut
Review Date: 02-16-2026
The Derot-Delugny estate has been producing their own Champagne for four generations in the tiny village of Croutes-sur-Marne in the western part of the region. Everything they do is estate, and this all Pinot Gris Champagne is their smallest production. It is the only time I have ever tasted a single variety Pinot Gris from Champagne, and it is fantastic as well as exotic! With both effusive and tropical notes, this is still grounded in the world of dry Champagne with a dry (7g/l) finish and plenty of minerality. A must try with asian cuisine!
Price:
$49.99
2019 Fallet-Dart "Pur Meunier" Champagne
Review Date: 02-07-2026
This was the best new Champagne of my 2025 buying trip. It comes from two 80-year-old, massal selected plots of Meunier called Morlot and Les Chaillots in Drachy on the Fallet Dart estate. The Champenois, who rarely hype vintages, fancy 2019 as the best vintage since at least 2012, and perhaps 2008, and this early release is a confirmation of the incredible potential of this special year. This wine was made in stainless steel, has a white gold color, and a seductive aroma of crisp Anjou pear framed by fresh baguette. In the mouth it has the generosity and richness that Meunier is famous for, but without becoming heavy. The star here is the finish: it is incredibly long, expansive, and loaded with tarte tatin complexity, old-vine minerality, and dry savor—all displayed like a fanned-out peacock’s tail! This wine demonstrates just how noble Meunier can be when it comes from old vines, a careful winemaker, and is given enough time on the lees. Don't miss it- there was only one press load made!
Price:
$69.99
2020 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge, Pessac-Léognan
Review Date: 01-14-2026
What an incredible bottle of Bordeaux! While this wine is dark and has an explosive nose of cassis and clean Pessac gravel, it remains very elegant in the mouth. This is the trick that only the best vineyards can perform, richness without heaviness, power with grace- balance. If you love Bordeaux, this is a great bottle to put in the cellar!
Paul Clouet Bouzy Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne
Review Date: 01-08-2026
What a steal! We were so lucky to get a reload on this fabulous all Pinot Noir champagne! This all Bouzy grand cru champagne is in fact based on the 2012 vintage, and was aged a full eight years on the lees and a further five on the cork. This super long ageing has given us incredible sourdough toast aromas, but anchored by deep, savory, nutty Pinot Noir power. One of the best non-vintages I have tasted in a very long time, this has the depth to please even the most spoiled champagne lover!
Price:
$59.99
2023 La Chablisiènne Collaboration Petit Chablis "Cuvee Centenaire"
Review Date: 01-06-2026
What an incredible value in Chablis! Alex Pross did an incredible job in selecting the right partner and the right lots for this exceptional Petit Chablis, and I was impressed with just how much texture, vivacity and length this bottle delivered for under $20. If you are looking for a great, clean bottle of white wine for a very fair price, look no further!
Price:
$19.99
Duménil 1er Cru "Réserve #26" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 12-31-2025
This champagne hails from Chigny-les-Roses, the village made famous by Jay Z’s Armand de Brignac brand and the grower J. Lassalle. This champagne is composed of one third each Chardonnay, Meunier and Pinot Noir that is all tank fermented. While half of the wine comes from the 2021 harvest, the other half is from a massive solera that was started all the way back in 1996. This bottle has at least a little bit of 25 different vintages in it, and the effortless complexity that this incredible solera ageing has given it makes it one of the standout values this year. I love the wine for the creamy, baguette framed aromatics, the round texture in the mouth, the fine bead and the fresh, dry finish. Take your time with this one- it is very easy to drink as an aperitif, but the depth is off the charts if you take a moment to look for it.
Price:
$39.99
2022 Alexandre Le Brun "Cuvée Revelation" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 12-03-2025
A true masterpiece of Meunier from some of the oldest living vines I have seen in Champagne. Half of the plot was planted in 1903, before both world wars. This comes from one plot behind the Le Brun family home and winery in the cold climate of Monthelon. This wine has a generous bouquet of both crisp pear and toasty pie crust, and in the mouth reveals real tarte tatin greatness, while never becoming heavy or loosing its balance. The combination of old vines, cold climate and Alexandre's long, slow fermentations has given you a chance to have one of the longest finishing, crisp, yet rich champagnes at a great price. Don't wait to long, he only made 2100 bottles, and he only allocated the USA 300 of them.
Price:
$69.99
Maison 76 Côte des Blancs Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Review Date: 11-25-2025
What a bottle! The lavish use of reserve wines in this bottling really set it apart from anything else that we have in stock; this wine has a texture, a drinkability, and a hidden complexity that is rare to find in any bottle, let alone one that is under $50. The value that our large volume buy has delivered is top notch. Grand Cru, especially Côte des Blancs Chardonnay Grand Cru is hardly ever spoken about as a bargain, but this is an exception. It has always been my dream to supply the champagne drinker, the champagne lover top notch wines that can be purchased by the case and consumed, and for me, this is one of bottlings that has made my dream come true. All I wanted in it was everything- classy baguette toast, subtle white flowers, a creamy texture, and a fresh finish with chalky minerality for days. And, as usual, the Bonville family delivered!
Price:
$44.99
2012 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon" Extra Brut Rosé Champagne
Review Date: 11-20-2025
Last call on this great vintage from the masters of rosé! The 2013 has already arrived, so we are on borrowed time for these last bottles!
2013 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon" Extra Brut Rosé Champagne
Review Date: 11-20-2025
This spectacular rosé has been my favorite release all year for this category. The masters of pink bubbles at Billecart pulled out all the stops for this 2013, and I think this might be the best Elisabeth I have ever tasted. With an incredible subtle brioche and maraschino like pinot nose and a texture that only over 9 years of ageing on the lees can provide, the best part about this wine is the finish. The ultra long finale has pure clean pinot, deep white chalk in a peacock tail like display carried on a wave of fresh acidity. Don't miss this one- it is for the ages!
Bollinger "PN TX20" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 10-28-2025
This was one of the smash hits of our big champagne tent events, and for me, the best thing I have tasted from Bollinger since the 2008 RD! The sixth edition in the "PN" series from Bollinger, this all-Pinot Noir bottling shows of the great chalkiness, deep minerality, and clean power that this house is so well known from. The base vintage of 2020 is considerably brighter than expected, thanks to reserves from 2012 and 2008 in the blend, and the great red fruit style is framed by beautiful baguette toast. The village of Tauxieres (the TX in the name) has never been shown off in a better way! What a wine!
Lehmann "Jamesse Reference" Grand Champagne Ultralight Glass #40 (we can only ship in 6-packs)
Review Date: 10-22-2025
This glass is almost as fine and light as the mouth blown but has the advantage of not only being less expensive, but also being sturdier. It is a big step up from the regular machine blown and shares the best-in-class shape with both its big and little brothers. If you are looking for a glass that you can put in the dishwasher (as long as you are careful!) but is still an instrument worthy of the finest bottles of champagne in your collection, look no further. This is a truly great glass.
Price:
$19.99
Ariston Aspasie "Cépages d'Antan" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 10-15-2025
I sometimes feel guilty for impacting the world supply of this tiny production Champagne with my greedy consumption... But never while I am drinking it. The Cepages D'Antan is made from one press load of the near-extinct champagne varietals Arbanne, Meslier and Pinot Blanc, and yields only about 3,000 bottles per harvest. Nothing is more electric, satisfying and complete than this exotic beauty. With more than eight years of ageing on the lees and the fantastic verve and acidity of Arbanne and Meslier, this is super complete champagne. This is the perfect gift for the Champagne lover who has "had it all"... If I leave any behind for them and you can resist drinking it yourself!
Price:
$124.99
Launois "Cuvée Réservée" Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Review Date: 09-30-2025
We are very fortunate to be the importer for this great cult producer of blanc de blancs in the famous village of Mesnil. Launois is the only Champagne that I have sold to someone from Champagne to bring back to Champagne with them! It is that sought after. All grand cru, estate grown Champagne doesn't get better than this, but it is almost always more expensive. This is a wine of depth, finesse and intrigue and yet is about as easy as it gets to drink without engaging the grey matter at all. When we get it, it is always snapped up in a hurry... Don't wait and get disappointed!
Price:
$39.99
Ariston Aspasie "Réserve" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 09-16-2025
I can't think of a single bottle of Champagne at K&L that has brought me such consistent pleasure as the Ariston Aspasie "Réserve." The Ariston family has worked very hard to deliver this great bottle to the Champagne lovers of the world. Most producers age their Champagne for less than three years in the bottle before shipping, but the "Réserve" gets five years. It is entirely estate-grown by one of the most careful growers in the business. On top of all that, it is made in one of the most modern facilities of any small producer that I have visited. The pressing is done in a €250,000 Coquard Diagonal press, and the fermentation is all done in computer-regulated, temperature-controlled tanks. The result is one of the best apéritif bottles that we sell, toasty and full, yet refreshing and crisp, a perfect balance between aged complexity and youthful vigor. And then there is the price; so fair that Cinnamon and I have had the opportunity to impact the world supply with our consumption! Don't miss it!
Price:
$37.99
2012 Le Brun de Neuville "Grand Vintage" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 09-16-2025
The 2012 Grand Vintage from Le Brun de Neuville shows like a great blanc de blanc and is in fact 97.5% Chardonnay, with just a kiss of 2.5% Pinot Noir in the blend. Now that almost all of these great 2012's are gone from the market, we are so happy to get a reload of one that we thought was among the best! With subtle baguette toast and generous white flowers on the nose and great mid palate concentration, this will make fans of the low yielding, top notch 2012 harvest very happy. The finish is fresh and dry and shows off the incredible chalky minerality of the Sezanne sub region of Champagne.
Price:
$69.99
Laurent-Perrier "Héritage" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 08-27-2025
This silky, complex, yet super easy to drink champagne is like a baby Grande Siècle. I love the Chassagne-Montrachet like nuttiness, and how well contrasted it is with the fresh citric component of this multi-faceted champagne. It took considerable patience to make, as the oldest part of this wine is now 11 years old and the youngest 6! If you love the tiny streamers and hidden complexity of tete de cuvée bottlings, this is a must try, especially given the value!
Fallet-Dart "Clos du Mont" Brut Champagne (2006)
Review Date: 07-22-2025
Our longest aged current release, this is profound, majestic single vineyard champagne! This wine blew my mind with extraordinary brioche and white flower notes on the nose, subtle elegance in the mouth and a nearly all night finish. I am convinced that this is not only one of the best bottles at K&L, but also an incredible piece of affordable luxury at the price. One of my top releases of the year!
Price:
$79.99
Petiau "Cuvée Prestige" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 06-24-2025
Made of old vines dating back as far as 80 years, this long-aged blend of 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir is a true prestige cuvee at a regular brut price. The wine uses exclusively massal-selected vines from the Petiau estate and is aged for at least six years on the lees. If you like a creamy style of Champagne that mixes the brioche richness of long aging with the incredible minerality of deep-rooted old vines, you will love this. The bead is perfect, the finish nearly endless, and it is marked by a subtle exoticism that one only finds in the Chardonnay of the Montagne de Reims.
Price:
$49.99
Louis Roederer "Collection 245" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 04-30-2025
For me, this is the most exciting non-vintage grande marque champagne on the market. I tasted this with Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, the cellarmaster at Roederer, who explained that this batch, now containing eight different harvests, used the reserve wines in the opposite of the way one would imagine. The base wine, from the ripe 2020 harvest, is there to give the wine generosity, while the older reserves, selected for excellent acidity, give not only complexity but freshness. Tasting it again today I loved the baguette toast combined with crisp pear on the nose, the creaminess in the mouth, and the dry, but not austere finish. This one is easy to get carried away with- you have been warned!
2017 Launois "Helia" Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Review Date: 04-03-2025
Price aside, this is one of the best bottles of Champagne at K&L. This wine comes from the same ancient massal selected vines that made their special club in the past, and is also made the same way- in enamel lined iron tanks in their cellar in Mesnil. 2017 is a fantastic vintage for Chardonnay, and this is a top notch example of the success that variety had in Champagne. Not only is the wine full of rich brioche and generous citrus, its fabulous texture and complexity is balanced by bright refreshment and definitive chalky minerality. Not only will it drink great tonight, it will improve for at least a couple of decades in good storage. Don't miss this one!
Price:
$79.99
2012 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart" NFB Brut Champagne
Review Date: 03-27-2025
The most exciting release in 2025 from Champagne! This incredible 2012 is just now being released, while many producers have moved on to their 2016's or even 2019's. The patience that Florent Nys, the chef de cave, as well as the Billecart family have shown in ageing this wine has created a true treat in the glass, a wine that is both uniquely easy to drink, yet layered with complexity and intrigue. The explosive bouquet has the hazelnuts of Verzenay in abundance, framed by sourdough toast from 120 months of lees contact. In the mouth the freshness of the chardonnay shows through, with a perfect texture and precise bead. The best part of the wine is the finish- a true peacock's tail display- the whole flavor wheel... The length and profound chalk of the finale makes for an unforgettable wine. I hope that I will be having this again soon with food- I can imagine it being a spectacular partner to the best smoked salmon!
2013 Rare (Piper-Heidsieck) Brut Champagne
Review Date: 02-11-2025
The incredibly rich, brioche filled style of the Rare is complemented perfectly by the zippier character of the 2013 vintage in Champagne. I find this to be one of the great secrets of the tete de cuvées, with fantastic complexity and truly "rare" elegance. If you like a champagne that has plenty of toast and stuffing, yet still refreshes, this is a great choice. It has the butter, the limy drive, the perfect tiny bubbles and a super long finish!
Billecart-Salmon "Le Rosé" Champagne
Review Date: 02-04-2025
This is the benchmark in rose Champagne, and it deserves every bit of its fame. I find it elegant and balanced every time that I have it, and the blushing pink color is always perfect. The supply of this wine is strictly limited by the amount of old, massal selected Pinot Noir in one village- Mareuil-sur-Ay, that Billecart has access to. It is this tiny villages best produce that makes the red wine that gives this nectar its color, bouquet and timeless elegance. I like the wine best as an aperitif, the only thing it need to pair with is a good glass.
2016 Franck Bonville Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Review Date: 01-29-2025
Wow are these 2016 blanc de blancs great! This wine has a light gold color, great brioche and honey aromas and a nutty, saline super mineral flavor. The back end is bone dry and really comes alive with food. I had it last with a great tuna Tetaki dish, which gave the wine something to cut with its super dry back end. If you like a wine with a generous aroma and a super dry finish, this is for you!
Franck Bonville Unisson Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Review Date: 01-29-2025
This is a great example of what grand cru blanc de blancs is all about. With a great nose of dark bake baguette and subtle grapefruit that leads to a rich impression on the palate until finishing clean and chalky- it has it all. Nothing is better in our stock for an aperitif on its own, but this wine also has the structure for pairing with many foods. I had it most recently with an avocado stuffed with spicy tuna- it was exceptional!
2016 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 12-13-2024
This is simply brilliant Cristal, and a grand vin on the world stage. Somehow, Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon has managed to make something that is singing on release and promises an extremely long life in good storage- if you can keep your hands off it. The intricate bouquet has subtle pastry crust, beautiful Meyer lemon and the elusive hazelnut aroma that I associate with the first village for this wine, the north facing grand cru of Verzenay. In the mouth it has the impossible combination of layered complexity and easy freshness. This is a wine for two people over the course of a meal- the sashimi bowls that we had with it were great, but I can imagine cracked crab working just as well. As for the finish- it was spectacular; expansive, shimmering acidity carrying the deepest chalky minerality out into infinity. This is a great treat, and I feel super lucky to have experienced it.
2012 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Louis" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Review Date: 11-14-2024
I was lucky enough to taste this wine in the morning, and then drink the same bottle at dinner. What a treat! When we tasted it in the morning, I loved the pale white gold color that still had a flash of green and the incredible bouquet of cream and nougat. The baguette toast I found in the morning tasting turned to a fine brioche by dinner time and showed a preview of what will happen with a little cellar time. While the nose was generous from the start, the wine showed compact, concentrated, and full of spectacular, linear cut in the mouth in the morning, then opened up in the evening with the food. I was able to find a great piece of Ahi, which I prepared three ways, as spicy tuna, tataki, and sashimi to pair with it. The food brought out the citric freshness of the wine and also the unbelievable quality of the finish. This is super long, expansive, chalky and full of lemony drive. After tasting more 2012 champagne than I can count, I am sure that this will go down as one of the greats.