By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 3/18/2024 | Send Email

This 18 year old single malt is a deal. It has no smoke aromas or flavors because it has not been peated. It is full bodied, concentrated and complex. I liked it best with a splash of water which brought out some sweet notes and a soft mouth feel.

By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 3/18/2024 | Send Email

This single malt is easy to enjoy. The nose is pretty with sweet malt notes. In the mouth, it is light and round with sweet malt notes again. I liked it best with a touch of water which opened it up.

By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 3/16/2024 | Send Email

Composed of Yamadanishiki with a polishing rate of 49% and an SMV of +1.0, Eastern Legend is clean and refreshing with subtle fruity notes of honeydew melon and fresh summertime fig. Kisses of lemongrass and kinako-dusted mochi follow. Medium-plus dry, it would pair well with salade niçoise, sushi, or a nice medium-rare steak.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 3/15/2024 | Send Email

This one was quite the surprise! So soft and creamy with whipping cream, poached pear, vanilla. I certainly did not expect that from a Japanese whiskey. Ripe apricot, golden raisins and drizzled honey. I see it as an after dinner whiskey and a fantastic alternative to a liqueur or brandy.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 3/15/2024 | Send Email

The full nose of this malt is alive with orange zest, cocoa powder, oak and light honey. In the mouth, it is full and then spicy with baking spices and lush tropical fruits. The finish is long and spicy and laden with minerals.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 3/15/2024 | Send Email

I cannot say enough good things about this single malt. It has a stone-fruited nose with butterscotch and light barley malt scents. On the palate, wowza! Light smoke, spice, chamomile tea and butterhorn pastry. Classic Islay finish of smoke, saline and toasty oak. I'll admit that I'm not very fond of heavily peated and smoked single malt. That's why this one is such a treat! It is a magnificently balanced and elegant Islay that really fits the bill for me and should appeal to pretty much everyone.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 3/15/2024 | Send Email

Seeing customers with this bottle in their hands has been very intriguing. I have finally managed to taste it! It does not disappoint. A clean nose with light lanolin, green fruits, lightly roasted caramel. Bigger on the palate with toffee, caramel, baking spices, green apple and apricot. It also has a very long and bright finish. A real treat, this.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 3/15/2024 | Send Email

Deeeeelightful! Strong scents of orange and cream, very light juniper. In the mouth, spicy oranges, soft pepper, baking spices, (again) light juniper. May prove to be a bit too easy to drink.

By: Alex Leonardini | Review Date: 3/14/2024 | Send Email

The 2021 Burn Cottage "Sauvage Vineyard" Pinot Noir is as pretty and elegant and complex as they come. The nose isn't so much explosive as it is pervasively intense and nuanced, with each smell offering a new layer of aromas. First, crushed rose and gardenia petals that are followed by a layer of graphite and pencil shavings. Then, red cherry is followed closely by sea brine until bright, ripe strawberries and a touch of peppercorn take the lead. The palate is magnetic, bringing all the florals and fruits and minerals from the nose together in a seamless and never-ending spiral of complex beauty. This is a wine structured for aging, but with so much happening now and soft enough tannins that it isn't required for optimal enjoyment. This isn't bargain wine, but there are few Pinot Noirs as staggeringly thought provoking as this, and the few there are cost far, far more.

By: Lilia McIntosh | Review Date: 3/14/2024 | Send Email

Being a huge fan of Felton Road wines I am so excited to taste Burn Cottage! It's truly equal in power and complexity of flavors to Felton Road. This Pinot Noir has lovely savory notes of black tea and juicy red cherry at the same time, with layer of very subtle clove and star anise spice mix underneath it all. Finish goes on for ever and ever, it's very impressive! It's a structured wine with firm but light tannins which will help wine age gracefully yet you can certainly enjoy it now with food like duck, game meat and grilled salmon. If you like Pinot Noir, don't miss this opportunity.

By: Thomas Smith | Review Date: 3/12/2024 | Send Email

Has Felton Road finally met its rival? In the three decades since its founding in 1992, Felton Road has been the unequivocal champion of Central Otago, racking up accolades and firmly establishing Central Otago as one of the world’s premier regions for Pinot Noir. Nearly a decade later, Burn Cottage was by Americans Marquis and Diane Sauvage. Enlisting the help of Littorai’s Ted Lemon as consultant, they began crafting excellent wines a mere stone’s throw away from Felton Roads vineyards in Bannockburn. And with the 2021 Vintage, Burn Cottage is setting a new standard for the quality coming out of Central Otago. Take, for instance, their Sauvage Vineyard Pinot Noir. Sauvage is situated in a bank of gently sloping foothills known as the Bannockburn Sluicings–the equivalent of New Zealand’s Cote d’Or. To the direct south is Felton Road’s Macmuir Vineyard, while to the North is Muirkirk, the most prized site in Mount Edward’s holdings. Central Otago terroir does not get any better than this. I had the pleasure of tasting this exceptional Pinot at trade tasting this year and was utterly blown away. Focused and powerful, there’s an intense darkness of color and depth of flavor. Brambly black berry, ripened strawberry below a perfume of wildflowers and a seam of salinity that bring verve and vibrancy to the palate. But what I loved most about this wine was the incredible balance and detail. It has character and excitement, but a tightly knit balance among all of its components, leaving a dense, exquisitely composed wine that puts it at the forefront of New Zealand’s best wines. This is a serious achievement.

By: Philip Roufail | Review Date: 3/3/2024 | Send Email

When you make internationally renowned champagne for 206 years you don't have to rock the boat, but that's exactly what Grand Marque (Great Brand) Billecart-Salmon has done with the new releases of their flagship non-vintage champagnes. The Brut Reserve NV, soon to be called "Le Brut," remains a blend of 40% Meunier, 30% Chardonnay, and 30% Pinot Noir, but now incorporates a perpetual blend (62%, 2006-2018) for the first time, adding depth and complexity, and the dosage has dropped from 8g/l to 3g/l, resulting in a much drier and refined style of champagne. In addition, the base vintage (38%) is from the fantastic 2019 "solar" harvest, which produced ripe grapes with high levels of acidity. The majority of wines (92%) were fermented in stainless steel tanks and a small but consequential amount (8%) were fermented in oak casks. Finally, the Brut Reserve only went through partial malolactic fermentation to preserve the freshness of the 2019 vintage. Disgorged in the spring of 2023. If you're already a fan of Billecart-Salmon prepare to love them even more. If you haven't tried Billecart-Salmon before, it's time to discover this legendary Grand Maison.

By: Will Blakely | Review Date: 3/1/2024 | Send Email

This was such a pleasure to taste, and worth the long wait for its release- a golden gift from the gods. Heady aromas of sweet grain, orange oil and peach skin float elegantly out of the glass. The palate delivers glazed peach and apricot, almond pastry and Manuka honey. Though unpeated, it is distinctly Islay with its sea salt and slightly mossy profile. The rich texture and sweet, endlessly lingering finish suggest dessert wine casks played a prominent role in the aging of this exquisite spirit. Any Scotch fan will be instantly smitten, and I think this would make an enticing entry into the category, though anyone who starts here would be spoiled for life.

By: Kirk Walker | Review Date: 2/24/2024 | Send Email

Typicity. Value. Discovery. This Pinot delivers. It delivers classic Pinot Noir flavors and structure. The quality of this wine way over delivers the price point. And for most people Malleco might as well be Mars, who knows where it is? It just happens to be one of the coolest growing regions in Southern Chile. When it comes to Pinot Noir, I can be a very hard judge. There are times when I feel very much like an old-timer. A “back in my day” or “when I got started, things were different”, kind of old timer. A lot has changed in the last 25 years. The style of Burgundy that was made back then, is not made anymore. Now there are so many reasons for this, some bad but most for good, but I am not going to get into that. This is a wine that reminds me of that style of Pinot Noir. Cool to cold climate, earthy, old-world Pinot. There are some wines is something that is just around, on the edges here and there, but not at this price point. This was such an exciting wine to try. Malleco was first planted to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, but they were inspired by the success of New Zealand and experimented with Pinot. Its climate is like Burgundy, cold and continental. It has longer daytime sunshine hours and is on average colder with the influence of not only two mountain ranges but the cold Southern Pacific Ocean. This is a wine with ripe beautiful fruit, and high acid. This combination is one of the amazing things that Chile, there wines have that old-world structure but new-world fruit. The fruit is high toned; a mix of darker berries with good lift (not quite old school Cote de Nuits, but close). It is light bodied, there are some tannins that give it a little grip, and bright, mouthwatering acidity. You can feel the sunshine in the midpalate, the wine builds and grows with those fruit tones becoming richer. This wine does not finish like a wine at this price point. It is long with the fruit highlighting those savory elements that were on the nose. I love this wine, I love that it is delicious, it's not complicated, just straight forward good tasting. I love that it hits a nostalgic cord for me. I love that it might inspire the curious to take a moment or two to look at the map. This is why wine can be so much fun.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 2/22/2024 | Send Email

This beautiful (and affordable!) Claret is a real gem1 I tasted it at the winery on 19 February and it was a real treat. It is full of dark red fruits, licorice and cedar wood. There are mildly tart tannins, blackberry, light spic and dusty black cherries. A lot going on here! In a really good way.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 2/7/2024 | Send Email

This is a very pure and clean mineral driven chardonnay with crisp green apple and tart yellow apple fruit. There is a very light oak element that enhances rather than detracting from the overall character. The palate is a bit more rich and includes lightly roasted nuts and pastry dough flavors, as well as tart apple. This one will stack up well against a similar quality French white Burgundy.

By: Kerry Kennell | Review Date: 2/6/2024 | Send Email

This Left Bank value stunner is all about class, inside and out. In fine form with 12 years of age, it’s drinking beautifully right now with fresh and modern touches of plum, cassis, black tea, and a whisper of dried lavender. Perfect for savory snacks with people you look forward to spending time with.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 1/27/2024 | Send Email

The Wandering Poet sake has a soft nose of cantaloupe, green banana and minerals/sea salt. In the mouth, dry and almost linear with green melon, savory notes and back of the throat spice and herbs. Extremely interesting and different. A good match for vegetarian tempura.

By: Alex Schroeder | Review Date: 1/23/2024 | Send Email

Lanessan has produced innumerous vintages of old school, aged Bordeaux that our customers snap up for its wonderful quality-to-price ratio. This is perhaps the best I've had yet. It is certainly more modern and refined than previous vintages, with lovely boysenberry, cassis and black cherry fruit, with a touch of pencil shavings and toast. The concentrated and delicious fruit is lifted and fresh on the palate, with medium, refined tannins and perfectly balanced acid on the finish for freshness. It is showing no tiredness at all, and I expect will continue to age for many years to come. Enjoy now, or later. But don't wait to buy it, deals like this don't last long on the shelf.

By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 1/17/2024 | Send Email

The creme de la creme of parcels from all of Turnbull's incredible vineyard holdings go into the revered Black Label bottling. Turnbull is one of very few properties in the valley that sticks to a multi-vineyard wine as their flagship bottling believing that having more components at your disposal can ultimately result in a more complete, more complex, layered wine. Winemaker Peter Heitz takes his very favorite micro-blocks of Fortuna and Leopoldina Vineyards and then selects the very finest barrels from them to create one of most iconic wines of the region. Fortuna Vineyard on the eastern edge of Oakville Valley floor makes up 66% of the wine with the remaining 34% coming from the steep, hillsides of Leopoldina in the Vaca Mountains to the east. Luxury and decadence meets power and intensity. Lush polished fruit layers over intense rocky, mountain fruit minerality and structure. The 2021 Black Label is a brooding, powerful wine with incredible depth and intensity on one hand, but beautiful refinement and velvety texture on the other. Creme de cassis, warm blackberry, mulberry compote, dried mountain thyme, exotic oak spice and dark chocolate. The only thing that will stop this ageing 30+ years is someone drinking if before then! A huge wine of density and power, but one that hard to resist for it's purity and delicious primary fruit today.

By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 1/17/2024 | Send Email

Turnbull's Oakville Reserve Cab is a showcase of why Oakville Cab has become so renowned the world over. If you like pure luxury and explosive fruit in your glass of Cabernet Oakville is the absolute pinnacle. Turnbull has not one, not two, but three unbelievable estate vineyards in Oakville. The winery home block sits right across HWY 29, a literal stones throw, from the iconic To Kalon Vineyard. Fortuna Vineyard sits in a prime spot on the eastern edge of the valley floor right next door to Rudd Estate, Plumpjack, Bond - St Eden and many other famed vineyards. Leopoldina Vineyard is high in the hills looking down on the valley below. Neighbors include Dalla Valle, Ramey - Pedregal, Joseph Phelps - Bacchus, and Peter Michael - Au Paradis. The soils here are radically different from the valley floor with huge boulders of volcanic rock strewn throughout the vines and deep red, iron rich soils. Much of the vineyard is so steep and rocky, everything is done by hand, vine by vine. Winemaker Peter Heitz weaves dozens of micro-vinified lots together from each of these vineyards to create a truly special and emphatic expression of decadent Oakville Cabernet. The wine is super aromatic with bold, ripe red berry fruits, olallieberry, black raspberry, blackberry and walnut preserve, new leather, crushed rock, baking spice. The tannins are plush and fine, immediately approachable despite a muscular core of structure under the exuberant fruit. Wow, this is a seriously pleasure packed expression of Cabernet with layer upon layer of luxurious ripe fruit. The finish holds on to more of that iron-rich crushed rock, and graphite minerality that I presume must come from the large Leopoldina component. Incredible wine from incredible vineyards.

By: Andrew Whiteley | Review Date: 1/16/2024 | Send Email

A stunning new entry in the Cognac space with an incredible sensibility for the modern palate. Fresh, fragrant, and refined, this Cognac from the Thomas family leverages their generations of knowledge and experience to build something exciting that fill a major hole in the category - well aged (7 years on average) and hitting the mid-price point gap between VSOP and XO from the big 4 Cognac houses, but delivering a product that is all top shelf. Straight forward and honest, the flavors are clean and bright, but the layers complexity are varied and deep thanks to careful blending of fruit sources. Honeyed and floral the nose draws you in by leaning heavily on the Borderies cru. Fresh cookies, waxen honeycomb, sweet almond slivers grace the aromatics. Just the right level of oak spice makes it lively but full of weight and luxury. The palate is dripping ripe stone fruits, floral blossom, and vanilla all framed delicately by fine tannins. Exotic wood notes like sandalwood and aromatic cedar play on the finish. It's an elegant look at Coganc in a top notch and eye catching package.

By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 1/15/2024 | Send Email

A thirty year old Calvados is a special treat. The 1993 Domaine Hubert has a mature and dense apple nose. In the mouth, it is full ,round and creamy, with a concentrated apple flavors. There is a long and dry apple flavored finish.

By: Michael Pires | Review Date: 1/14/2024 | Send Email

A complex and savory Niigata sake with a name that draws inspiration from the legend of fox weddings around Mt. Kirin. Rich and dry style sake with notes of ripe banana, jackfruit, mushroom, and malted barley. This would pair wonderfully with most meats, including pork, steak, fish, or poultry, and savory dishes.

By: Clyde Beffa Jr. | Review Date: 1/13/2024 | Send Email

A staple at K&L, showing elegant notes of crushed stones, wood spices, and cassis. On the palate, it is medium-bodied, with cassis fruit and dark cherries. The touch of spices and earthiness lend to its elegance. An absolute no-brainer.

By: Michael Pires | Review Date: 1/3/2024 | Send Email

A sake mimosa that is ready to go! Heiwa Shuzou's Tsuru-Ume series was created to showcase the wonderful fruit grown within Heiwa Shuzou's home prefecture of Wakayama. The focus of this one is orange varietals. Lower in alcohol than most sake (coming in at 7% ABV) and rich in dry curacao flavor.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 1/3/2024 | Send Email

This wonderfully delicious Apertif has big and rich orange flavors and a "just right" amount of bitterness, sweetness and tart blood orange. It is also all natural and has about 1/3 (or less!) the calories of the competition. The entire line of these Apertif's also do not have any artificial coloring. I tried it both "straight" and with its perfect mate, Prosecco. It makes a superb spritz that is not overly sweet and is much more subtle and just plain delicious. I can also see it being mixed with soda water or vodka, or both!

By: Thomas Smith | Review Date: 12/31/2023 | Send Email

2018 Evans & Tate "Redbrook Reserve" Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River ($44.99) Our newest direct import producer Evans and Tate is an iconic Margaret Vineyard producer whose historic Redbrook Vineyard dates back to the early 1970s. Founded by John Evans and John Tate in the heart of Wilyabrup. With some of the oldest vines in Margaret River, the Redbrook Vineyard produces one of Margaret River’s most celebrated Cabernets–and we’re thrilled to have them at K&L. The 2018 Redbrook estate is quite possibly the best Margaret River Cabernet I’ve tasted in the under $100 range. And while it may be blasphemy–I actually prefer this to the iconic Leeuwin Art Series Cabernet. The nose here has endless depth, showcasing powerful notes of black cassis, tobacco and an incredible defined graphite note. Supporting aromas of sandalwood, red chili and clove among others only give additional detail to explore. Although Margaret River often draws comparisons to Napa, this wine reads like classified growth Bordeaux: more St. Julian than Oakville. It is structured and ageable, showcasing both power and poise. The tannin profile is vertically structured, and fine; the acidity effortlessly slides across the palate hitting at all the right moments. An outstanding wine that will draw comparisons to Cabernet twice its price and sets a new bar for Margeret River.

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 12/27/2023 | Send Email

This all Pinot Noir Champagne is entirely made from Grand Cru fruit and lighter than most that are made in this style- it is macerated with all of the skins in contact with all of the juice. The cellar master always judges the length of the maceration on the aromatics and he often has to sleep next to the tanks to get it right! The result is a rose with character that is still completely elegant. The LP Rose has set the standard for rose Champagne for many years, and for good reason!

By: Philip Roufail | Review Date: 12/16/2023 | Send Email

Winemaker's Notes: Pale yellow gold tinted robe, with fine bubbles forming a delicate and regular ribbon. The initial nose evokes fresh notes of white flowers, hawthorn, linden. It’s aniseed and iodized mineral fragrance turns towards peach, hazelnut and grapefruit notes.On the palate, the attack is fresh with a delightful salinity. The wine develops itself on the palate with acidulous grapefruit and white fruit flavours.

By: Andrew Whiteley | Review Date: 12/13/2023 | Send Email

There are so many small French spirits producers that are grossly undervalued. While we make it our business to root them out and champion their work for the American market, there are perhaps none delivering the quality of Hubert for such a modest price. Thirty years after distillation this apple brandy is harmonious and engaging. It never shies away from the apples themselves, but the amount of compelling sweet spice and savory flavors that envelope that apple core is astounding. In the middle lies the heart of baked apple, sweet as pie, but a thick blanket of cinanmon, nutmeg, cardamom, and allspice dust it. A little forest floor and a hint fresh rubber add incredible intrigue. Gobs of vanilla linger over long planks of ancient oak. The oily texture is delightful rolling around the palate. The finish is long and winding, covering tons of ground before inviting another sip. All for $100! Truly remarkable.

By: Andrew Whiteley | Review Date: 12/13/2023 | Send Email

It's been a decade since we started importing this gem and remarkably the price is the same today as it was then. Incredibly the quality has only gone up in that time as quality farming practices and barrel management continue to make incremental improvements to what was already an incredible product. There is nothing else like this available anywhere. It's pure and bright and yet so complex. The nose is an amazing mix of fresh apple, snapping it's so crisp. A basque cider quality is distinct on the nose - apple with a yeasty hint of the fermentation that brough us all the complexities on top of that fresh apple flavor. Spices abound but play second fiddle to the tart and sweet ripe fleshiness of the apple notes. Never overly woody, these brandies have been treated to such gentle aging nothing is overpowered. The palate is incredibly soft and supple. At 42% ABV, there is enough hit to make this inexpensive bottle a go to for cocktails, but the texture is ample enough to demanded careful sipping after a hearty winter meal.

By: Andrew Whiteley | Review Date: 12/5/2023 | Send Email

Tessellations of flavor abound in this exceptional release from Ardbeg. The heads of the barrels were deeply grooved and heavily toasted before being put back on the barrels for this batch. The end result is a more chocolatey profile that bolsters the sweet smoky, herbal and spicy components of Ardbeg. The nose is a sultry mix of succulent beef burnt ends, roasted apple skins, maple and brown sugar oatmeal, sea salt, bruised pears, and pure peat smoke. The palate is beautifully sweet. Tons of golden malt and waxy candy corns mixed with sea spray, kelp, and vanilla pod. Coffee pod and cocoa nib come through on the finish. It's a big hit from Ardbeg and surely a malt that will keep you coming back to it for new notes over and over again.

By: Diana Turk | Review Date: 11/28/2023 | Send Email

Wow! Lovely aromatic nose with hints of menthol and violets, with a soft fruity palate and long finish. The legendary "cailloux" or pebbles, in the property's soil really come through in the glass. This is an elegant, classic St-Julien and, considering its provenance, a killer value.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 11/25/2023 | Send Email

First of all, this sake is crystal clear in the glass. It looks like fresh Alpine water (though more viscous, of course!). On the nose, edamame, pineapple and pine nuts. On the palate, additional pineapple, white peaches and a crisp finish of citrus and vanilla bean. Truly outstanding! I see raw oysters in its future.

By: Michael Pires | Review Date: 11/25/2023 | Send Email

A phenomenal Junmai Daiginjo from the Ibaraki prefecture. Rich with aromas of banana, pineapple, melon, orchard fruit, and anise. Pure and elegant! A world class sake to be remembered!

By: Philip Roufail | Review Date: 11/19/2023 | Send Email

Gosset is the oldest Champagne house. It was established in 1584 in Ay, which is 145 years before Ruinart, the oldest all sparkling producer, opened its doors in 1729. When you make wine for 439 years you know a thing or two. The Gosset Grand Reserve Brut NV is drinking beautifully. It's 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, 10% Meunier and it is aged three years on the lees (the minimum requirement for vintage champagne). This has great viscosity, a creamy full bodied texture, delicate pastry crust, and loads of tropical fruit. Easily one of the best NV champagnes from the big houses. At the immaculate price of $49.99 the Grand Reserve is a mind blowing steal.

By: Ralph Sands | Review Date: 11/8/2023 | Send Email

A serious young Fronsac ! Firm black fruits with a touch of middle roundness from this warm vintage. Could certainly cellar a few years, or decant for an hour to open up. Ralph Sands

By: Alex Schroeder | Review Date: 11/8/2023 | Send Email

Chateau Coufran, oft called the "Pomerol of the Medoc" with its 85% Merlot content, is a perennial staff and customer favorite here at K&L and offers unbelievable value in the ready-to-drink claret category. 2009 was a beautifully warm, ripe vintage, and Coufran is full of concentrated dark bing cherry fruit, licorice, herbs and leathery nuances. The nose is so perfumed and pretty, and the wine is balanced and fresh with good acid lifting the rich fruit on the finish.

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 11/8/2023 | Send Email

Several years ago, Laurent Perrier was fortunate enough to acquire a small Champagne group that owned vineyards and had some very good contracts in the Côtes de Blancs. It took more than five years for the first batch that includes fruit from these marvelous sites to be released, and the wines are a revelation- truly one of the best non-vintages on the market from a grande marque. They have increased the proportion of chardonnay in the blend to 55% (the balance is 30% pinot noir and 15% meunier), and now only use the first and most delicate portion of the grape pressing, while increasing the aging minimum to over four years on the lees. The result is a Champagne with a near blanc de blancs character, singing with Puligny Montrachet-like lime and vibrant chalk. If you like your champagne fresh, clean and light but still with interest and depth, this is one not to miss!

By: Ryan Moses | Review Date: 11/6/2023 | Send Email

I've been fortunate to be around some really great wine in the past few years, but few wines have left a consistently strong impression as 2019 Léoville-Poyferré. Tasting last summer at our UGC tasting, it was one that I went back to again and again. I've had it two more times since then, and each time it has been just as brilliant. Perfectly balanced, with deep cassis, fine minerality, and incredible texture, it is a wine of substance and depth. From the aromas to the mid-palate to the long finish, it goes from one nuance to the next. I can't wait to see how this ages, but it is a wine that has so much to give even at this young stage. I can easily imagine that this will go toe-to-toe with the estate's reference-point renditions from 2009 and 2010, but for now it looks like one of their best kept secrets. Don't miss it.

By: Alex Schroeder | Review Date: 11/1/2023 | Send Email

The wines of Wiston are a prime example of how good British bubbles can be. The chalky soils of the south of England are a continuation of the same Kimmeridgian strip that runs underneath Champagne, which, with the warmer weather climate change provides, makes it a prime site for bubbly production. This is a decadent blanc de blancs with bright Meyer lemon citrus, wild honey and sourdough toast, flinty smoke and chalky minerals. It has a rich texture, ample fruit balanced by great acidity and an impressively long finish. Enjoy with crab cakes or a nice shrimp cocktail.

By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 10/27/2023 | Send Email

The Speymalt program has always been a favorite at K&L, but when they came to us a few years ago with an opportunity to buy single casks we were absolutely floored. The breadth and quality of the Macallan they've got is second only to the distillery itself (although it's hyperbole, they might even own more old Macallan than Macallan itself). This years barrel was an easy choice. This is a perfect age for Macallan in active sherry. It's tamed by decades in the barrel, but not overdone or tannic. The color is an impressive polished mahogany. The nose is pure old oloroso, roasted hazelnuts, clove, sweet plum puree, mocha, aged tobacco, hints of flinty smoke and cacao. On the palate, very rich and weighty, offering tons of sweet toffee, espresso, big baking spices, salted & roasted pecans, slightly industrial, but not smoky. A big rich and inviting sherry that absolutely explodes with a tiny drop of water adding dried stone fruit to the nose, old leather and a zesty freshness that's a bit surprising. This one straddles the line of the old style, which is of course what everyone wants, but is becoming more and more rare and expensive with each passing day. In any regard this is an exceptional malt that will sooth the soul, and while it's not by any means a value bottling, it does represent incredible value in a current atmosphere of endless price increases from the distillery.

By: Alex Schroeder | Review Date: 10/26/2023 | Send Email

I had this last night as part of my grand "Revisit-the-Classics" effort to contextualize the ever expanding and confusing beer scene, and whoa, what a doozy! My favorite beers represent their styles well while avoiding straying from a balanced experience (looking at you American IPA scene). Sam Smith has been doing this since 1758, and is still around, so there must be something there. It has plenty of satisfying roasted malt flavors but also excellent fruit undertones, almond nuttiness and a crisp, clean finish. If you want a delicious, balanced and satisfying brown ale that doesn't cost as much as a bottle of wine, throw a few of these in your cart.

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 10/20/2023 | Send Email

Like the NV Brut from Wiston, the Blanc de Blanc leans toward a clean style with green and golden apple flavors. It differs in that the B de B's style is a tad softer and creamier. Lemon cream, white peach, ample chalk and a nice bit of minerality followed by a whiff of creme caramel. Lovely.

By: Philip Roufail | Review Date: 10/19/2023 | Send Email

Producer's Notes: "This delightful Blanc de Blancs marries excellent depth of character – all the citrus, crisp pear and floral aromas of chardonnay – with charm. Properly dry, but very harmonious, thanks to the excellent balance of citrusy freshness and creaminess. Long, clean finish, accentuated by the lively mousse. A cuvee of 2/3rds 2018 with a third of vintages between 2016 and 2011, disgorged in July, 2021. Drink now."

By: Andrew Whiteley | Review Date: 10/17/2023 | Send Email

It's hard to dance around the fact that many American palates find Biajiu (pronounced bye-joe) impossible to drink. And yet - it is the world's most popular liquor. As someone who is personally and professionally dedicated to exploring the great spirits of the world, I cannot ignore a category that is beloved by hundred of millions of people. I also cannot clam to be an expert in this particular category. In truth, the first time I tasted baijiu, I was surely in the same boat as most Americans - I found it strange and wild, overwhelming, and nearly impossible to shoot down (the customary way to serve it). However, thanks in large part to the dedicated importer of, among many other Baijius, Moutai, I found myself with a broader and more regular exposure to the category than the average American. It has grown on me tremendously. I have come to find it buguiling and complex. It offers much of what I love about the other great spirit traditions of the world - immense flavor, generations of history and cultural customs, quirks of individual production, beauty and design, and companionship and connection over a glass of liquor. While I feel I must offer a 'caveat emptor' disclaimer on the intensity and wholly different flavor profile of this spirit to the portion of K&Ls customer base that is uninitiated in the flavors of Baijiu, I also couldn't resist the opportunity to bring to our customers one of the world's most important spirits at nearly half off its regular price for the past few years. If you know, you'll know this opportunity was too good to pass up. Now, as to how it drinks: the aromatics are insane - a combination of sweet and savory unlike really anything else in the spirit world. Moutai is famous as an example of 'sauce aroma' Baijiu, and indeed there is a lot of soy sauce like flavors in the nose. A complex and nutty fermentation to be sure. But its really so much more than that. It is sweet, like incredbily overripe tropical fruit reminiscent of some clay pot agave distillations. It's funky, like the screeching of a car tire. Toasted sesame seeds and garden fresh snap peas come to mind, not unlike some of the craziest Jamaican rums. Some gnarly kombuchas comes close to mimicking the wilder aspects of the aromas. Indeed, production involves a very much alive ferment with a mix of yeasts and fungi like koji all in operation together. Instead of a mash or wort like whisky production, fermentaton and distillation take place on wet yet solid grains (sorghum and wheat). Direct steam injection into the fermented mass lifts the alcohols and they are run to a condenser. The spirit is then aged ranging from just a year or two on up to decades, mostly in sealed pottery. The process refines and blends all these flavors together. When you get around to tasting it: holy smokes. Texturally it feels almost like two different liquids. It is at once very soft and mouth coating (again clay pot agave distillation comparisons are hard to ignore), and yet the alcohol (53% ABV) gives it pinpoint focus and bite at the same time. The flavors range from sweet citrus, peel, pith and juice on down the line to complex compost/forest floor and overripe bananas. While Moutai has the undeniable reputation of being the very best, I don't feel I personally have enough breadth and depth in the category to make that claim for myself. What I can say with certainty is that it is the most "complete" spirit I've tasted in the category. By that I mean it is compelling at every stage of tasting and exudes hallmarks of quality - complexity, texture, weight, heady aromatics, clean but lengthy finish, and it leaves an impression. If you are a fan of Baijiu, you should not miss the chance to grab this bottle at the best price we've seen in years. If you regularly give it as a gift, time to case up. If you are interested in exploring the wide world of spirits but have never had Baijiu before - this is starting at the top of the pyramid.

By: Diana Turk | Review Date: 10/16/2023 | Send Email

$50 for a Grande Marque? Incredible! While I typically choose grower-producer Champagnes (especially since K&L's Direct Import program is so strong), this Gosset Grande Réserve Brut is always welcome, and even feels like a bargain, considering the quality of grapes and the house's history (which dates back to 1584!). A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (from Grand Cru village Aÿ), with a touch of Meunier, this nonvintage release includes about 20% reserve wines, solera-style blended, and spends six years on the lees. If you're after a big name that delivers, make sure Gosset is on your list.

By: Alex Schroeder | Review Date: 9/18/2023 | Send Email

This Marne rosé is the rich delicious result of the maceration method, where the skins of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are left in contact with the wine for two days, giving it its rich pink color and round texture. The flavor profile is a great combination of bright red fruit with darker herbal elements, toast and minerals for a very complete and satisfying rosé experience. ​

By: Alex Schroeder | Review Date: 9/18/2023 | Send Email

Being made from some of the best vintages of this millenium (2012, 2008 and 2007), this iteration of Grand Siecle was always destined for greatness. But tasting it, just wow! It has so much depth and complexity, richness and freshness. It is loaded with subtle flavors of stone fruits and citrus, toasty lees, candied ginger and nuts with a hint of matchstick smoke. The longer it's open the more flavors explode out of the glass. On the palate, the richness is buoyed by precision, fine bead from resting on the lees for such a long time, and a nearly eternal finish.