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If you’re going to have Robert Parker or Stephen Tanzer over for dinner, selecting a wine they’ve rated highly will be a nice choice. However, when you’re buying wines for yourself, we’d love to see you find wines that match up your unique palate and pocketbook. We have a large staff of friendly and knowledgeable wine professionals that taste hundreds of wines each week. They can put you in touch with bottles that you are likely to love, often at a much lower cost than the highly-rated gems that often see a run-up in price and frequent availability issues. Like any great group of opinionated professionals, our staff has varied tastes themselves. Often our customers will find a particular staff member with a style that corresponds to their own. That concept works extremely well in our retail stores, and this section is our effort to bring you the same online. Don’t get us wrong, we love the highly rated wines from the press and will continue to offer them, but we think you’re missing out if you’re not augmenting those selections with picks from our excellent staff. Here are their favorites. (Click on a name to see their other selections - or to drop them a line.) Cheers!

Reviews

Fever-Tree Light Tonic Water (6.8oz 4-pk)

By: Adam Parry | Review Date: 7/29/2012 | Send Email

If you are watching your calories. Simply the best tonic on the market!

Price: $5.99

Fever-Tree Premium Tonic Water (6.8oz 4-pk)

By: Adam Parry | Review Date: 7/29/2012 | Send Email

Simply the best tonic on the market!

Price: $5.99

Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth (1L)

By: Illya Haase | Review Date: 7/29/2012 | Send Email

One thing I learned in my twenty years of bar tending is. The better the ingredients, the better the drink. So, if you are making a Manhattan or one of those crazy whiskey drinks from your local mixologist. Keep the Carpano on hand. It make's any cocktail, ten thousand times better! You will not find a better vermouth!

Price: $34.99

WE: 95

Cocchi Americano Bianco Aperitivo Wine (750ml)

By: Sarah Covey | Review Date: 7/10/2012 | Send Email

Oooooh if you love Lillet Blanc but want something a little sweeter as an aperitif, try the Cocchi Americano! Mandarin orange, lemon, hints of white flowers with a sweet finish.... delicious on the rocks on a hot afternoon!

Price: $22.99

Ferrand "1840 Formula" 90 Proof Cognac (700ml)

By: Mahon McGrath | Review Date: 5/31/2012 | Send Email

There aren’t a bevy of Cognacs out there built for mixing. This one has two things going for it: 45% abv, and a formulation that is an attempt to recreate the flavor profile of a pre-phylloxera Cognac. So, does it fly? Yes, it does. That little bit extra strength combined with the robust flavor profile gives this the power to really sing out in mixed drinks where other Cognacs might just fade into the background. The flavor is mostly in the dry fruit and new leather vein, with a papery vanilla, and some citron and bergamot, in the background in this plump, round, reasonably sweet brandy. Try a sidecar with it and see for yourself!

Price: $44.99

WE: 90

Chateau de Laubade Floc de Gascogne Vin de Liqueur (750ml)

By: Jeremy Bohrer | Review Date: 5/30/2012 | Send Email

This stuff is awesome. You can mix this with all sorts of things. I like it with sparkling water and ginger liqueur. Delicious!

Price: $19.99

Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur (750ml)

By: Jeremy Bohrer | Review Date: 5/30/2012 | Send Email

Maraschino (pronounced marr-ə-SKEE-noe - an ode to our Italian buyer Greg who corrects our Italian whenever possible) is a cherry liqueur made from the Marasca cherry. So good. They leave the cherry pits in with the fruit, which adds an awesome almond-like flavor. Use this in cocktails, over fruit or even ice cream.

Price: $39.99

WE: 90 - 95

La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut

By: Jeremy Bohrer | Review Date: 5/2/2012 | Send Email

I just can't get enough of bubbles, especially when it's this good at this price. The Chardonnay and the Chenin Blanc add that great elegant fruit while the Cab Franc adds a little backbone. Wonderfully balanced and delicious!

Price: $14.99

Ariston Aspasie Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne

By: David Othenin-Girard | Review Date: 5/2/2012 | Send Email

Wow what complexity for $35. The nose is nutty toasty rich with some hints of pumpkin seed and spice. Strong smashed apple and fabulous lift. Totally on point for the price.

Price: $44.99

Scrappy's Grapefruit Bitters (5oz)

By: Illya Haase | Review Date: 4/30/2012 | Send Email

It's citrus time at the Hollywood Farmers Market. There is nothing better on a lazy Sunday than a greyhound! This grapefruit and vodka cocktail is an ideal choice for a summertime brunch. The beauty of this mixed drink is in its simplicity. But, I like to spice mine up with a little Scrappy's Grapefruit bitters. It is that little extra that goes a long way!

Price: $19.99

Fentimans Curiosity Cola 4pk. (9.3 oz. X 4)

By: Adam Parry | Review Date: 4/30/2012 | Send Email

This is only for the real old school cola lovers. I personally love all Fentimans products, but this one really steals my heart. If a cocktail calls for coca cola please substitute curiosity instead and enjoy!

Price: Hidden

Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

By: Mahon McGrath | Review Date: 4/15/2012 | Send Email

This cask strength bottling of Red Breast certainly ratchets up the drama. There is more oomph, more richness and intensity, on both nose and palate. It remains, however, an Irish pure pot still whiskey foremost, and as such bears closer kinship to its more familiar version lower proof bottling than to the untamed ferocity of something like a George T Stagg. You ain’t toying with no pipsqueak, though; you will want ice or water or a bit of both to round the edge off. You get a wonderful range of baked banana, dried fruits, butterscotch and sweet grain, enlivened by a citric note that keeps things from seeming cloying or fatty. The finish here rolls on like thunder—well, civilized thunder, anyway. I’d note, too, that if you’re mixing a Manhattan-style cocktail with Irish whiskey, this is probably the best one for the job I’ve come across to date. The cask strength really keeps the whiskey from getting lost amidst the other ingredients.

Price: $99.99

WA: 92

WE: 90

Small Hand Foods Gum Syrup (8.5oz)

By: Jeremy Bohrer | Review Date: 3/28/2012 | Send Email

If you're into making great pre-prohibition (or post for that matter) cocktails like I am and want to get that great texture but don't want to use egg whites then this is the stuff for you. A little bit of this in your drink and it's transformed into a smooth, silky delicious concoction.

Price: Hidden

2009 Langoa-Barton, St-Julien

By: Clyde Beffa Jr. | Review Date: 3/7/2012 | Send Email

*½+ At property: Red berry-cherry aromas and flavors. Plenty of grip. At UGC: Cranberry and cherry cola aromas and flavors. Super sweet mid-palate impression, with rounded tannins and a lingering finish. Tasted again in September 2009. Tons of black cherry fruit. Elegant and delicious.

Price: $99.99

2009 Léoville-Barton, St-Julien

By: Ralph Sands | Review Date: 3/5/2012 | Send Email

Deep, grapey, masculine wine. It was really good the second time we tasted it.

Price: $179.99

2009 Cantemerle, Haut-Médoc

By: Ralph Sands | Review Date: 3/2/2012 | Send Email

** Outstanding! Expressive, juicy, grapey wine, with hints of raspberry, cassis and passion fruit. Best value of the vintage!

Price: $69.99

2009 Branaire-Ducru, St-Julien

By: Ralph Sands | Review Date: 3/2/2012 | Send Email

Crisp and elegant. Bright, focused, cranberry-cherry fruit, with nice mouthfeel.

Price: $119.99

K&L Logo 6-Bottle Tote (2979)

By: Jeremy Bohrer | Review Date: 2/29/2012 | Send Email

Need to carry the fantastic wines that you just bought from us in style? This is your answer. Cool, reusable, and canvas, with the K&L Logo on it. Show all your friends that you know where to go for the best wines and save the Earth at the same time. Peace!

Price: $4.99

Russian River Brewing Co. "Blind Pig" IPA, California (510ml) *NO SHIPPING/TRANSFERS OUTSIDE BAY AREA*

By: Illya Haase | Review Date: 2/27/2012 | Send Email

This may be the best beer ever! But, one is enough: trust me.

Price: $5.99

Limit of 12 per customer

Ariston Aspasie "Réserve" Brut Champagne

By: Illya Haase | Review Date: 2/27/2012 | Send Email

This is my kind of Champagne! Toasty, yeasty, and dry. The price speaks for itself! We are so lucky to get great champagne at sparkling wine prices!

Price: $37.99

Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne

By: Illya Haase | Review Date: 2/26/2012 | Send Email

This my friends is my go to Rose Champagne! Great acidity, intermingled with some bright cherry notes. Balanced minerality which is perfect for some salmon or Friday night sushi!

Price: $42.99

Ariston Aspasie "Réserve" Brut Champagne

By: Jim Boyce | Review Date: 2/26/2012 | Send Email

A great toasty, rich, dry brut to serve at any occasion, be it with food or without. Clean and pure, this is well balanced champagne with great apple and nut notes at an unbelievable price.

Price: $37.99

Ariston Aspasie "Réserve" Brut Champagne (375ml)

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 2/21/2012 | Send Email

The perfect bottle for a picnic! This lightly yeasty bubbly has fresh apple fruit, toast and a lingering finish with good acidity. This wine is just fine by itself or great with everything from sandwiches to roast chicken.

Price: $19.99

The Botanist Islay Dry Gin (750ml)

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 2/17/2012 | Send Email

This is going to be a very strange review, so bear with me. Normally, I am NOT a gin fan. I usually don't even like the smell of it. However, this Botanist gin smells, well, like flowers. It has juniper on the nose, but it is very elegant and muted. There are a lot of white flower notes and some rose scents (for me anyway...be patient, I've never described a gin before!). On the palate, it is soft and smooth, with good body that is not too heavy or oily. Here again, the juniper is subtle and almost slighty sweet. This is not gin-and-tonic gin. Don't ruin it by mixing! Serve it neat or maybe with one small ice cube. Better yet, just keep it in the fridge. If a wuss like me can handle it neat, you can too! You won't be disappointed!

Price: $34.99

Krug Brut Rosé Champagne

By: Cindy Westby | Review Date: 2/13/2012 | Send Email

Back at home after a particularly rough day my husband went on his nightly expedition to the wine cellar in our garage. When he returned with this wine - my jaw dropped. "Sometimes you've got to live a little", he said. Live a little indeed! A spectacular champagne with lots of everything, but not too much of anything. Black and red fruited nose,candied blood orange, toasted nuts, rose petals on the palate - velvety but vivacious. Balanced and luxurious, this was a special treat I will not soon forget.

Price: $449.99

Ariston Aspasie "Cépages d'Antan" Brut Champagne

By: Jeffrey Jones | Review Date: 2/13/2012 | Send Email

A special treat for Champagne lovers. I have tasted this the Cepages d'Antan twice in the last 6 months and it just keeps getting better.It is balanced and elegant, with just enough fruit, beautiful bubbles and a nice dry finish.

Price: $119.99

Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne

By: Mike Barber | Review Date: 2/2/2012 | Send Email

This bottle rivals other champagne roses that are two or three times as expensive! It is filled with floral aromas and fresh fruit flavors, with a dry finish. Fun, bright, and delicious - the ariston rose is always one of the winery's best releases.

Price: $42.99

Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne

By: Christie Brunick | Review Date: 1/27/2012 | Send Email

My favorite Rose Champagne for the price! Amazing bright and vibrant red-pink fruit with a broad and creamy mouthfeel with racy acidity to keep it all in balance. As far as I'm concerned it's my Billecart Rose for a quarter of the price! Always elegant and delightful!

Price: $42.99

Ariston Aspasie Brut Rosé Champagne

By: Sarah Covey | Review Date: 12/29/2011 | Send Email

Minerally, cranberry and tart- the perfect pairing with smoked salmon appetizers. The richness of the salmon would be outstanding with the crisp mineral zip of this fantastic rose. Another excellent demonstration of the care and passion that Ariston Aspasie and family put into their champagne. Drink deep- Happy New Year!

Price: $42.99

La Guita Manzanilla Sanlucar de Barrameda

By: Mahon McGrath | Review Date: 12/26/2011 | Send Email

What? A new sherry to try? On it. This manzanilla gives up sea breeze, wet gravel, brine, a gentle toasted almond note and a lemon juice-citric tang on the finish, showing all the character you’d expect and at a reasonable price, too. While this certainly shows where it’s from, there is a softness to the middle that can almost fool you into thinking you’re sipping a brisk, dry white that didn’t mature under a veil of flor. There’s a funny piece of twine on the bottle’s front. I gave it a tug and it came unstuck from the labels holding it in place. Alas, it let loose no confetti. I afterwards ascertained that the name “La Guita” came from a favorite quip of the house’s founder, and was a slang word for “money” but also meant “cord.” Now you know. That they also stamp the bottling date on the back is perhaps the more salient, and appreciated, detail with a perishable item like sherry.

Price: $19.99

ArteNOM "Seleccion 1146" Añejo Tequila (750ml)

By: Mike Barber | Review Date: 12/24/2011 | Send Email

It is tough in the tequila world to find small production, unique expressions of terroir and artful distillation, but that is exactly what the arte nom line of tequilas is all about. They each come from a single plantation of agave and a single distillery. They are all wonderful, but I'm an anejo guy, and this beauty is rich and lush with wonderful oaky notes over pure citrus flavors. If you're a real tequila fan- you have to try this.

Price: $89.99

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

By: Mike Parres | Review Date: 12/14/2011 | Send Email

This is one of the best Champagnes in our entire stock, all Chardonnay and all Grand Cru from the villages of Mesnil, Oger, Cramant and Avize. Buy now, it will be gone soon !

Price: $39.99

Franck Bonville Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

By: Christie Brunick | Review Date: 12/14/2011 | Send Email

The best deal in direct import Blanc De Blanc Champagne Yet! Its an entire staff favorite here at K&L, and once you try it you'll understand why. Its elegant and pure but has a richness on the palate that is creamy and fulfilling. This is my personal house Champagne! My favorite Champagne under $50 by far! This has no hard edges at all; it's completely seamless from start to finish. Crisp, with elegance, round and creamy richness, the Bonville is full of bright fruit and mineral notes. As much fun as bubbly gets! Try it ASAP!

Price: $53.99

JS: 92

RP: 92

San Venanzio Fortunato Brut Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore

By: Christie Brunick | Review Date: 12/14/2011 | Send Email

A delightful Prosecco from Italy which is dry but still very soft and elegant on the palate. Perfect Party bubbles for the Holiday season!

Price: $15.99

Underberg Bitters (20ml bottles three-pack) (cannot ship)

By: Jeremy Bohrer | Review Date: 12/14/2011 | Send Email

The holidays are here! That means big meals and lots of drinks. What do you do after a huge meal when you feel like all you can do is unbutton your pants and sink into the couch? Underberg!! This digestif bitter works wonders on your full stomach, aiding with digestion. It's also a relaxant in stressful situations, which the holidays can certainly be too.

Price: $5.99

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

By: Jeff Garneau | Review Date: 12/9/2011 | Send Email

I am embarrassed to admit that before I met Gary Westby, our Champagne buyer, I was not a drinker of Champagne. I probably had had one or two bottles of mediocre, bulk-produced sparkling wine (not Champagne) and dismissed all sparkling wines on that basis. Then Gary introduced me to grower-producer Champagnes like the Launois "Cuvée Reserve" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne. The quality--the authenticity--of the wines was a revelation. And the great prices made possible through our direct import program made it impossible not to try as many as I could. If you want to learn about the Côte des Blancs--the home of the finest Chardonnay in Champagne--about Grand Cru sites like Mesnil and Oger, then this is a tutorial in a glass. Fine bead. Clean. Crisp. Wonderfully mineral in its expression, while still rich in texture. Try it on its own as an aperitif or, better yet, with our local Dungeness crab.

Price: $39.99

Rare Wine Company "Historic Series - Charleston" Sercial Madeira

By: Mahon McGrath | Review Date: 11/27/2011 | Send Email

The dominant character here is a subdued toasted nuttiness, not specifically almond or walnut, with undercurrents of dried fruit. The palate is another thing altogether. This is one a wine that succeeds more on texture than nuance of flavor. While it is a sweet wine, it doesn’t put itself across the way a sauterne or even a sweet sherry would. It is as though you’d put the proverbial “spoon full of sugar” in your mouth-though for the purposes of this analogy we’d better make sure you’re visualizing raw sugar-and then sucked a fat wedge of lime. The tremendous acidity doesn’t just balance out the sweetness, but actually overcompensates for it, making it seem to finish much drier than it started and lip-smacking, too. Singular stuff. Works pretty nice with a slice of pumpkin pie and I’d wager you would get good mileage out of it with well-seasoned meaty bites, say dumplings of some sort.

Price: $55.99

La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut

By: Adam Parry | Review Date: 11/27/2011 | Send Email

Bad bad Deligeroy Brown, baddest man in the whole damn town. This is what i hear when i drink this delicious Cremant from Loire. It is such a fantastic inexpensive sparkling wine. Try this with spicy Thai food. Enjoy!

Price: $14.99

La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut

By: Illya Haase | Review Date: 11/25/2011 | Send Email

In our recent staff tasting for sparkling wines. This by far was top of the class! I brought it to start the Thanksgiving Day events. Deligeroy did not disappoint! It went perfect with the root salad!

Price: $14.99

Ariston Aspasie "Réserve" Brut Champagne (375ml)

By: Sarah Covey | Review Date: 11/21/2011 | Send Email

A teeny-tiny version of the Aspasie classic Carte Blanche? Get me a picnic basket or a seat by the fire! I'm in! A miniature version of the well-balanced, delicious champagne that we sell by the, well, boatload as it were. Get it now- this is all that is left!

Price: $19.99

Clear Creek Douglas Fir Brandy (375ml)

By: Jeremy Bohrer | Review Date: 11/16/2011 | Send Email

Like a pine tree in a glass but in a very, very good way! Use this in autumn cocktails or in holiday baking to really jazz things up this season.

Price: $49.99

St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur (750ml)

By: Jeremy Bohrer | Review Date: 11/16/2011 | Send Email

This stuff is liquid deliciousness. You can put in anything and it will make it taste wonderful. Seriously, you could put this in muddy water and it would still make it great. Floral, light and bright, with an elegance with no equal. Try it in sparkling wine. Yummy!

Price: $34.99

WE: 96 - 100

St. George "Terroir" Mount Tamalpais Gin (750ml)

By: Sarah Covey | Review Date: 11/15/2011 | Send Email

Having read Melissa and David's reviews of this gin, I was excited but rather dubious in approaching it- how could it be so expressive of the terrior of Northern California? I poured it over ice, added some Fevertree Tonic water and a splash of lime and BAM! Hands down the most incredible experience of drinking in the landscape I love so much! Bay laurel, damp redwood, eucalyptus, wild fennel & dill- this California girl is enraptured!

Price: $29.99

Black Maple Hill "Limited Edition" Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (700ml)

By: Scott Beckerley | Review Date: 11/11/2011 | Send Email

I write up "the hard stuff" very rarely but, this bourbon is soooo good that it is not be be missed. Not too sweet, with balanced flavors of vanilla, caramel, spice and nectarine. Very smooth without being cloying or flat. A really good value! Get it while we have it...the times that we are sold out of this seem to be increasing.

Price: $69.99

Limit of 1 per customer

Graham's "Six Grapes" Reserve Port

By: Christie Brunick | Review Date: 11/10/2011 | Send Email

The best value I've tasted for a full 750ml bottle of Ruby Port! Dark and deep in color with loads of black fruit, spice, and chocolate on the nose. Richly intense with a creamy mid-palate with plenty of good acidity to balance it out. I'll be definitely buying some for the holiday season!

Price: $24.99

DC: 93

La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut Rosé

By: Jacques Moreira | Review Date: 11/5/2011 | Send Email

Without a doubt one of my favorites sparkling rosé wines. Full of citron, wild strawberries, cherries and FUN! I recommend it for an aperitif on Valentine's day, or with the heart shaped box of chocolate! What?! It is not Valentines just yet? Just pretend, your significant other will love it!

Price: $14.99

Lini "Labrusca" Lambrusco Emilia Rosé

By: Illya Haase | Review Date: 11/3/2011 | Send Email

Pizza and Labrusco: what a great combo! Basil and Lini rose were made for each other. I need not say more.

Price: $16.99

La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut

By: Jim Boyce | Review Date: 10/31/2011 | Send Email

This is a fresh, mineral and citus noted, delightfully refreshing french sparkling wine without the big price tag. Stock up for your holiday parties!

Price: $14.99

La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut

By: Kyle Kurani | Review Date: 10/31/2011 | Send Email

Beautifully elegent and refreshing, this bubbly brings a festive tone to any gathering without dragging a price tag along

Price: $14.99

Deutz "Classic" Brut Champagne

By: Kyle Kurani | Review Date: 10/30/2011 | Send Email

I recently tasted this at our Champagne event and was pleasantly suprised by the balance and concentration of this wine. A balanced blend with richness and stone fruit notes as well and a very full mouth feel.

Price: $54.99

JS: 93

WS: 91

WE: 90

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