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- Aaron Hughes (10)
- Adam Winkel (96)
- Alex Pross (794)
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- Cary Herrman (3)
- David Othenin-Girard (338)
- Dejah Overby (147)
- Gary Westby (541)
- Jacques Moreira (703)
- Jason Marwedel (73)
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- John Majeski (296)
- John Downing (80)
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- Jonathan Parnell (3)
- Kai Pedreno (3)
- Kate Soto (11)
- Keith Mabry (433)
- Kerry Kennell (1)
- Kirk Walker (276)
- Lilia McIntosh (44)
- Matthew Landau Hassan (4)
- Michael Benoit (7)
- Michael Pires (14)
- Michael Hulihan (1)
- Orazio Campoli (5)
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- Scott Beckerley (306)
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- Simon Li (3)
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Staff Favorites
| If you’re going to have Robert Parker or Stephen Tanzer over for dinner, selecting a wine they’ve rated highly will be a nice choice. However, when you’re buying wines for yourself, we’d love to see you find wines that match up your unique palate and pocketbook. We have a large staff of friendly and knowledgeable wine professionals that taste hundreds of wines each week. They can put you in touch with bottles that you are likely to love, often at a much lower cost than the highly-rated gems that often see a run-up in price and frequent availability issues. Like any great group of opinionated professionals, our staff has varied tastes themselves. Often our customers will find a particular staff member with a style that corresponds to their own. That concept works extremely well in our retail stores, and this section is our effort to bring you the same online. Don’t get us wrong, we love the highly rated wines from the press and will continue to offer them, but we think you’re missing out if you’re not augmenting those selections with picks from our excellent staff. Here are their favorites. (Click on a name to see their other selections - or to drop them a line.) Cheers! |
Reviews
2022 Altocedro "La Consulta Select" Red Blend Mendoza
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/14/2025 | Send Email
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/14/2025 | Send Email
Another review we have here told that the varieties in this were all co-fermented, which is pretty cool. It's definitely an all-in way to make a blend and shows a confidence that I think should be admired. The nose is a mix of ripe and slightly dried red and black fruits, blackberry, raspberry, ripe black cherry, plum skin, and then dried cherries and a little bit of toast towards the end. The palate is really silky, the tannin is very manageable, I'd have it with some food but a lot of people wouldn't find a need. It's got a drinkability that I want with my under $25 red wines, something approachable and easy that you wouldn't mind taking to a party, knowing that you may or may not get a glass yourself but at least you're bringing something people can enjoy. Really solid for the price especially.
2024 Bodega Chacra "Barda" Pinot Noir Rio Negro Patagonia
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/14/2025 | Send Email
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/14/2025 | Send Email
The fruit is creamy on the nose, and typically with Pinot Noir that introduces an amount of barrel into the equation, but I might be getting ahead of myself. Lots of pretty cherry, a little bit of ripe strawberry, and then some dried herbs on the finish along with touches of toast. The palate is really light and pretty, before the tannins come in and give it a firm little grip, nothing you cannot mitigate with a little food or a little bit of aging. The fruited core is really lovely, very red with these little hints at black fruit around the very edges, definitely some oak but nothing that overwhelms the wine. All in all this is really well made and delicious, something I would absolutely visit again. Definitely recommend a bit of air, it was much better in the evening than when we first popped the bottle.
2022 Momento Grenache Swartland
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/14/2025 | Send Email
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/14/2025 | Send Email
Such a pretty wine, from very first blush in the glass it's incredibly light in color invoking the spirit of some of the lightest Grenaches I've tried. It's got this almost shimmery red, fully translucent but with a really nice overall saturation. The eyes drink first, we all know this. The nose is super floral and expressive, little bits of hibiscus, rose, and little bits of violet all wrapping itself around this brightly red fruited core with some dusky red cherry, sweet pomegranate, and on the back end there's a little bit of black tea, it's really compelling. The palate has a bit of high toned red fruit, but there's a lot more of the savory components in the middle, the finish is a little mélange of fruit, tea, and acidity and you're the one that's winning. This is a really great example of a light and pretty Grenache, and if that's your cup of tea this is very much worth your attention.
2023 Aurore Dezat Sancerre Rouge
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/14/2025 | Send Email
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/14/2025 | Send Email
Some of the most interesting French Pinot Noirs these days may not be coming just from Burgundy. Sancerre and its surrounding appellations have a long history with Pinot, though for years there weren’t many truly compelling examples. Over the past decade or two, that’s changed dramatically. Vineyards that once devoted their Pinot to rosé are now producing reds with greater depth, ripeness, and character. Still distinctly cool-climate in feel, Sancerre Pinot Noirs offer spice, freshness, and a savory edge that set them apart. I love the direction these wines are heading and find myself rethinking them every time I taste one.
Aurore Dezat—one of our most popular white wine producers from the region—also crafts a standout Pinot Noir with her partner David Girard, from parcels planted mostly on silex soils. The wine shows bright, spiced cherry and raspberry fruit, accented by hints of baking spice and red flowers on the finish. It’s an absolute delight: full of Burgundian sensibility, yet at a far more approachable price.
Price:
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2019 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Brunello di Montalcino
By: Simon Li | Review Date: 10/13/2025 | Send Email
By: Simon Li | Review Date: 10/13/2025 | Send Email
This 2019 Brunello di Montalcino from discovery series is a serious wine! It opens with a complex and alluring nose of sour cherry, new leather, and a hint of dried herbs. The first sip reveals a powerful core of red plum and black cherry fruit, framed by assertive, fine-grained tannins and vibrant acidity. Possessing significant aging potential, this wine is built for the cellar and will reward patience as it evolves over the next 15 to 20 years but surprisingly shows good even you have it now. Its immense structure is beautifully balanced, keeping the concentrated power in check. The finish is exceptionally long and persistent, echoing notes of dried earth and sweet tobacco.
Price:
$59.99
2016 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Barolo (Vintage Release)
By: Simon Li | Review Date: 10/13/2025 | Send Email
By: Simon Li | Review Date: 10/13/2025 | Send Email
This 2016 Barolo from discovery is aromatically stunning red that offering classic notes of dried flowers, red cherry, and a touch of tar. The palate is intense and powerful, showcasing pure red fruit flavors layered with hints of savory spice and earth. Its structure is the main feature, with firm, gripping tannins and vibrant acidity that promise a long life ahead. The finish is exceptionally long and structured, indicating it will evolve beautifully for many years to come.
Price:
$34.99
2020 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
By: Carlo Delgado | Review Date: 10/10/2025 | Send Email
By: Carlo Delgado | Review Date: 10/10/2025 | Send Email
Sangiovese is one of my favorite varietals. A truly unique grape most often recognized in the famous wines of Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti. Yet 'Vino Nobile' di Montepulciano, once among Italy’s most prestigious wine regions, is often overlooked. Today, it’s a hidden gem for Sangiovese lovers, offering remarkable quality at an exceptional value. On the nose, pretty aromas of red apple skin, savory dried herbs, fresh laurel, old leather, and an array of red berries. On the palate, lively, lifted, with a long, refreshing finish. A versatile wine that can pair with a variety of dishes. Perfect for a dinner party.
Price:
$17.99
2021 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Barolo Mosconi
By: Cary Herrman | Review Date: 10/9/2025 | Send Email
By: Cary Herrman | Review Date: 10/9/2025 | Send Email
The Mosconi bottling turns the charm up a notch - deep, polished, and quietly confident. Plush red fruit glides through layers of fine tannin, all balanced by that classic Barolo backbone. There's power here, but it moves with grace - more runway strut than gym flex. Give it a little air and it starts to purr showing just how smooth it can be. Elegant now, it promises even more intrigue as it slowly opens over the next few years.
Price:
$37.99
2021 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Barolo
By: Cary Herrman | Review Date: 10/9/2025 | Send Email
By: Cary Herrman | Review Date: 10/9/2025 | Send Email
It's all about the texture here for me - that firm, almost towel-like grip that dries your palate just enough to make the fruit pop. Then, in comes this wave of soft, red fruit that feels both lush and refined. It's classic Barolo structure with a modern wink - serious bones, but it knows how to have a little fun. Give it a swirl and a minute to stretch, and it turns downright charming.
Price:
$27.99
2019 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Brunello di Montalcino
By: Cary Herrman | Review Date: 10/9/2025 | Send Email
By: Cary Herrman | Review Date: 10/9/2025 | Send Email
That burnished, almost orange hue instantly catches the eye in glass - a sign that this Brunello has a rebellious side. On the palate it's elegant and finely tuned, with bright acidity giving lift to it's delicate frame. What it lacks in weight it makes up for in precision and poise, showing a graceful side of Montalcino that's often overlooked. A quietly confident Brunello that proves power isn't everything.
Price:
$59.99
2019 Gulfi "NeroBufaleffj" Nero d'Avola Sicilia
By: Orazio Campoli | Review Date: 10/9/2025 | Send Email
By: Orazio Campoli | Review Date: 10/9/2025 | Send Email
In the 1990s, when much Sicilian wine was sold in bulk, Gulfi made a radical commitment to organic viticulture and a “cru” philosophy, inspired by the great estates of Burgundy and Barolo. They began bottling their Nero d’Avola from individual vineyard sites to showcase the unique terroir of southeastern Sicily. This dedication has cemented their reputation as one of the island’s most important and iconic producers, proving that Nero d’Avola, when treated with respect, can produce wines that rival the best in Italy. The “NeroBufaleffj” vineyard, located in the historic heart of Nero d’Avola country in Pachino, is the ultimate testament to that vision. The nose is a complex tapestry of ripe blackberries, dark cherries, and figs: notes of baking spices, tobacco, and a distinct, almost smoky minerality that speaks to the vineyard’s chalky, red clay soils. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and velvety, with fine, silky tannins and a vibrant acidity that brings freshness and energy. The finish is long and persistent, with a balance that is often compared to the finesse of a fine Barolo. If you like Nero D’Avola this is the producer for you, Nero doesn’t get better than this.
2022 Moulin de la Gardette "Tradition" Gigondas
By: Philip Roufail | Review Date: 10/9/2025 | Send Email
By: Philip Roufail | Review Date: 10/9/2025 | Send Email
The Gardette wines are so freaking delicious and the new 2022s, now in stock, blew my socks off. The Cuvee Tradition is my favorite, but that's not a qualitative statement. The Cuvee Ventabren, a different blend, is also fantastic. It's just a personal preference. I find the Tradition, a classic combination of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, to have deep and alluring aromatics and a burst of fruit on the finish that pleases me greatly. Gigondas is such spectacular terroir, rivaling Chateauneuf-du-Pape, according to my taste buds. Hillside vineyards, old vines, wild yeast, and 1 year in a cask produce floral, jammy, concentrated wine bursting with violets, red licorice, dusted red berries, and herbs that is rich and soft of the palate. I paired this with some yummerz pasta, but the wine was the main event!
Ariston Aspasie "Brut de Fût" Champagne
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
This is not a flashy Champagne dandy—more one to sip and contemplate. Firmly planting your feet where the wine was made, it tastes like an old Champagne cellar, but an exceedingly good way. This wine shows rather than tells—apple tarte tatin, lemon verbena, and a faint hit of smoke with a flinty minerality and a racy acidity that cuts a marvelous swath of masculine class and finesse. There’s a difficult to describe sense of the dark shadows in a cold, dusty cellar. These wistful qualities can never be produced on a large commercial scale — one for true lovers of the complex side of micro-lot grower Champagne.
Price:
$69.99
Bollinger "PN TX20" Brut Champagne
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
It's always such a treat when Gary opens these up, he's such a great guy he makes a video hyping the product and then leaves the rest for the staff to enjoy. It is very appreciated and very Gary Westby of him. The nose on this is super pretty, there's just a little subtle waft of red fruit and then it immediately transitions into blood orange with a little bit of creamy lemon behind it along with a touch of salinity, all ensconced by a really light sourdough crumb. The palate is crisp, great acidity on the edges and a really pretty lemon flower and super crisp green apple on the palate, followed by some delicious chalky salinity that lingers on the palate between sips. Just marvelous, a fantastic bottle with grace and elegance and a really pretty smile, this is definitely a top pick
2020 Domaine Benedetti "Larmes Papales" Châteauneuf-du-Pape
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
The new vintage of the Larmes Papales is exquisite. This pure expression of Grenache is nearly boundless. Showing the finesse and concentration of the 2020 vintage, the wine has an explosive nose of raspberry, strawberry compote and cherries jubilee, while the palate shows layers of fruit, baking spice, tobacco and bay leaf. The texture is silky on the palate, with balancing acidity and a nearly weightless feel. What a triumph from one of our favorite Direct Import producers!
2023 Domaine du Chêne Vert "L'Enracinée" Crozes-Hermitage Rouge
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
L’Enracinée—meaning “deeply rooted”—comes from 60-year-old vines of massal selection planted over pebbles and clay-loam soils. The wine is 50% whole-cluster fermented and aged in barrels, with the best lots selected for this cuvée.
A more mouthfilling expression, it opens with blackberry and blackcurrant fruit layered with notes of lavender and wild thyme. Hints of smoked meat and spice add a classic Syrah character. The palate shows depth and lift, unfolding gracefully with air. Restrained yet expressive, it’s an elegant wine with a touch of swagger—like a bespoke suit accented by a perfectly chosen pocket square.
Buelan "Cap and Bells" Las Canciones No. 2 Oloroso Jerez (375 ml)
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
What a festive little Oloroso—all dressed up and ready to impress, adorned with an eye-catching abstract art label and red wax capsule. A rich amber liquid spills into the glass. Salty, nutty, and caramelly—like sinking your teeth into a delicious mixed nut brittle. Great food-friendly acidity. The overall impression is dry and borders on a soy sauce-like umami. Our talented Southern Hemisphere buyer suggested pairing this with butternut squash risotto. Add some fried crispy sage and you'll have a truly heavenly pairing! Enjoy this during that blessed time of year known as Sweater Weather.
Price:
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2022 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-St-Georges Vieilles Vignes
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
From bothers Bertrand and Denis Chevillon, the 2022 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-St-Georges Vieilles Vignes was destemmed and aged 18 months in approximately 30% new oak barrels. So clean and well-defined—red cherry, floral ume (Japanese plum), blood orange, whole green cardamom, and soft sandalwood incense. It's as if the etherial sensations of Kyoto were captured in a red Burgundy. Exquisite.
2016 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Barolo (Vintage Release)
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Both myself and this wine. I finally managed to taste it today; 8 October, and we are out of stock! More coming, luckily! The wine itself is also stupid. An amazingly stupid value! I'm still in shock over the price. Brilliant. So alive with leather, tobacco leaf, cranberry, orange peel, dark cherries. Classic. Elegant. Structured, Cellarable. Orazio has done such a excellent job with this series and this one just knocks it out of the ballpark. I really, really need to grab a few bottles once they arrive before all of our customers do. Which you will. You know you will. You have good taste.
Price:
$34.99
2021 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Barolo Mosconi
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
I absolutely love wines from Piedmont, and it is difficult to top a really good Barolo or Barbaresco. Add "value" into the mix and ding, ding, ding...it's a winner. Which is what this Barolo is! Combine that with fantastic quality grape sourcing and what else can you ask for? This release is a bit more traditionally styled with generous herbs and moderate earth. It starts off with a pretty floral nose laced with herbs and fills out in the mouth with darker red fruits. Black cherry, savory herbs, drying tannins. Remember Red Vines licorice? Ever have their black licorice? Well, it also has flavors of that. Not the Aussie licorice, which is heavier. The finish is long and harkens back to the nose of meat roasting herbs and dried flowers. So nice for such an affordable price!
Price:
$37.99
2022 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Super Tuscan
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
This full and lush Super Tuscan is stiff competition for the best Cabernet Sauvignon blends that California has to offer. It is quite dark in colour and fragrant with rich red/black fruits. Blackberry, boysenberry, a nice bit of red cassis. There is a counterbalance of dusty tannin, rosemary and cedar. The finish is very dry (and bright!), and it lingers for quite a while. Though immediately enjoyable, it will be interesting to see where it goes in the future. It is so darn good now, that keeping it in the cellar for a bit will probably prove difficult!
Price:
$39.99
2023 Domaine Gerard Mugneret Vosne Romanee "Cuvee Quatrain"
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
Organic and biodynamically farmed but not certified, Cuvée Quatrain is a blend of four parcels: Réas, Jaquines, Ormes, and Chalendins. It's a four-line stanza that flows well across the palate. Vibrant cherry, ripe mulberry, raspberry, and soft violet florals. Poetic notions dovetail into a long, light brown sugar-like finish redolent with fresh cherry and violets. So elegant! This was a star in a staff tasting of 21 red Burgundies—moreish in every way.
2019 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Brunello di Montalcino
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
This is the second wine that I tasted from our Discovery Series Italian selections. Like the first one, the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, it combines excellent quality with a very affordable price. The nice thing about this particular release is that it quite supple and drinkable so early on. Dark and ripe cherry fruit dominate throughout, with very clean oak, dried orange peel and warm savory herbs. There is a very nice clean and brightish finish with a lightly salted tanginess. Mellow enough to drink now but, it should also age very well for years to come. This is a bottling that should appeal to many different kinds of Brunello enthusiasts.
Price:
$59.99
2020 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
This gem was quite the singular surprise! A thoroughly pleasant treat that has both brightness and depth. Red fruits dominate both the nose and the palate with some very nice barrel spice and an upper palate hint of minerals. The mid-palate tannins are soft, and this is where darker red fruits (cherry) come forth. The finish is on the cleaner side with the barest hint of minerals. It is also a crazy good value. It tastes far more expensive than it is. A real delightful bottling!
Price:
$17.99
2019 Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino
By: Orazio Campoli | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Orazio Campoli | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
This is a amazing wine from a vintage that is being hailed as one of the modern greats. Sourced from vines with an average age of over 25 years at the historic Tenuta Greppo, the 2019 Biondi Santi is a profound Brunello. The nose soars with wild cherry, blood orange, dried rose, and notes of iron and incense. The palate is structured and graceful, with a formidable framework of noble, fine-grained tannins and vibrant acidity that promises incredible longevity. This is a wine built for the ages; a true masterpiece that demands at least a decade of patience and will evolve for half a century.
2016 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Barolo (Vintage Release)
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
Waves of cherry and plum, dried lavender, sage, juicy blood orange and a hint of graphite. This is buttoned down a little, which tells me that that it's a candidate for the cellar. So much is tightly packed here but it's truly worthy of a place in your cellar or decant for a few hour prior to enjoying.
Price:
$34.99
2022 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Super Tuscan
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
This is a sumptuous mouthful of wine for the price. Our 2022 Discovery Series Italy Super Tuscan is tall, dark, and handsome—black currant, blackberries, black plum—a real Casanova. A lush, plush mouthfeel brings notions of dried herbs and graphite. This is a wine to build a dinner around—steak, roasted pork, or venison would be natural pairings. For those who don't cook—break out the sharp cheddar, aged dry cheese, prosciutto, Marcona almonds, and even dark chocolate for a pleasurable evening of indulgence.
Price:
$39.99
2022 Domaine Heresztyn-Mazzini Morey-St-Denis 1er Cru "Les Millandes"
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/8/2025 | Send Email
While there's something glorious about trying a beautiful and expensive bottle of Burgundy, sometimes there's a little bit of sadness when your brain starts to imagine how much better the wine could be with some time, and this one did that little trick to me. This is really great now, it has structure and already is showing great depth and length both. At the same time, the level of acidity, the little firmer grip on the tannins, and the overall fruit quality tells me that I want to have this in another 5-10 years to properly and really enjoy it. Give this a heavy decant and have with some perfectly rich foods and this will be everything you want it to be, but with a little patience this will be more than you thought it could be.
2020 Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
This is just such a great wine, and after opening up all day long it's really so accessible and approachable, I'm sure it just needs a healthy decant and a few hours to really hit its stride. This has power, but is more a wine defined by elegance and grace, there's a lot of fruit but it's a little more nuanced and subtle, like a really creative blend that you can't quite put your finger on because it works together so well nothing really jumps out, but there's red and black fruits there and then a little bit of roundness, but the spice is all from the grape. The palate is almost silky if the tannin wasn't just a touch too present for that, but it still has a really luxurious and defined sort of mouthfeel with pretty cherry around the edges of the palate and dusky dusty fruit in the midst, something that brings together the experience of being in oak but nothing very new or smaller format is how it comes across, the reality of which I don't know and wouldn't really change anything in this review. This is kind of definitive Brunello di Montalcino and something that you have to treat yourself to if you love Italian wine.
2022 Giovinco Etna Rosso
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
This is just so good, so friendly, and at such a great price I couldn't help but pick it as one of the wines I reviewed today. We tasted a line from this producer that were all exceptional, but you gotta pick your favorite and this was a favorite of the whole tasting. The nose is bright, high toned red fruit and just really pure all the way through, a cacophony of red swirling up at you and then becoming this single harmonious and beautiful thing, it's like raspberries, red cherries, rose petal, a little touch of hibiscus, and bright fresh alpine strawberries all just working together and sing out so prettily. The palate is bright and clean with a lingering sort of toastiness from some kind of oak, but nothing that ends up being disharmonious or out of whack, just a nice toasty finish at the end. It's just this really beautiful package and it makes complete sense with every sip. Just great.
Price:
$24.99
2020 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
I really enjoy when I give a wine a really nice and deep first sniff and it just comes across as super friendly, like when you meet someone and get a good vibe off of them. Not to ruin the rest of the review, but that's how this wine came across, and unlike some people who tried to steal my social security card, it's actually super friendly and not just pretending. The nose has some touches of florality around the edges, but the core is still juicy bright red fruit with a little bit of barrel spice and cedar on the finish. The palate is just juicy and delicious with moderate tannins and a really nice line of acidity pushing through the whole thing. This is just such a perfect mid-week wine when you want something that's going to scratch the quality itch while not scratching too deep a groove into your wallet. Highly recommended.
Price:
$17.99
2022 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Super Tuscan
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
The nose has some of that creamy cassis, a mingling black cherry, some dried green herbs, and a good amount of toasty barrel spice. The palate is deep and a bit chewy, very dark fruited with a little bit of dustiness on it all, black cherry, pomegranate, and underripe blackberry lead into the lingering barrel finish. This is a really nice bottle of wine, something that anyone who likes a Bordeaux style blend, with a good amount of power and depth, but also a good amount of structure. There's a firm grip of tannin, but also a nice line of acidity through everything helping it all work together even better. Despite the youth, it's very approachable as long as you don't mind a little bit of tannin, which could easily be alleviated and worked with, just get a really nice richer steak and a fat potato and just go crazy. Mushroom ragout on buttery mashed potatoes if you're not a meat enjoyer.
Price:
$39.99
2019 K&L Discovery Series Italy, Brunello di Montalcino
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
Having had most of the day to open up, there's just so much on the nose, it's so open and giving right now. Tons of cherries both black and sweet red, plum skin, a little hint of tomato leaf, and lots of barrel roundness on the nose. The palate is bursting with fruit on the front with really bright cranberry, pie cherry, and raspberry, before getting a little bit of saline olive savoriness on the midpalate and then just the lightest little touch of rose oil on the very finish, mingling with the firm grip of tannin. This is delicious and absolutely comparable to bottles half again as expensive without batting an eye, not only that but this is a more approachable style of Brunello, something that with a vigorous decant or a Mollydooker shake would be ready for dinner tonight.
Price:
$59.99
2022 Moulin de la Gardette "Tradition" Gigondas
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
Vigneron Jean-Baptiste Meunier has long been one of my favorite producers to visit. His energy is infectious—he’s constantly climbing up and down ladders to draw samples from tanks and barrels, eager to share each stage of his work. During my recent visit, I tasted through the 2022s and 2023s, along with several library vintages, and was once again struck by how precisely these wines capture the essence of Gigondas’ terroir.
These are mountain-grown vines, surrounded by forests, thriving within a shared ecosystem that you can taste in the glass. The new Tradition bottling channels that landscape beautifully, with elegant notes of garrigue and wild herbs. On the palate, it shows classic Grenache character—strawberry compote, leafy tobacco, and a touch of spice. The acidity and tannins are perfectly integrated in the 2022 vintage, delivering everything you could want from a soulful, authentic Gigondas.
2022 Domaine Courbis "Les Eygats" Cornas
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
Les Eygats opens with deep aromas of blackberry and boysenberry, its inviting nose drawing you back again and again. On the palate, it’s rich yet elegant, with sweet, seamless tannins and a supple texture. It’s a perfect crossover for fans of polished New World Syrah—think Stolpman or K Vintners—combining real depth with an underlying charm.
2023 Domaine Courbis "Champelrose" Cornas
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/7/2025 | Send Email
The Champelrose opens with a generous burst of black cherry and plum fruit. It’s sweet-edged and silky on the palate, showing the precision and intensity that only old vines can deliver. Pleasurable now, it will evolve with real beauty and grace over the coming decade.
2023 Domaine Parent Bourgogne Côte d'Or Rouge "Sélection Pomone"
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/6/2025 | Send Email
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/6/2025 | Send Email
I’m not sure whether Pomone was named after the pastoral 15th-century French opera composed by Robert Cambert or the Roman goddess of orchards, gardens, and fruitful abundance. Either inspiration suits this wine, because all of those notions shine through in the 2023 Domaine Parent Bourgogne Côte d'Or Rouge "Sélection Pomone." It’s delicate, layered, and almost lyrical—a sensory libretto that sets my heart and mind ticking away in unison. What am I tasting here? So subtle—a blessed potation of cherries, wild strawberries, violets, and juicy blood orange, with subtle hints of petrichor. Ethereal and romantic, with a lengthy finish of cherry, violet and wet stone that reveals its fine Pommard vineyard origins.
Price:
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2022 Domaine Rossignol-Fevrier Volnay Vieilles Vignes
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/6/2025 | Send Email
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/6/2025 | Send Email
The 2022 Domaine Rossignol-Fevrier Volnay Vieilles Vignes presents a complex array of flavors that blend seamlessly, one sensation flowing into the next: raspberry, Bing cherry, lavender, baking spices, and a wee pinch of finely ground Tellicherry pepper. An Old-World sanguine note lingers on a pleasing, cherry-inflected finish. With an average vine age of 40 years, fourth-generation father-and-son winemakers Frédéric and Valentin Rossignol have farmed biodynamically since 2009. After full conversion, they achieved Demeter certification in 2012.
2016 K&L Discovery Series Bordeaux, St-Estephe
By: Craig Morris | Review Date: 10/5/2025 | Send Email
By: Craig Morris | Review Date: 10/5/2025 | Send Email
From the stellar 2016 vintage, we have the newest in our Discovery Series, this time highlighting the legendary Bordeaux appellation of St Estephe, home to some of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon blends in the world (including the likes of Chateau Cos d'Estournel and Chateau Montrose). This wine is dark and brooding in the glass. On the palate, the mouthfeel is luscious and decadent. There's a nice acidity too, making this a great food wine, particularly red meat. The wine is earthy as well, with cedar, blackcurrant, and a bit of black pepper before ending with just a touch of tannin on the finish. This wine packs a punch and seriously over-delivers at this price point!
Price:
$24.99
2021 John Duval "Plexus" GSM Barossa Valley South Australia
By: Rachael Ryan | Review Date: 10/3/2025 | Send Email
By: Rachael Ryan | Review Date: 10/3/2025 | Send Email
Comprised of 48% Shiraz, 28% Grenache, and 24% Mourvedre – all sourced from old vines in the heart of the Barossa Valley – the 2021 Plexus nimbly balances power with elegance. According to John Duval, the aim of Plexus is to express a wide spectrum of flavors, while offering seamless integration of the three varietals. The Shiraz adds richness and a spicy note, while the Grenache lifts the wine with juicy fruit notes, and the Mourvedre adds a suble but brooding black fruit undertone. A pretty iris note lingers in the background, enhancing the wine’s sense of finesse and restraint. Fermented separately, the parcels were later blended together and matured in French oak barriques, only 15% new. The resulting wine is stunning, almost Southern Rhône inspired, but entirely South Australian. Neither cloying nor overly rich, the Plexus manages to be highly concentrated yet very delicate at the same time.
2021 Evidence "Bruadair Vineyard" Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon
By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 10/3/2025 | Send Email
By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 10/3/2025 | Send Email
I love a wine with a great backstory, and this one is a beauty. Back in 1986, Jason Court, owner / winemaker of Evidence Wines was just out of college, living in Chicago. To pay the bills he got gig bartending where he met a guy by the name of Chris Carpenter. They became fast friends, and kept in touch over the years as life pulled them in various directions. Jason made his way in to TV and movie production and was living and working in LA. Chris Carpenter (as many of you probably figured out) became one of the most celebrated winemakers of a generation in Napa Valley. Chris makes the wines at Lokoya, Cardinale, La Jota, Mount Brave and others. His prowess with mountain-grown Napa Cabernet is quite frankly second to none. In the early 2000s a wave of strikes in the entertainment business left Jason out of work and with time to burn. He connected with Chris and arranged to head up to Napa and work harvest for a few weeks while the ongoing labor disputes got settled. 23 years later, Jason is still in Napa, working alongside Chris at Cardinale! He's learned a great deal from his longtime friend and mentor and gotten his hands on some pretty darn exceptional grapes, too! In 2016 after 20+ years of working in the cellar, with encouragement from Chris Carpenter, Jason decided to buy a few tons of fruit and create his own personal label. The Evidence wines are tiny production, made at Cardinale winery, and made from the best grapes money can buy in Napa. The 2021 Evidence "Bruadair Vineyard" Mt Veeder Cab shows exactly well Jason learned his craft from Chris. This is a massive, monumental Cabernet with huge concentrated fruit, structure, extract and a firm core of classic Veeder rocky minerality. The dense, muscular black and blue fruit is enveloped in luxurious oak with rich spices and dark cocoa tones. Creme de cassis, blackberry puree, damson jam, charred oak notes, crushed rock, graphite, leather and spice box. This wine has formidable structure is isn't for the faint of heart. A true "steakhouse wine". Have with a wood grilled tomahawk steak or braised shorts ribs. If you're drinking it anytime in the next 5 years, an hours decant will serve you well.
2016 K&L Discovery Series Bordeaux, St-Estephe
By: Philip Roufail | Review Date: 10/2/2025 | Send Email
By: Philip Roufail | Review Date: 10/2/2025 | Send Email
Wow, wow, wow! This is my favorite one yet! Ryan really scored an outstanding St-Estèphe from the benchmark 2016 vintage! The whole point of the Discovery series is to discover a new region that perhaps you don't know a lot about or discover a new wine from a region you love. Either way, this St-Estèphe is indicative of its terroir -- 1,300 hectares of gravel, clay, and limestone along the banks of Gironde River in the upper Medoc that produce rich, well-structured wines, mainly from Bordeaux's twin towers - Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The K&L Discovery Series 2016 Estèphe is a Cab-Merlot blend with notes of blackcurrant, violet, mocha, vanilla, spices, and licorice. Beautiful ripe fruit that is soft and seamless on the palate. Thankfully nobody tracked how long it took me to finish this bottle after I opened it (paired with penne beef ragu).
Price:
$24.99
2016 K&L Discovery Series Bordeaux, St-Estephe
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/2/2025 | Send Email
By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 10/2/2025 | Send Email
There's definitely a lushness and really inviting allure on the nose. There's such a dark and intense core that we have to find our way around the outside of it first, peeling back a dark purple floral note from the far back and then finding lots of black cherry, plum skin, and blackberry. Past the fruit there's really lovely cigar box kind of barrel spice, touches of anise, and a little bit of dried green herbs on the finish. This is just such a really impressive wine already at this price, and we haven't even tasted it yet. The palate is phenomenal, there's a bright touch of really pretty fruit, firm but incredibly integrated tannins and then more barrel spice, toast, a little touch of green peppercorn all rounding everything out. This is the kind of value that I'm super proud we can deliver, it's just super impressive especially for under $25.
Price:
$24.99
2016 K&L Discovery Series Bordeaux, St-Estephe
By: Simon Li | Review Date: 10/2/2025 | Send Email
By: Simon Li | Review Date: 10/2/2025 | Send Email
St-Estephe is always my favorite appellation in Bordeaux and this 2016 Discovery Series from St-Etephe captures the essence of its renowned vintage, opening with an inviting bouquet of dark cherry and fresh blueberry. On the palate, these concentrated fruit flavors are seamlessly woven with savory undertones of dried herbs and a distinct mineral streak. A bright acidity lends balance and energy, keeping the profile both substance and aging potential.
Price:
$24.99
2016 K&L Discovery Series Bordeaux, St-Estephe
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
St-Estèphe is renowned for wines of richness and muscular structure, and this 2016 from our Bordeaux Discovery Series lives up to that reputation. Aromas of blackcurrant, cherry, and blueberry mingle with mineral notes of graphite. The palate is broad and mouthfilling, carrying the fruit seamlessly into a long, persistent finish. The tannins are thick and enveloping, yet the excellent concentration of the 2016 vintage renders them sweeter and more pliant. There’s still youthful vigor here, so a little air—or a brief decant—will be well rewarded. However you enjoy it, this is a lot of wine from a great vintage, and at an incredible price.
Price:
$24.99
2016 K&L Discovery Series Bordeaux, St-Estephe
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
What a great nose and incredible concentration on the palate—dark and alluring cassis envelops the senses, followed by sweet tobacco. A lick of graphite is tempered by notions of vanilla bean, soft cedar, porcini mushroom and fine leather. A juicy blackberry finish bookends it all. This proper Claret is totally my speed—an absolute must buy for Bordeaux lovers of all stripes.
Price:
$24.99
2016 K&L Discovery Series Bordeaux, St-Estephe
By: Matthew Landau Hassan | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
By: Matthew Landau Hassan | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
Deep garnet in the glass, this wine immediately shows the classic power and structure of St-Estèphe. Aromas of blackcurrant, graphite, cedar, and dried tobacco lead the way, with a subtle lift of violets and a touch of earth.
On the palate, it delivers firm tannins and dark fruit intensity—think blackberry, cassis, and black plum—layered with hints of leather, crushed stone, and savory spice. The finish is long and structured, marked by the appellation’s trademark minerality and freshness. This bottling captures the balance between power and elegance, offering a taste of Bordeaux’s Médoc pedigree at a very approachable everyday price.
Price:
$24.99
2016 K&L Discovery Series Bordeaux, St-Estephe
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
The first thing that strikes me on the nose of this latest Discovery Series Bordeaux release are the clean and pure scents. Minerals and light chalk. Followed quickly by deep, dark red fruits, cherry and deep red currant. There is also a light hint of tart cranberry. In the mouth, it has that distinct 2016 vintage clean and bright tannin that is present but, also kind of delicate. The red fruits expand and deepen to coat the tongue. After that, it finishes clean and lingers with back of the throat tart red fruits and pleasantly mellow spice. I think that this just might be my favorite wine of the Discovery Series Bordeaux. It is very flexible per food pairings and also just fine and dandy on its own.
Price:
$24.99
Launois "Cuvée Réservée" Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: Philip Roufail | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
By: Philip Roufail | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
The Launois "Cuvée Réserve" Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne is the all-time undisputed champion of K&L's Direct Import Champagne portfolio and our largest grower-producer. Founded in 1872, Launois is headquartered in a remarkable chateau in the village of Villers-aux-Bois and is currently helmed by eighth generation vignerons Severine and Caroline Launois. The estate’s Grand Cru vineyards are in Mesnil-sur-Oger and Cramant in the heart of the Cote de Blancs. The Launois Cuvée Réserve Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs is the flagship NV champagne and their other Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay) are variations of this unbelievably affordable sparkling masterpiece. The “Quartz” is bottled under 5 atmospheres of pressure instead of six and is secretly a single vineyard -- "Les Chetillons" in the Grand Cru village of Mesnil. The “Clemence” has an extra year of aging on the lees, 4 years total, which gives it a leesy profile; and the “Maxime” is a vintage Grand Cru bottling, currently 2018 (a great "solar" vintage with balance ripe fruit). The NV “Dorine” is sourced from a chalky patch in the Cote de Sezanne and is barrel fermented. The NV “Vinum Dei” (“Wine of God”) is the only blend - 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir; and the “Valentine” is a 100% Pinot Noir Brut Rosé, also sourced from Sézanne. At the top of the Launois pyramid are the prestige "Helia" bottlings - both vintage - the 2017 "Helia" Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs and the 2018 "Helia" Grand Cru Rosé. The base for the Helia rosé is entirely grand cru Chardonnay from Mesnil and Cramant with just under 10% of red wine added from the family's Sézanne Pinot Noir plots.
Price:
$39.99
Launois "Cuvée Réservée" Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 10/1/2025 | Send Email
The benchmark wine from this wonderful producer makes big-house Champagne look silly. Sure there are some fabulous offerings from the great names in Champagne, but none come close to this magical bottle even at a $20 premium. This has everything you want in a Blanc de Blancs. Exquisite structure and vibrant creamy texture. Gorgeous aromatics filled with nuanced mineral, citrus and stone fruit flavors. There's no wonder this is one of our best-selling wines of any kind, but I'm still shocked we still are able to get this at such an incredible price. Also, these do amazingly in the cellar if you want to put a few years on there.
Price:
$39.99