By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 5/27/2025 | Send Email

Very pretty nose that has a whiff of petrol, but also a touch of lemon-lime before the more orchardy fruit comes forth. The palate is light and really well balanced, with a good and prominent acidity but nothing that will tear your face off. The fruit on the palate is round with a little bit of a honeyed character. This is a really nice entry-point bottle of Alsace Riesling from one of our more popular and best-selling direct import producers from the region.

By: Ryan Moses | Review Date: 5/27/2025 | Send Email

Those who hit the mark with the 2022 vintage in Sauternes produced some monumental wines, so it’s no surprise to see Yquem right at the top of that list. A remarkable contrast to the focused and fresh 2021 vintage, the 2022 embraces the breadth of the unique growing season, adding layers upon layers to create a luxurious, heady Sauternes that reveals one nuance after another. Stone fruit, orange blossom, honey, and grilled pineapple are just a few of the many aromas and flavors bursting from the glass. But it’s the waves of flavor, beautiful texture, vibrant acidity, and endless finish that truly set this Yquem apart. As expected, there is so much on offer already that no one could be blamed for popping a cork at this early stage—but the concentration suggests this is a wine built for the long haul. A potential Yquem for the ages, the 2022 is a deep, resonant Sauternes that speaks volumes about the singular nature of this inimitable label.

By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 5/26/2025 | Send Email

There's just a very light touch of barrel spice on the nose, besides that, there's a soft little floral perfume and then very soft raspberries, rhubarb, and then some apricot and a little touch of freshly squeezed apple. The palate is light and crisp, almost ethereal in the best of ways. there's a little neutral barrel note and then a soft wave of bountiful fruit riding on a jutting crest of acid to completely clean your palate. This is really lovely in an enrapturing kind of way, the more that I sip and taste, the more I'm feeling those butterflies of when you find a wine you really connect with. There's something here that is going to make me buy a case or so just to figure out what I really love so much about this, but until then, this is more of a porch wine than a pool wine, but could also be a part of a fondue dinner. It's just great.

By: Simon Li | Review Date: 5/26/2025 | Send Email

As a devoted Bordeaux lover, I typically enjoy letting great vintages mature over time—but the 2020 Château Léoville Poyferré is a reminder that some wines can deliver immense pleasure even in their youth. This vintage is bold and expressive right out of the glass, with rich aromas of blackberry, black plum, and a touch of dark chocolate, wrapped in savory layers of tobacco leaf and cigar box. The wine is full-bodied, with excellent structure and a beautiful sense of balance—ripe fruit framed by polished tannins and just the right amount of acidity. It’s generous and powerful, yet nothing feels overdone. There’s an earthy depth and a touch of spice that adds complexity as it opens up in the glass. While it’s drinking impressively well now with a bit of air, it clearly has the structure and concentration to evolve for another 10 to 15 years in the cellar. This is exactly the kind of wine that reminds me why I love the Left Bank—classic, confident, and full of character.

By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 5/25/2025 | Send Email

Founded in 1573 and believed to be one of the oldest distilleries in China, Luzhou Laojiao still uses many of its original clay fermentation pits. Since the distillery operates in a continuous cycle, the delightful red sorghum-based baijiu in this bottle is directly linked to 16th-century renditions. To put this into its Ming Dynasty perspective, 10-year-old emperor Wanli had just ascended the throne and the Chinese were still fighting Japanese pirates (Wokou) along the coast and Mongol hoards on its northern borders. So what does this sip of history taste like? True to its strong aroma style (浓香, nóngxiāng), the first impression is vibrant and tropical—a ripe cherimoya, which tastes like tutti-frutti, but this bears a more natural signature—followed by ripe pineapple, powdered licorice-coated dried plum, and bright chrysanthemum tea. There’s lovely depth and a lingering finish of those last two notes. Fēicháng hǎo hē!

By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 5/23/2025 | Send Email

This humble little bottle of Paulaner brings me right back to the hard wooden benches of Munich beer gardens. This lager is a fine example of the way lager should be—crisp, refreshing, and bursting with clean flavors of barley and malt without too much sweetness. It has body, depth, and a delightful zesty hops finish that lingers. Now that my glass is empty, I have intense regrets that I only bought one bottle. Seriously makes me want to price flights back to Munich.

By: Orazio Campoli | Review Date: 5/23/2025 | Send Email

The 2014 Flavio Roddolo Barolo stands as an insider's treasure because it remains traditional while expressing soulful and artisanal characteristics. Flavio Roddolo operates from Monforte d'Alba where he maintains an independent winemaking approach to produce limited quantities of unyielding wines from his family vineyards through minimal winemaking intervention. The wine presents dried cherry scents alongside worn leather notes and forest floor aromas and dried rose petals with anise and iron and delicate spice undertones. Roddolo follows a patient approach to winemaking by extending the aging period of his wines beyond standard requirements while using large neutral oak barrels without any haste. The current vintage from this producer is what we have in front of us. The Barolo presents itself as a wine from a bygone era because it lacks any artificial elements while delivering authentic Nebbiolo flavors that result from extended aging.

By: Michael Benoit | Review Date: 5/22/2025 | Send Email

Representing the best the 2015 vintage has to offer, this new bottling from Billecart-Salmon is only the second time they've produced a vintage edition of their standard rose champagne. Aromas of ripe cherries, marzipan, and a touch of honey make for a beautifully expressive, complex nose. On the palate, I was surprised to find a subtle layer of pain au levain toast, giving way to flavors of juicy Bing cherry, Satsuma orange, and underripe strawberry. This champagne is bright, mouthwatering, and complex, and has a finish that goes on for days, revealing flashes of different flavors as you savor each sip. An absolute treat, and shockingly well-priced for what's in the bottle!

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 5/22/2025 | Send Email

Looking for a perfect sipper that is perfectly affordable? Here it is! Absolutely charming dark red fruits with nice scents of (light) thyme and fresh turned soil. On the palate, very nice extraction and mouth-coating red fruits that are not overripe or overpowering. It finishes with a clean dose of neutral oak. It's even unfined and unfiltered!

By: Craig Morris | Review Date: 5/22/2025 | Send Email

We recently opened this bottle for a tasting with Krug themselves (a tasting that also included the Grand Cuvee 172eme and the Rose 28eme). Although there was not a unanimous staff favorite, I believe the 2011 had the most votes for top pick. This wine is remarkable. The depth, the focus, the complexity...the wine is firm and structured, full of that distinct Krug character, but through the prism of the 2011 vintage. Now, 2011 is not a particularly well-regarded vintage, so why release a bottle consisting only of fruit from that particular year? Well, Krug decides vintage releases based on one thing only; taste. So, regardless of what everyone else says about the vintage, they liked the taste, and now having tried it myself, I must say...I like the taste as well.

By: Ryan Moses | Review Date: 5/22/2025 | Send Email

Malescot St-Exupéry has been a staple for us at K&L over the years, consistently hitting all the right marks—genuine Bordeaux from one of our favorite appellations that always seems to over-deliver. Tasting with their team is one of the most refreshing experiences: they make just one wine, no frills, expertly crafted, and endlessly delicious. You know they’re doing something right when it’s hard to pick a standout vintage because there are so many great ones. But this 2019 immediately stood out to me as a big-time winner. The aromas are rich with cedar, violet, and deep red berries, while the palate offers a panoply of black and red fruits, fine baking spice, an incredibly pure texture, great density, and a finish that dances with zesty acidity, deep red fruit skins, and a thread of minerality. I wouldn’t hesitate to enjoy this now with a long decant, though I also believe it will age brilliantly for years to come—testament to both the exceptional 2019 vintage and the consistent excellence of Malescot St-Exupéry. This recent parcel comes to us direct from Bordeaux at a remarkable price, making it easily one of the best buys in Classified Growths on our shelves—and perhaps anywhere on the market.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 5/21/2025 | Send Email

Calling all wine geeks! When is the last time that you saw Carricante, let alone tasted one?! It's been years and years for me. Such a purty nose with white flowers and lemon meringue. On the palate, nicely tart with clean salty spice, key lime, tart green fruits and candied ginger. So much going on and so much deliciousness to entertain the palate.

By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 5/20/2025 | Send Email

Very pretty and dense nose with dark and red fruits laying on top of rose petals, black cherry and raspberry quickly being overtaken by cranberry skin and pomegranate seeds. The palate starts out a little creamy and rich with ripe fresh pressed cherry juice quickly being overtaken by more tart and crunchy cranberry finish with a little bit of spice. There's a lot of great texture there besides the tannin, weighty and firmly pushing this into solidly medium bodied. This is a really delicious bottle of wine, something that is friendly enough that you can just stop and have a glass if you want, but with enough going on underneath that it's also a great food pairing for something like duck or a fatty roast chicken.

By: Orazio Campoli | Review Date: 5/20/2025 | Send Email

Sourced from one of the oldest parcels in Grumello, Buon Consiglio channels the vineyard’s upper-altitude minerality and the patience of long aging. Elegant yet firm, with red currants, alpine spice, crushed rock, and a sense of quiet authority. The 2016 is vibrant and lifted, with fine tannins and serious depth—one of the standout Riservas of the vintage.

By: Orazio Campoli | Review Date: 5/20/2025 | Send Email

The wine possesses royal elegance through its regal title of “The New Queen.” This Sassella offers a transparent profile alongside vertical structure and endless layers to appeal to drinkers who appreciate soft whispers instead of loud declarations.

By: Orazio Campoli | Review Date: 5/20/2025 | Send Email

The Nebbiolo produced from Inferno's granite soil emits smoky notes alongside wild berries and iron and spice elements. The wine presents itself with a sharp profile while maintaining an elemental purity that creates a direct drinking experience.

By: Ryan Moses | Review Date: 5/18/2025 | Send Email

From the brilliant '05 to the classic '09, the over-delivering '15, and the profound '16, Grand Puy Lacoste has remained true to form over the past twenty years. The expression is classic Pauillac—with graphite, cassis, and cedar—but delivered in a focused, pure, and finessed style that’s genuinely refreshing. I believe this 2019 is the next great chapter in their storied history. While this GPL doesn’t stray from its traditional roots, the character of the vintage (a standout year for Cabernet) gives it a slightly more immediate appeal, suggesting a long, generous drinking window. A fine minerality runs through gentle but detailed red-to-black fruits, leading to a long finish that just begs for another sip. Many vintages produce a Grand Puy Lacoste that’s flat-out impressive, but this is a top-tier example that will easily stand alongside Pauillac’s finest. For fans of the property—or those looking to discover GPL—I couldn’t recommend this one more.

By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 5/15/2025 | Send Email

This is probably one of my most anticipated wines of the year. The last vintage was one of my favorite wines of last year and that gives me a little bit of anticipatory fear, but thankfully I can assure you, my dear reader, that this Chardonnay lives up to the hype. The nose is classic and pretty with apples and pears drenched in freshly squeezed lemon but in the background there's this hint of pineapple and after a little bit of time in the glass there's some white flowers showing. The palate is soft and round with a pleasing but softened acidity and there's a touch of barrel in the finish, but it's light enough that I feel it would be hard for it to offend most people. There's some lightly baked apples and lemon wedges, and golden kiwi along with a long saline note tracing its way through the finish. At just $20 this is a crazy good wine for the price, ready to go with chicken, turkey, salmon, pasta primavera, or whatever you want to have a heck of a Chardonnay with. I am overjoyed to say that this is a worthy successor to my previous love. The King is dead, long live the King.

By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 5/15/2025 | Send Email

Though these are young vines, there is nothing that is not great about this version of Vidiano. Succulent mineral notes with an oily but lifted texture. Vidiano is highest on my list of grapes to watch.

By: Keith Mabry | Review Date: 5/15/2025 | Send Email

When Xinomavro is often compared to Nebbiolo, the Kokkymelo is my proof of that concept. This is the more classical definition of this great grape variety - Xinomavro that is. Beautiful red cherry, black plum, blood orange and dried thyme plus the acid structure and deep tannins give you that Nebbiolo-like character with its own level of finesse.

By: Jacques Moreira | Review Date: 5/15/2025 | Send Email

A very surprising and very limited rosé wine from Turley. Made 100% of Zinfandel that was picked early, to maintain freshness. Fermented with native yeast and not fined nor filtered. Let's just say this is not your 90's white Zinfandel... Rich on the palate and yet low in alcohol at 12.5%. The floral, strawberry notes are balanced with a vinous viscosity that reminded me of a Tavel from Provence. Pair this with spicy, garlicky foods for a match made in heaven.

By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 5/13/2025 | Send Email

Deep intense petrol nose when it is first opened, softens after a couple hours to a still very petrol nose that has a lot of soy umami showing foremost. This is an incredibly savory and unique nose, all in the very best of ways, and buried deep underneath is this dense lemon pith and a little bit of honeyed apple and pear. The palate is also incredibly rich and savory, there's a through-line of salinity that runs along the edge of the acidity as well as the very pretty honey'd fruit from the nose. The mouthfeel is glorious and rich, almost a touch waxy and while there's an oxidative character to this, it just makes such complete sense. This is an absolutely brilliant wine that manages to overdeliver at its pricepoint, and not all $90 wines can say that

By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 5/13/2025 | Send Email

This Xinomavro has an incredibly alluring nose, there's a splash of rosewater on top of the strawberry and bright red cherry that gives this a seductively exotic twist. The palate is juicy with just a little hint of herbal savoriness in the mid-palate. There's strawberries, raspberries, and a touch of hibiscus all mixing with the rosewater and very soft fine tannins. This is a very pretty wine, the kind that makes you stop and give it a second look before you even take a sip. I found myself reading all the notes on the bottle, of which there are many, and smelling it over and over before finally allowing myself to taste it. This bottle is something special.

By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 5/13/2025 | Send Email

After a couple hours of air, this wine has really opened up impressively - not that it was a slouch at first whiff. There's a dense earth and touch of green peppercorn on the front that is quickly followed by dense and dusty fruits. Brambleberries, plum skin, and black cherry all intersperse amongst the savory elements giving this Xinomavro a really excellent balance. The firm grip of the tannins, however, encourages you to enjoy this with something a little rich and fatty. There's enough fruit you could consider a steak, but I would push much more towards duck and other game birds, hopefully something a little gamey.

By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 5/12/2025 | Send Email

Made from a blend of 50% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 20% Mourvèdre this presents with a fairly inky and dense purplish hue. The nose is a creamy red and black fruitbasket with raspberry, cherry, blackberry, and a hint of blueberry all crashing through. The fruit is a mash of fresh and dried and rounded at the edges with savory bitter herbs. The body is decidedly medium, going from almost heavy at first sip then quickly lighter as the acidity kicks in. The fruit is explosive on the palate, almost chewy like fruit leather but the acidity keeps it fresh and ripe. There's a dense core that finishes with graphite and the bitter herbs from the nose. There's something about this wine that is unrestrained and could almost be called brash if every corner wasn't sanded down so exquisitely.

By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 5/12/2025 | Send Email

With a nose that first starts with a hint of tart cranberry and then quickly transitions to darker and richer fruit. There's plum skin, raspberry, and touches of rhubarb custard. Accompanying the fruit is a handful of dried herbs mixed in with some loamy soil, in the best of ways. The palate starts fruit-forward before the savory elements kick in, quickly balancing the palate with dense earth and hints of armchair leather. A really delicious find, and another wine we have coming out of the amazing heritage Evangelho Vineyard, the vineyard itself is an amazing story, but this wine is a wonderful representation from it. This just wants to be paired with whatever you're having tonight, I could see this going with anything from pork chops to filet steak and everything between and at under $20 this could be a great mid-week wine option.

By: Craig Morris | Review Date: 5/11/2025 | Send Email

A lovely Champagne of seeming contradictions...Rich yet elegant, structured yet easy drinking. This wine has a massive 10 years on the lees, so expect a lot of toasty sourdough. The bubbles are very fine, hence the aforementioned elegance, and there's a lively acidity and chalky minerality, as well. This Champagne has it all! The Billecart Salmon name speaks for itself, and 2012 is one of the top vintages of the 21st century. Between the tasting notes and the pedigree, there are just so many reasons to pick this bottle up!

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 5/10/2025 | Send Email

Mouthwatering! Mouthwatering! Mouthwatering! Those are the first three words that came into my head at 10:15 this morning while tasting this brand-new release from Billecart-Salmon. A beautiful nose with scents of lemon curd, vanilla cream, melted butter, fresh sea air, toasted nuts. On the palate, equally gorgeous with pear puree, lush peach, tart lemon, sea salt and almond. Lush and invigoratingly fresh and clean, at the same time. This is a truly wonderful release and a great bottling from Billecart-Salmon. Although it is so fine and beautiful now, you can also keep it for decades. My champagne tasting group opened a 2002 earlier this year and it was still not even into its middle school years. This is, by far, the best champagne that I have tasted so far this year. Enjoy it, dear Rozita! Update: Three days later (with a secure Champagne stopper, of course!), this marvel is all about shortbread and melted butter. So good!

By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 5/9/2025 | Send Email

UPDATE: The final blend is here and it's even more incredible than the test recipe - everything is married perfectly and it tastes exactly like we wanted it. A testament to the prowess of the excellent blender, Mr James Saxon, who incidentally is stepping down from his throne as lead blender at Compass Box. This will be one of his final projects. A fitting tribute to an undeniable talent. The privilege of selecting a custom batch of Compass Box cannot be overstated. Only a handful of venues have ever been invited to participate in a collaboration with the great modern bespoke whisky maker. The blending and bottling of a K&L Exclusive Compass Box led by the illustrious John Glaser is one of our crowning achievements in terms of sheer quality. It took us almost 5 years from the moment we first approached the brand before they agreed to it. That whisky, 5th & Harrison, was a blend of old Caol Ila and sherried Glen Ord, an eternal coupling. Thanks to a killer price and a mysterious label - that was definitely NOT a drawing of any former K&L Spirits buyer - it sold out in just days for just $180. Now the few bottles that remain fetch over $1000 at auction. Since then, so much has changed. John Glaser has handed the reigns over to a new generation of whisky makers and a new era of collaboration has blossomed. K&L has a new location in Southern California, and so much more. Nearly 10 years to the day that we began the process of creating 5th & Harrison, we’re ready to release a second custom batch bottled exclusively for K&L Wine Merchants by Compass Box. Blending whisky is one of the most fulfilling and complex tasks I’ve had the incredible luck to perform. Blending whisky isn't a materialistic endeavor that can be solved by wit and measure. The simple truth of blending is that 1+2≠3 and creating a whisky of great distinction and character is not as simple as just mashing three really good malts together. So, guided, as it were, by the deft hand of Whisky Making Director and all-around splendid chap James Saxon, I embarked upon a sublime journey. We loved the original 5th & Harrison style and wanted to stay within that realm. James had an incredible array of wonderful old sherried and peated whiskies to choose from, but it was quickly narrowed down to a few lots. They had old Ardbeg, Highland Park, Caol Ila, Bowmore, and sherried Glendullan or Tormore. I wasn’t simply looking to recreate the prowess of the original in flavor terms. Instead, I felt we needed to focus on creating the same experience of unbridled value for your dollar. That immediately cut the potential of working with Ardbeg out of the question – despite the quality of the distillate, it’s not only difficult to integrate but also VERY expensive after 20 years of age. I’d assumed the same fate would hold true for the other Islay options, but after running the numbers, we found that we’d be able to use significant portions of Bowmore aged for almost 23 years in ex-bourbon. That product on its own would fetch many hundreds of dollars in today’s market. To it, we married a gorgeous first-fill sherry butt of Glendullan of at least 21 years of age. This little-known distillery can offer some distinct character and complexity when aged in quality casks. So little sees high-value sherry it’s hard to generalize about character, but this barrel was absolutely first-rate. It brought out the deep tropical fruit and wild exotic side of the Bowmore. This original blend was supple and delicious - a 5th & Harrison redux if you will, but it didn’t really show the maturity of these two wonderful old spirits. In fact, the whiskies seemed to bring out the hidden youthfulness in each other, a noble trait, though now somehow masking some deeper complexities that the two exhibited apart. At James' suggestion, we began to explore the potential of introducing a small amount of old rugged Caol Ila into the blend. This I also assumed would be cost prohibitive, but we forged ahead anyway. After nearly two and a half decades in refill American oak, the wild jagged spirit has smoldered into a dense singularity of salty ocean flavors. The feeling of boarding a weathered schooner, salt and tar covered, the captain’s pipe wafting as he steadies the wooden tiller. Whiffs of salted fish, sea spray, and diesel smoke complete the harbor scene. Eventually, this final note brought the new batch together perfectly by retaining the wild freshness but pinpointing both a base and top note that draws the deeper elements of the first two malts forward. The resulting blend is easily one of my favorite modern bottlings of scotch in at least a decade. It exemplifies everything we are at K&L, providing a superior experience for an incredible price. The component whiskies, had they been bottled on their own, would have individually fetched easily 2-3 times the price of this bottle, but put them together, a testament the incredible value we've created here. I’ll attempt to do it justice here. The color is a stunning hue of deep copper (1.0). The nose offers an incredible sense of the finest and oldest things -old teak, cordovan, salt-encrusted rope, mango syrup, balsam, seaweed, bonfire, première eau, and marmalade. On the palate, the Bowmore shines at first, offering salted tropical fruit, fried plantains in honey, grilled lemons. Then our Glendullan adds wild nutty oxidized rancio, dense spices, and freshly chopped dark chocolate. The finish brings a heavy dose of lemon oil, old wood, baked orchard fruit, apricot jam, salted almonds, camphor, and smoldering tobacco. It doesn’t need a drop of water and certainly not more than that if you must. Bottled at very near cask strength - 0.1-.2% to round out the labels - and with no chill filtration, coloring, or other additives whatsoever. Today, to commemorate the expansion of K&L into new waters, we launch both 5th & Harrison II & Culver & Sepulveda. These two sister bottlings include the exact same juice, but each label celebrates these two wonderful cities that we call home. In some comedic twist of fate, we’re able to offer these wonders – an old blended malt scotch whisky at the exact same price as the previous K&L/Compass Box collaboration from over a decade ago, a true triumph.

By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 5/7/2025 | Send Email

From chief winemaker Florent Nys, this brand-new release from Billecart-Salmon is composed of 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay—aged 10% in oak and 90% in thermo-controlled stainless steel. In production since 1964, it’s a tribute to the house’s founder. My senses are greeted by a delicate honey-glazed pear tart, exquisitely interlaced with alluring notes of cardamom and ginger, Meyer lemon zest, followed by beckoning whispers of marzipan and vanilla crème anglaise. A goodbye kiss of chalk makes me want the experience to never end. This is drop-dead gorgeous Champagne. I wish I could take the afternoon off with a bottle and some small bites—tea sandwiches, gougères, potato chips with caviar and crème fraîche, and a period romance movie. The yearning is palpable.

By: John Downing | Review Date: 5/5/2025 | Send Email

This is the second wine of Haut-Batailley (owned and operated by Lynch Bages as of 2017) and it was met with unanimous approval at our recent staff tasting. This delicious blend of 54% Merlot, 43% Cabernet and 3% Petit Verdot opens with notes of Cassis fruit with hints of cedar, earth and spice. It's quite approachable now and while it's texturally soft, it offers excellent depth of fruit and solid underlying structure. A serious wine at the price.

By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 5/5/2025 | Send Email

Crisp, vivid, and nervy—ruby red grapefruit supremes, whispers of passionfruit, elderflower, lemon zest and alluring minerals. This is a fantastic buy to serve with fish, sushi, or a niçoise salad.

By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 5/4/2025 | Send Email

Bright and lively—plum, fresh snappy cherry, blackcurrant, whole leaf tobacco, and black tea. This will play nicely with a variety of dishes.

By: Alex Pross | Review Date: 5/2/2025 | Send Email

Such a wonderful introduction to Charles Baur's style of Rieslings is the "Cuvee Charles". Bright and zesty with a focus on citrus fruits averring towards lemon and white grapefruit this zesty, bright Riesling is a great everyday drinker.

By: Alex Pross | Review Date: 5/2/2025 | Send Email

This is a fantastic wine that is unique, fun and easy to enjoy! Wonderful aromas of waxy yellow fruits and hints of dried herbs give way to a vibrant palate of white flowers, hints of peach and passionfruit and just a hint of flint. A complex, layered wine that is amazingly approachable this is a great, different white that you're sure to enjoy.

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 4/30/2025 | Send Email

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!

By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 4/29/2025 | Send Email

For the last decade (or more) Smith-Madrone's Spring Mountain Estate Cab has been one of the very best deals in all of Napa. A total sleeper wine, beloved by many in the wine industry. While many of their neighbors took their pricing up and up, Smith-Madrone kept on quietly releasing wines of exceptional quality and authenticity. They never chased a flashy style of wine, with high alcohols, celebrity winemakers, and all the other tricks...they just kept plugging away making traditional, old-school, Spring Mountain Cabernet, knowing exactly what their land gave them and what the true expression of their magical terroir looked like. In fact, out of curiosity I looked back at our historical sales of Smith-Madrone - We've carried just about every vintage of this wine since the 1980 bottling. Back in 2000 we had a run on the 1995 vintage and sold over 1000 bottles of the Estate Cab...and the retail price, 25 years ago, $49.99. So today, when we're offering their 2021 release, with nothing short of two 97-point scores, for an extremely modest $59.95, it gives me great pleasure that not all great Napa wines are over priced and inflated. This wine offers one of the truest expressions of the the varietal you'll find from anywhere. Smith-Madrone's parcellated estate is draped over the mountainside at over 2000 ft elevation. Many blocks are perilously steep and terraced. Many vines date back to the original 1970s plantings. The estate has faced several close calls when wild fire engulfed the hillside most recently in 2020. But the vines still stand resilient and vibrant. The winery itself is as old-school as you might imagine for such a remote mountain property; a visit here is like stepping back in time before all the polished pomp and circumstance that so often accompanies a tasting in the valley these days. The proof as they say is in the pudding, or the bottle in this instance, and that is the real deal. Soaring aromas of lavender, bay leaf, blue and black fruit, mulberry, hints of blackcurrant, briar patch, cigar box tones, mountain chapparal, and spice box. Fine but notable tannins are perfectly wrapped in muscular fruit with wonderful focus and purity. It's a stunning wine, one of the very best I've had from Smith-Madrone, and one that proves if you stay the course, and do what's true to you and your place on the earth, recognition, respect, accolades, and admiration will come. A tiny part of me worries that with the huge scores and notoriety they bring, things will change at Smith-Madrone...but the vast majority of me doubts it very much, and that keeps a smile on my face.

By: Ryan Moses | Review Date: 4/28/2025 | Send Email

This is a wine I wish everyone could try, as it is not only one of the greats of the entire Right Bank, but also feels incredibly unique compared to its peers—and to the wines that came from this property just a decade ago. It shows how superb the 2020s can be from this part of St-Émilion, full of high-toned red and black fruits on the nose and palate. The intensity of flavor, elegant texture, and brightness work in perfect harmony. The tannins are remarkably refined, the wine always stays fresh, and there’s a focus and purity that speaks loudly to how far Troplong Mondot has come in representing its terroir brilliantly. Of course, the limestone salinity carries a long finish, giving it a wonderful sense of place. The epitome of fresh, bright, and ethereal Merlot, it’s remarkable to see that Troplong is all of these things—while remaining relatively affordable within the world of top-tier Bordeaux.

By: Orazio Campoli | Review Date: 4/25/2025 | Send Email

The Primitivo grape variety in “Soltema” reveals its bright and open-hearted nature through this wine which comes from younger vineyards. Traditional Botti aging for 9 months allows this wine to express its Mediterranean essence which includes the sun's warmth and sea breezes and deep red soil characteristics. The wine displays a deep ruby color with wild berry scents and a delicate ethereal quality. The wine presents velvety texture and roundness to its palate which provides enough structure for seriousness but remains completely approachable. The Jorche style welcomes new drinkers through this perfect introduction.

By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 4/22/2025 | Send Email

Coming from the tippy top of Spring Mountain, this Cabernet impresses right out the gate. There's something about wines that are incredibly well-structured, while I figure it's all in my head, I feel like I can actually smell that structure sometimes and this one was a wine that from first scent I knew I was in for something special. Plum-skin , black cherry, and green peppercorns fill the nose until they're all accompanied by berry compote and a little bit of fresh leather. The palate is intense and rich, just an explosion of fruit as the berry compote from the nose mixes with freshly crushed pie cherries with a handful of dried herbs and a single rose petal tossed in. The finish is long with touches of cocoa and little wisps of coffee working with the herbs but ultimately ending with oak spice. This wasn't just a wine, it was an experience and it's one to be had and shared with people you love and care about, or just by yourself if you're feeling truly hedonistic. Have this with that rich cut of steak and fat potato that you've been thinking about, it'll be worth the ride.

By: Kirk Walker | Review Date: 4/22/2025 | Send Email

This is a blend of Malbec and Cabernet Franc, which could be one of the greatest combination of varietals in Argentina. Grown in the Gualtallary subzone (the GY) in the Uco Valley. Here the high elevation, calcareous soils, and cooler climate bring the best out of both varietals. When you pour this the first thing that stands out is the color. This is so intensely colored. The wine has a deep core that is only accentuated by the vibrancy of the magenta tinged rim. The aromatics are more subdued than expected, it has the classic mix of dark red fruits with a bramble accent, but it doesn’t jump out of the glass. The intensity of the color is matched by the flavors on the palate. This is all red fruits and pluots, think farmers market sample tray with more types of pluots than you can name, with some plums thrown in too. Behind the fruit there is that subtle floral lift that Malbec can have as well as a higher-toned herbal thing. There is a touch of oak, it is not heavy handed and really only makes its presence known with the texture. The tannins are polished and softly present, giving the medium bodied wine just enough support. This delivers an elevated Malbec experience.

By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 4/22/2025 | Send Email

You might call me a little crazy, but this Rioja has one of the most unique noses I've smelled recently. On top of the expected red and black brambley fruits, there's a distinctive grapefruit zest that somehow keeps worming its way to the top of the pecking order. It's engaging more than it is distracting, and it kept me going back to smell this over and over until I could figure out what it was. The palate is rich, all of the Bideona wines that I've tasted today have definitely been bigger and bolder wines, but a through-line has been really outstanding balance between the bigger palate is a nice racy acidity that keeps things copacetic.

By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 4/21/2025 | Send Email

Sharing a fence line with Ridge Monte Bello, Fellom Ranch Vineyard is another historic property in this part of the Santa Cruz Mountains that has long produced world-class, long-lived Cabernet Sauvignon of distinction. Ian Brand gets fruit from two old, east and north facing blocks planted in 1980 and 1982 to a historic Beringer selection or “clone”. Wanting to highlight the aromatic intensity and vitality of this old vine Cabernet grown on limestone soils, Ian ages his Fellom Ranch Cab in a large format Austrian Stockinger cask. The wine is so fine and detailed yet subtly powerful at the same time. Bright, lifted, aromatic red and black fruit. Crushed rock minerals, hints of camphor, sagebrush, leather and leafy tobacco. Enjoyable young because of the refined tannins, but clearly a wine that will age decades in the cellar if you have patience.

By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 4/18/2025 | Send Email

The incredible Siete Leguas distillery is unquestionably one of tequilas very best, but they don't have the bravado as many of the more popular brands. They've remained at their beautiful authentic distillery in Atotonilco el Alto since it was founded by Ignacio González Vargas in 1952. Since then they haven't spent a lot money or energy marketing their products, instead they put all their focus on producing the most authentic and delicious mezcal possible. And for years rumors of a special high proof blanco only available in Jalisco meandered the tequila nerd circles. It apparently exists and now it's finally here - one of their first new products in years. Widely accepted as one of the very best blancos available at any price, the new Siete Leguas 47 is a masterpiece of traditional production. Let's do it! The nose is impeccable with a depth and complexity that is rarely experienced in modern tequila - pungent aromas of over ripe cooked agave - sweet fibers of agave, black pepper, fresh herbs of all kinds, dense grass, hints of black olive and coriander seed. Huge hit of minerals on the palate with zesty citrus, roasted spices, more fresh herbs and sweet tropical fruit. This is absolutely stunning. Quickly it's up there with my top 5 blancos on the shelf. Well done Senor Gonzales.

By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 4/18/2025 | Send Email

While we don't frequently collaborate with the largest cognac house, our business ethos centers around offering the very best products to our customers at the most competitive prices. There's no specific reason we don't work with large cognac houses, aside from market saturation and price pressure, making their best products commercially challenging to justify. However, there's no doubt about their ability to create outstanding spirits — particularly the House of Hennessy, whose enormous resources provide them access to an unparalleled portfolio of high-quality, aged eau-de-vie. Every year, we purchase some of their small batch Master Blender's Selection. It provides a unique insight into their exceptional stocks, bottled at a slightly higher proof and with more finesse than the large-scale products typically associated with this house. This year's selection happens to be particularly delightful, and for some reason, we managed to acquire stocks at below market prices. Considering the pressure on prices and trade complexity, this cognac appears to be the deal of the year. Let's have go! Its deep amber color is striking - the color less adjusted for these blends, each release possessing a unique hue which is unusual for Hennessy. The powerful nose unfurls deep roasted oak spice, sweet crema of Arabica, piquant bitter orange oil, and dense dried stone fruit. The palate accentuates the contrast between sweet fruit and dense spice, with rich espresso bean, tobacco leaf, and dense fruit compote providing balance. Monsieur Fillioux seems to flaunt a bit here, incorporating some of their oldest and finest brandies into this blend. The selection surprisingly over-delivers given the quality and economic environment, a marvelous value indeed.

By: Orazio Campoli | Review Date: 4/13/2025 | Send Email

This is a slightly more macerated interpretation of this grape. The vineyards are in the Isonzo subzone, a river-influenced area known for its mineral-rich alluvial soils and cool breezes from the Adriatic. This wine is a richer, more textured take on Friulano: the nose is expressive with notes of ripe yellow pear, white peach, chamomile, and almond, wrapped in a touch of salinity and crushed stone minerality. On the palate, the wine is rounder and more layered than the classic version, showing a silky texture.

By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 4/12/2025 | Send Email

Every year at Premier Napa Valley we assemble a team of our sales specialists and spend several days traversing the region tasting hundreds of the very finest wines made. Harlan, Dominus, Opus One, Bryant, Heitz, Shafer, Cardinale, Bond and many many more. During the event this year, no wines impressed me more than those from Greer. At the Rutherford Dust tasting, in a packed room of very impressive wines, these absolutely stood out for their incredible balance, refinement, purity and crystal clear sense of place. These are absolute benchmark expressions of the west Rutherford bench. This tiny estate vineyard is sandwiched in by some of the most famous vineyards in the region including Scarecrow, Staglin, Bella Oaks, Morisoli, and Inglenook. This is seriously world-class dirt for growing Cabernet and wow they certainly know how to make the most of it! A tiny 3-acre site planted in 2005 with an historic wooden barn still standing in the center, this estate is beautifully understated, even diminutive, but one sip of the wine and you'll see how special it is. The wines have been made since the first vintage in 2007 by acclaimed winemaker Aaron Pott who learned his craft from luminaries like John Kongsgaard and Michel Rolland and at properties like Troplong Mondot and Quintessa. The nose on the 2018 vintage is all mulberry and cassis fruit with dry tobacco leaf and camphor mingled in adding a beautiful savory nuance to the suave and sophisticated fruit profile. Blackcurrant leaf, subtle bay laurel tones, and plenty of that oh so special Rutherford dust soil profile. The structure is refined and polished, but leaves you in no doubt that this wine has incredible ageing potential. A simply stunning wine that can, and will, hold it's own with the finest Cabernet based wines on the planet.

By: John Archuleta | Review Date: 4/11/2025 | Send Email

Simply one of the best Prosecco's and sparkling wines I have gotten to enjoy - coming from Valdobbbiadene (try saying that three times fast), this stunner is an absolute STEAL for the price. Coming from the best glera in the region, Foss Marai puts together a technical, complex, and very serious wine - elegant on the nose you get notes of white flower petal, light brioche, and sharp green apple skins. On the palate, you have zingy aciditiy, notes of lemon and acacia flower blossoms, and stunning minerality with a lingering finish - an amazingly pretty wine.

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 4/3/2025 | Send Email

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!

By: Aaron Hughes | Review Date: 4/2/2025 | Send Email

I have been told this is the best selling Champagne in the USA.