K&L Wine Merchants - Staff Favorites

Jade "Nouvelle-Orléans" Absinthe Supérieure (750ml)

By: Mahon McGrath | Review Date: 10/26/2016 | Send Email

It took me a long time to get around to this, but it was always in back of mind. I knew I wanted to check this out when I first heard about it, well before absinthe had even been declared once more legal on our shores. While I have never found anise to be a flavor I crave, I really did enjoy tasting my way through the absinthes that washed up on our shores after the ban was lifted, unlike, it seems, the vast majority of people in the US of A. The Nouvelle Orleans is a wonderful example of why I do find absinthe so much more appealing than anisette: it is like a cocktail in its mixture of a variety of flavors, albeit one that has been pre-mixed and bottled for you... in the nicest possible way, of course. In this particular example, no one flavor gains the upper hand, nor does it hit you fortissimo; it blends into a complex but seamless whole. Total elegance, no sugar needed. While I probably shouldn't have waited so long to sample this, I can at least take comfort in the fact that I haven't waited in vain.

Price: $109.99

WE: 95

Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut Rosé Sparkling Wine

By: Diana Turk | Review Date: 10/11/2016 | Send Email

From the first sparkly sip, you can tell that the 100% estate-grown Roederer Estate Brut Rosé is special. Full of texture, creaminess, and super effervescence, with orange and bright cherry fruit, this is a fresh rosé with a dry, almost pithy finish.

Price: $32.95

Boulard-Bauquaire "Trepail" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Vieilles Vignes

By: Heather Vander Wall | Review Date: 10/10/2016 | Send Email

Don't miss the two words "Vieilles Vignes" in the name of this wine. The lovely Blanc de Blancs of Boulard Bauquaire owes much of its complexity and depth to the 70-year-old vines from which the wine is made. Like a classic Blanc de Blancs, this wine shows elegant, stony aromas that are rather austere at first, but on the palate, the depth of flavor is phenomenal. Not only is there an impression of full, rich, apricot fruit and even some red berry elements, but the drive of the acidity takes a position here very well integrated to the whole. This wine is hardly lacking in body and richness, but it is not due to the boldness of a red grape, rather it is all in the old vine power.

Price: $44.99

Boulard-Bauquaire "Trepail" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Vieilles Vignes

By: Shaun Green | Review Date: 10/4/2016 | Send Email

Oh wow, I tasted this and immediately bought a case. It's amazing to find any Champagne from seriously old vines at all, much less at this price. Rich and creamy as you would expect from all my colleagues' reviews and one of the best deals in Champagne in the store.

Price: $44.99

Ariston Aspasie "Cépages d'Antan" Brut Champagne

By: Diana Turk | Review Date: 9/27/2016 | Send Email

Wow. Mostly from the 2010 vintage (you can tell by inspecting what’s printed on the cork), this is a field blend of indigenous varietals Arbanne and Meslier, plus Pinot Blanc, and is drinking beautifully. Neroli on the nose, more aromatic and complex than just citrus, and riper fruit through the palate, thanks in part to later-ripening Pinot Blanc. But that orange blossom really comes alive after aging, as Cepages d’Antan is bursting with honeysuckle, white floral, tart lemon, beeswax, and wild honey, plus weighty biscuit notes from a longer time on the lees. The acid is still bright, but what really sets it apart is a slight earthy funk, with interesting rusticity and depth in addition to elegance. A must try for oenophiles, though even casual Champagne fans will enjoy.

Price: $119.99

Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne

By: Diana Turk | Review Date: 9/27/2016 | Send Email

An electric rosé! Composed of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Meunier, this expensively-made wine goes through carbonic maceration and the saignée method, with a little still red wine added in. The result is stunning: gorgeous wild berry fruit with delicate bead, bracing acidity and a clean, minerally finish.

Price: $42.99

Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne Magnum 1.5L

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 9/25/2016 | Send Email

This is the best-selling Champagne in the USA.

Price: $169.99

Billecart-Salmon "Le Réserve" Champagne (375ml)

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 9/24/2016 | Send Email

Of all the grand marques, no one offers a cleaner, purer example of Champagne fruit and refreshment than Billecart-Salmon. The Billecart family pick earlier than most, and run the coldest, longest fermentations in all of Champagne to deliver their inimitable, graceful house style. If you are looking for the ultimate in balance aperitif Champagne, you have found it!

Price: $39.99

Nikka "Yoichi" Japanese Single Malt Whisky (750ml)

By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 9/21/2016 | Send Email

This may be my favorite offering from Nikka, which is saying something. The whisky opens with fruit, hints of spice, and of course a lovely layer of peat. Unlike some of the other Nikkas, this whisky plays on a more fruity note, loaded with baked pears and green apple, and baking spices like cinnamon and cardamom finish it off. The peat here is more smoldering than outright smoke and adds to the complexity. The lack of age statement here in no way diminishes from how good this bottle is, working well either neat or as a highball.

Price: $74.99

WE: 94

WA: 92

Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut Champagne

By: Alex Schroeder | Review Date: 9/16/2016 | Send Email

This bone dry offering from the prestigious Laurent Perrier house is elegant, fresh and satisfying. This no-dosage cuvée consists of 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir from high quality vineyards that display a subtle toasty quality over clean green apple and fresh citrus flavors. Wonderful expression of the Champagne terroir and one of my favorite takes on the style.

Price: $84.99

WE: 94

Drappier Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature Champagne

By: Alex Schroeder | Review Date: 9/16/2016 | Send Email

Made from 100% Pinot Noir. The minerality in this low sulfite, no-dosage Brut Nature is vibrant alongside the dry, bright red fruit flavor of the Pinot Noir. The clean, crisp finish seals this as one of the best Brut Natures in stock.

Price: $54.99

Gosset "Grande Réserve" Brut Champagne

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 9/15/2016 | Send Email

We were very lucky to have Gosset export director Bertrand Verduzier come from Epernay to present his Champagne at the summit this year, and we learned a ton about this very old grand marque. Their flag ship wine is the Gosset "Grande Réserve" Brut Champagne, and it is an exceptional wine. The current batch is composed of 43% Chardonnay, 42% Pinot Noir and 15% Meunier with 20% reserves that are blended in the solera style. They never do any malolactic fermentation for this wine, and as such need to age it for a minimum of 4 years on the lees before disgorgement. It has an almost green color in the glass, and has a great tension between opulent toast and chalky, nearly apple like crunch. If you like this Champagne, be sure to put some in the cellar, I have had them going back 30 years and they are spectacular with age as well as young!

Price: $59.99

Drappier "Carte d'Or" Brut Champagne

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 9/15/2016 | Send Email

The best non-vintage of our whole Champagne summit was the Drappier "Carte d'Or" Brut Champagne. That is saying a lot, since we tasted so many greats! This combination of 75% Pinot Noir, 15% Meunier and 10% Chardonnay is made with the lowest sulfur counts of any grand marque Champagne. The fruit for this is all from the Aube and Kimmeridgian clay rather than the chalk of the Marne. It is also mostly estate grown. This gives Champagne not only with the lovely red fruit expression one would expect from so much Pinot, but also layers of nearly Chablis like minerality. If you like dry, yet full flavored Champagne, you it to yourself to try the Drappier!

Price: $44.99

JS: 91

BH: 90

WS: 90

2009 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 9/15/2016 | Send Email

For many years now, Champagne Louis Roederer has been leading the way in progressive practices in the vineyard in the region. This approach showed in the wines at this year’s staff summit, and in a quite spectacular way. The wines of Roederer really have a shine to them, and the soon to be released 2009 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne exemplifies this luminescent style. Roederer has been the largest organic vineyard owner in Champagne for many years, and this is the first year that Critstal has been made exclusively from these organic, mid slope, pure chalk sites. The ripe vintage of 2009 has made for a precocious wine that is already showing much more aroma and giving much more pleasure than Cristal normally does when first released. That being said, this is a chalky, complex, detailed Champagne that has decades and decades of time to shine!

Price: $329.99

2010 Lynch-Bages, Pauillac

By: Steve Bearden | Review Date: 9/8/2016 | Send Email

Yet another deep, clean and absolutely packed cellar candidate from this overachieving fifth growth. After an hour decanting the complex aromas of raspberries, mint, licorice, violets and spice begin to show the potential here. The body is concentrated and effortless, with the powerful middle of sweet cassis giving way to a long, dry finish of graphite-dusted and polished tannin. This is class in a glass.

Price: $249.99

Ariston Aspasie Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne

By: Alex Schroeder | Review Date: 8/12/2016 | Send Email

I recently enjoyed this while relaxing in a hot tub on a nice summer evening in California; it was perfect! Fresh and pronounced flavors of pear and apricot combine with a crisp acidity and lush creaminess for a wine fresh and approachable in style. The perfect accompaniment to any moment of leisure, at a price far below its value!

Price: $44.99

La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut Rosé

By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 8/8/2016 | Send Email

Reading over all of the reviews for this delightful bottle of bubbly I realize that I have nothing new to add except to ditto everything that has been said about it. Is it a fantastically fun summertime bottle resplendent with notes of strawberry and citrus and a tantalizing tart taste on the tongue? In a word, yes. Basically this is a perfect little bottle to toast success, friends, BBQ's, picnics, and Monday's with. Enjoy!

Price: $14.99

Westland Flagship American Oak Single Malt American Whiskey (700ml)

By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 8/6/2016 | Send Email

The fact that Westland makes an amazing whiskey is no longer knew news, but hearing about it and tasting it are two different things. The Westland American Oak is reminiscent of many of my favorite single malts from Scotland and still it's own animal. Vanilla and a hints of fruit in the nose lead to a creamy vanilla, butterscotch, and coffee palate. This does not taste like a new distillery from the US, this tastes like someone has been crafting this whiskey for years in some country older than ours.

Price: $49.99

WE: 93

Westland Flagship American Oak Single Malt American Whiskey (700ml)

By: Gary Norton | Review Date: 8/5/2016 | Send Email

Westland's American Single Malt is truly a show stopper. It houses very pure single malt Scotch-like characteristics (reminiscent of a classic Speyside) while adding some additional notes of vanilla extract, espresso bean and dried Medjool dates. This could be a game changer for you, come scoop a bottle and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

Price: $49.99

WE: 93

Weihenstephaner "1516" Kellerbier (Unfiltered), Germany (330ml)

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 7/20/2016 | Send Email

Thank you Weihenstephaner- in one magnificent beer you have celebrated one of the best beverage laws of all time and delivered a magical drink that I cannot get enough of. In 1516, Reinheitsgebot, the Bavarian beer purity law was put into effect, providing legal recourse against fraudsters who would adulterate their beer with anything other than water, malt and hops. When drinking the 1516 I can imagine stiff, medieval punishments for today's hipsters and their cold brew coffee and peanut butter stout! Weihenstephaner has not tried to "innovate" with this excellent lager- they just crafted something as close to perfection as you can get. This is graceful. refreshing beer, and the only thing wrong with it is the all to small 330ml size. By two- you will want the second one!

Price: $2.69

Orval Trappist Ale, Belgium (11.2 oz bottle)

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 7/20/2016 | Send Email

As a young wine professional I often yearned for a complex drink when I didn't have the money to afford it. At times like that, I always turned to Orval, a beer that provides an experience akin to 1er Cru Burgundy, but at a price that I could easily afford even when rent was due. Somehow the monks manage to combine great lift, refreshment and ease of drinking with serious layers of savory complexity. The look of the stuff in the glass is worth the price of admission on its own... The Belgian lace this ale throws always takes longer than I want to wait to come down in the glass low enough for me to have a sip!

Price: $7.79

WE: 96

San Venanzio Fortunato Brut Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore

By: Sarah Covey | Review Date: 7/12/2016 | Send Email

This Prosecco never fails to impress me. Pretty citrus, pear, spice and golden delicious apple nose, lovely minerality. A clean and refreshing Prosecco for your summer entertaining! Try it with fresh black figs wrapped in proscuitto, tiny goat cheese & fontina grilled cheese sandwiches, or simply to toast a fun night with friends.

Price: $15.99

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)

By: Sarah Covey | Review Date: 6/23/2016 | Send Email

I LOVE THIS GIN! Coming from a person who at present has 21 different open bottles of Gin on her bar (and, no I am not exaggerating), this is the Gin I am going through at the most rapid clip right now. It's killer. When I met the hilarious and entertaining man who made it- Stuart- he put a tiny slice of orange in my G&T. I thought he was nuts. Then I tried it. I refuse to drink my G&Ts any other way now- the brightness of a fresh piece of orange (or a twist) beautifully enhances the orange notes in this fun Gin. Looking for a really fun new Gin for summer? This is it!!!

Price: $27.99

WE: 92

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)

By: Olivia Ragni | Review Date: 6/23/2016 | Send Email

Beautiful and bright, the Rare Dry has notes of fresh squeezed blood oranges, sweet herbs, sage, juniper and a hint of basil. It's the perfect gin for tonic or citrus heavy gin cocktails.

Price: $27.99

WE: 92

2000 Calon-Ségur, St-Estèphe

By: Jeff Garneau | Review Date: 6/21/2016 | Send Email

he pedigree is obvious here. The 2000 Calon-Ségur has it all: lovely weight, richness and texture with ample, ripe, sweet fruit. However, it also demonstrates how the very best wines of this stellar vintage are going to require further patience. The tannins are still quite firm. If I had, say, half a dozen bottles in my cellar (and I do), I would not look to open the next bottle for another three to five years at least.

Price: $249.99

Fallet-Dart "Grande Sélection" Brut Champagne

By: Heather Vander Wall | Review Date: 6/20/2016 | Send Email

For those of you excited about varietal character in your Champagne, this is a great wine! Showing plenty of red fruit from the Pinot Noir dominance, this wine is richer, with nutty texture and excellent follow-through on the palate. I generally lean towards Chardonnay-based Champagnes, but this wine might be changing my mind. The elegant Pinot Noir character shows through with such purity and finesse, it easily rivals the elegance of a blanc de blancs. I will definitely be stocking up on these!

Price: $37.99

Suntory Toki Japanese Whisky (750ml)

By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 6/19/2016 | Send Email

I, like so many others, really like a lot of what Suntory has to offer. There are so many wonderful whiskeys they put out, unfortunately many of these have gotten super expensive and rare. Fortunately, they are trying to fill in the gap with a more everyday whiskey, and the Toki is just the product to do that. A lightly fruited nose reminiscent of caramel apple and vanilla leads to a smooth and somewhat fruity whiskey. Baked apple and stone fruit notes are rounded with touches of vanilla and a somewhat creamy mouthfeel. Low heat finish rounds out the delightful little whiskey.

Price: $29.99

2013 Moulin de la Gardette "Cuvée Ventabren" Gigondas (Library Release)

By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 6/19/2016 | Send Email

Excellent wine from the Gigondas region,the wine exhibits complex layers of red fruit, herbs, spices and acid. Bright red fruit and acid keeps the wine lifted and long and the herb notes make this an wonderful wine to pair with dishes like lamb or baked chicken. Perfect for dinner during the warmer months when some red wines may be too big, this wine plays very well with food and long evenings.

Price: $85.00

VN: 91

RP: 90

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)

By: Kyle Kurani | Review Date: 6/10/2016 | Send Email

Gin of the year. It's only June, and I feel very safe saying that because this is the best gin I have tried since Monkey 47 hit American shores. Incredible flavor profile, ultimate mouth feel, put it on the short lists of gins that will always be on my home bar. The palate and nose are just chock-full of floral and spice notes, fresh nutmeg, anise, violets, with the power of juniper held in the perfect balance.

Price: $27.99

WE: 92

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)

By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 6/6/2016 | Send Email

This a classic style gin. There are juniper and citrus aromas with a floral hint. In the mouth it is dry with balanced savory and citrus flavors.

Price: $27.99

WE: 92

2015 Smith Haut Lafitte, Pessac-Léognan

By: Ralph Sands | Review Date: 6/3/2016 | Send Email

Smith Haut Lafitte- 63%CS 33M Round and broad with loads of grapey ripe-sweet fruit that coat the entire mouth with hints of licorice and spice. Long finishing and very tasty. Another delicious SHL! 2 Stars!

Price: $179.99

2015 Vieux Château Certan, Pomerol

By: Clyde Beffa Jr. | Review Date: 6/3/2016 | Send Email

I loved this wine. In my opinion, one of the best three of the vintage.

Price: $339.99

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)

By: Ryan Woodhouse | Review Date: 6/2/2016 | Send Email

The number one thing that impresses me about these Four Pillars gins is the textural richness they have. As gin is typically an un-aged spirit it can often be bursting with bright flavors but lacking any real softness or texture on the palate. Four Pillars has serious flavor and mouthfeel. The use of small copper pot stills instead of larger column stills has allowed this spirit to retain a rich round texture and the use of "whole" botanicals, right in the still means the flavors and super vibrant too. The last gin that got me this fired up was the Monkey 47...that gin was more than twice the price of this bottling...I'm loading up for summer!

Price: $27.99

WE: 92

La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut Rosé

By: Kelsey McNellis | Review Date: 5/30/2016 | Send Email

Perfect summer sparkler! I've recently brought this to graduation parties for a great and inexpensive gift. This brut rose has hints of strawberry and cherry and a light but crisp finish. So refreshing and for $13, how can you beat that price?!

Price: $14.99

La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut

By: Mahon McGrath | Review Date: 5/29/2016 | Send Email

One of the most consistent questions people pose in regards to sparkling wines is: is it dry? If the answer is essentially "not really" in regards to many lower priced sparklers, with the Deligeroy Brut one can happily answer in the affirmative! Light biscuity, nutty and lemon scents are right on point, and the finish has all the snap you want from a bottle of bubbly.

Price: $14.99

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)

By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email

Some people want to reinvent Gin while others simply want to perfect it, at Four PIllars they go for the latter. This has all the elements that make gin so good, citrus, juniper, spices and balances them. Fresh and clean with a dry finish this is the kind of gin you can just keep as the standard, always on hand. Mix it, sip it, prepare it any way you like Gin, just enjoy it.

Price: $27.99

WE: 92

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)

By: David Driscoll | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email

Bow down to the new king of gin: Four Pillars. A group of gin crazy Aussies put together one of the most focused and high-quality gin distilleries in the world in the Yarra Yarra Valley and now we're fortunate to get a taste of that goodness here in the U.S. The Rare Dry gin simply explodes with citrus, a burst of fresh orange, but it still packs a lovely balance of juniper and spice with the most delicate and graceful of mouthfeels. This is high quality gin, pure and simple. It tastes like it was fussed over, formulated and retooled until it was perfect. I can't stop talking about it nor drinking it. I'm just so happy we have it.

Price: $27.99

WE: 92

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)

By: Gary Westby | Review Date: 5/28/2016 | Send Email

The colonies know their gin. This fragrant, balanced bottle does not try and reinvent the gin wheel, it just tastes better than most drinks. I love the high citrus notes and the low juniper base in the Four Pillars Rare. I think you will find it as at home in tonic as in a Martini. I am buying mine now!

Price: $27.99

WE: 92

Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne

By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 5/27/2016 | Send Email

Just astonishing how delicious this is for the price. It hits every note you want from a rose champagne, both power and elegance, round and rich with great long structure, aromatic pinot fruit with a hint of savory spice. You could decant it and serve it with a filet mignon as easily as you'd serve it with your aper'eau. A triumph of wine making fit for the most frugal lover of bubbles and the most opulent spender alike.

Price: $42.99

Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne

By: Olivia Ragni | Review Date: 5/25/2016 | Send Email

We have been working with Aspasie for years, as they were our first direct import Champagne producer. Their wine continues to be of the highest quality, making it the best value Champagne in the store. Year after year, the rosé is my favorite rosé in the store. With flavors of black cherry, ripe cranberry, rosemary and an earthier backbone, this rose is beautiful both as an aperitif and especially fantastic with food. Try it with a roast duck or heavier fish like salmon or tuna steak.

Price: $42.99

St. George Bruto Americano Bitter Aperitivo Liqueur (750ml)

By: Andrew Stevens | Review Date: 5/24/2016 | Send Email

I am a big fan of pretty much everything St. George Distillery does and one of my favorite things about them is all of their liqueurs and brandies. Seriously, the people over there are never satisfied with just sticking to gin, vodka, or whiskey (although they do all of those things well) and now they have added an Americano! I bought a bottle immediately and it is delicious, as is expected from them this is not an attempt to re-create Campari but rather it's own beast. Clove and cinnamon add a much spicier component to this spirit, with a lovely dry and herbaceous finish. This is delicious on its own or with soda water and a twist and I cannot wait to try making it into a Negroni.

Price: $29.99

Franck Bonville Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

By: Daniel Maas | Review Date: 5/24/2016 | Send Email

One of the following three statements is true, and the others are false! Let's see if you can pick the fact. 1: THE EARTH IS BIGGER THAN THE SUN 2: STANLEY KUBRICK WAS HIRED BY NASA TO FAKE THE MOON LANDING. 3. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET HIGH-END CHAMPAGNE FOR LESS THAN $35. Well? What do you think? I was on the fence between the moon landing and champagne, UNTIL I opened a bottle of this unbelievable Grand Cru offering from what has become a huge staff favorite here in Hollywood. Immensely refreshing with clean peach and citrus fruit, subtle vanilla, and a long finish, this amount of deliciousness is even more ridiculous than those two false facts! Think about it!

Price: $53.99

JS: 92

RP: 92

St. George Bruto Americano Bitter Aperitivo Liqueur (750ml)

By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 5/23/2016 | Send Email

A wonderful addition to the Aperitivo section. It has a natural dark red color which is nice to look at. But even better is how it tastes. There is a kiss of sweetness that is aided by spice ( clove and cinnamon ?) and a nice bitter finish. Great with soda.

Price: $29.99

Launois "Severine" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

By: Andrew Whiteley | Review Date: 5/22/2016 | Send Email

This is perhaps one of the greatest and most unique examples of terrior in Champagne I've ever personally come across. A careful picking of mid-slope Mesnil Chardonnay is vinified and aged in oak barrels made from 100% Mesnil oak harvested from the forest at the top of the hill. Talk about precision of place. The results are spectacular. The rich and oily texture is the perfect foil to the robust quality of the Grand Cru fruit. It is bursting with green and yellow apple, but also spice, both sweet and savory. There is a thread of nutty sherry like flavors that walks you through the deep complexity of the wine. While the Mesnil Oak is a strong presence, it doesn't overwhelm. Just provides the substance to make this an exceptional wine with heartier food dishes or to be immensely enjoyed as an aperitif.

Price: $59.99

Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne

By: Daniel Maas | Review Date: 5/21/2016 | Send Email

Rose. It is possibly one of the most singularly used words in the lexicon of wine, and yet, it is so often mischaracterized. People think it's sweet. People think it is light. Well, listen up, folks, because PEOPLE ARE WRONG! This is clearly evidenced here with Ariston Aspasie's beautifully crafted Brut Rose. Neither sweet, nor particularly, light, what it absolutely is is REFRESHING! Given a supremely unique personality from the method of taking its color from completely vinified red wine as opposed to the more common method of including a degree of skin contact, this is one of the drier rose champagnes I've tasted lately. Cranberry, dried-cherry, and a hint of spice-box all work together to create a medley of wonderment that you won't soon forget!

Price: $42.99

Ariston Aspasie "Réserve" Brut Champagne

By: Daniel Maas | Review Date: 5/21/2016 | Send Email

I'll be the first to admit it. I grew up somewhat spoiled. When it came to things that really mattered, like what movie to rent, I pretty much had CARTE BLANCHE. Unfortunately, that freedom and joy absolutely PALED IN COMPARISON to the delight that I encountered upon my first taste of this gorgeous bottling from one of our long-time favorite Champagne producers. Composed of almost-equal shares of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier,there's simply too much to love here: Bright traces of apple; the present-yet-balanced yeast; and the toastiness that I absolutely require in champagne. Simply remarkable, it is, to find a wine so complex and meticulously crafted for such a price!

Price: $37.99

Launois "Cuvée Réservée" Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

By: Kyle Kurani | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email

Simply put, Grand Cru Chardonnay for this price is ridiculous. Coming from some of the highest quality vineyards in all of Champagne, there is so much wine in this bottle. Fresh green apple and tangerine peel great you on the nose, followed by a crisp and refreshing palate. Fine bubbles deliver a vibrant mouth feel, more Granny Smith, a hint of hazel nut. Hard to get better for Blanc De Blancs lovers!

Price: $39.99

Launois "Severine" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email

This super interesting blanc de blanc from Launois is made using oak from the forest just above Mesnil. It has an almost rum-like nose with spices, sherry oak and mocha. Sound unusual for a 100% Chardonnay champagne? Well, it is! It is also delicious enough to be a main course bubbly. On the palate, more mocha, with fino sherry notes and a citrus finish. The finish lasts and lasts and lasts. Simply put, a must try for any Champagne lover!

Price: $59.99

Launois "Veuve Clemence" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

By: Kyle Kurani | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email

The Veuve Clemence is the older, richer brother to the Cuvee Reserve from Launois. With four years on the lees, it is my go to bottle when in the mood for a fuller bodied Champagne. Full of toasty brioche and biscuit dough right out of the glass, hinting at the opulent nature to come. On the palate it evolves into a supple and appealing wine, chalk full of Grand Cru Chardonnay minerality and stone fruit.

Price: $44.99

Charles Heidsieck "Brut Réserve" Champagne

By: Shaun Green | Review Date: 5/17/2016 | Send Email

Simply delicious, the Charles Heidsieck Champagnes have improved so drastically lately that if you haven't tried them recently you owe it to yourself to try one now. Bold nutty, toasty and rich, but not lumbering or cloying - it has a lovely acidity to finish it off. Bravo!

Price: $54.99

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