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Staff Favorites - Kyle Kurani
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Reviews
Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin (750ml)
Review Date: 06-10-2016
I love when a navy strength gin is elegant and beautiful despite its high proof. The Four Pillars Gin is at the same time powerful and graceful, bursting with lime zest and exotic spices, the main flavors shine through beautifully. They are supported by hints of anise and coriander, and delivered with a supply textured and warm mouthfeel that comes from the higher proof. Incredibly well balanced, and supremely delicious!
Price:
$39.99
Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (750ml)
Review Date: 06-10-2016
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.
Ruinart Brut Rosé "2nd Skin" Champagne 750ml bottle (ships as a 1.5L due to shape of bottle)
Review Date: 02-18-2016
This bottle takes a walk on the richer side of Rose. Dense and decadent, a core of Bing Cherry, cassis and blood orange, Rose to the fullest. The 18% of Pinot added as red wine adds a firm spine that runs from tip to tail, frambois and baking spice lend a dark richness. Texturally incredibly please, supple and weighty with a finish that end with a hint of baking spice.
2010 Clendenen "Le Bon Climat" Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay (Winery Direct Library Release)
Review Date: 09-29-2015
This beautifully balanced and exceptionally classy Chardonnay from Santa Barbara is a stunning example of California Chardonnay. Vibrant and fresh, full of life and verve, it leaps out of the glass with fresh apricot, ripe orchard fruits, and just a hint of fresh cream. The palate is sleek and streamlined, with a mineral core that is full of wet river stones and an almond richness. Perfectly balanced with the time in bottle, with just a hint of savory development.
Michel Arnould "Réserve" Grand Cru Verzenay Brut Champagne
Review Date: 07-15-2015
Full of vibrancy and richness playing off of each other in perfect harmony, the Michel Arnould Reserve is a stunning example of Grand Cru Champagne. Out of the gate with beautiful aromas of perfectly ripened melon, green apple and spice cake, the nose is effusive and rich. The palate plays fresh notes of watermelon and racy acidity against richer tones of hazelnut and bread dough. The marriage of the racy and rich are what really make this a very complete and extraordinarily pleasing bottle to drink. Powerful and elegant at the same time--that only can be achieved with the highest quality terroir available in the region.
Price:
$34.99
Baron-Fuenté "Grande Réserve" Brut Champagne
Review Date: 07-10-2015
This bottle of Champagne does so many things for me. It offers the ability to use Champagne in many more settings--from parties to toasts--and it brings quality bubbles into the budget of many more customers. At $23 dollars a bottle, there is so much in this bottle. fresh and vibrant citrus notes, hints of navel orange and white peach greet you, with a light and effortless bead. It finishes with a touch of bread dough and Gala apple, rounding out the palate and leaving you wanting just one more glass. In the end this offers us the chance to drink Real Champagne at a price that so many more people can afford--including us here at the K&L!
Alipús San Luis Del Rio Mezcal (750ml)
Review Date: 06-09-2015
This is the most fruit driven and round of the bunch. Big and rich, dark fruited with black cherry and an almost voluptuous mouth feel. The spirit is super weighty and oily, with just a kiss of funk in the back ground. Such a departure from the others which are much spicier, fruity and delicious.
Price:
$44.99
Alipus Santa Ana Del Rio Mezcal (750ml)
Review Date: 06-09-2015
Big and brooding in comparison to the others, a more full bodied style. Intensely savory, oily and a bit of earth. What struck me was the dry and almost woody finish. if this were a wine it would be described as having a big tannic structure, super interesting to taste something this bold.
Price:
$44.99
Pierre Paillard "Les Parcelles" Grand Cru Extra Brut Bouzy Champagne
Review Date: 05-31-2015
For Champagne loves who crave purity and true expression of the land, Pierre Paillard delivers some of the purest and cleanest bubbles that we carry. All from the Grand Cru of Bouzy, the sun warmed and ripened fruit sings out of the glass. Full of orchard and stone fruit bustring from the glass, summer peaches, golden apples, however these notes are balanced perfectly by a saline minerality that lends a light airiness to the wine. With a low dosage of 7 g/l the wine is dry and precise on the finish, with a lasting mineral note that leaves your mouth watering.
Glenfiddich "Signature" 12 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml)
Review Date: 03-24-2015
A Classic Malt in every aspect of the term. Clean and bright, a touch of honeysuckle, a kiss of vanilla sweetness, this malt has a little bit of something for everyone. A soft entry gives an easy going feel, on the palate dried fruits, honey and heather give added complexity, the finish is composed and not harsh in any way. A staple.
Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera Rum Venezuela (750ml)
Review Date: 03-24-2015
A demandingly decadent Rum, full of dark hued flavors of maple and brown sugar. The Santa Teresa is a wonderfully balanced rum with years of solera aging to create a spirit that is past the complexity of a single age statement. A nose of maple cake and burnt sugar. Vanilla cream runs throughout adding a beautifully sweet crescendo to a long and lush finish.
Laurent-Perrier "Cuvée Rosé" Brut Rosé Champagne
Review Date: 03-18-2015
Intriguing rose that begins in an understated elegant way, and builds towards a fuller finish showing off its’ Grand Cru providence. The nose is hauntingly seductive, crushed red fruit, a mineral vein, and the faintest scent of rose petal all intermingled in harmony. The palate is defined by a textural grip that adds weight and importance, but the lifted flavors of wild strawberry and cream, with hits of cherry tart keep the wine extremely elegant and pretty. The finish picks up speed with reinforced dark cherry and minerality that wraps the wine up beautifully.
Boulard-Bauquaire "Trepail" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Vieilles Vignes
Review Date: 03-11-2015
What a charming bottle of bubbles. One of our newest additions to the line up, this a wonderfully enjoyable, open knit and effortless. The nose is cream and zest, maybe a touch of fresh lemon scone. The palate is soft and supple, perky notes of yellow peach and Meyer lemon, clean and pretty. The old vine material comes through on the finish, pure and lengthy. Just a joy to drink.
Price:
$39.99
Franck Bonville Brut Rosé Champagne
Review Date: 02-19-2015
What do you do when you only grow Grand Cru Chardonnay but what to make Rose? Well you trade a little bit for Grand Cru Pinot of course. That is exactly what Mr. Bonville did to make a wine that puts together my two favorite things, Blanc de Blanc and Rose. This wine has all the drive and minerality you would expect from a top end Blanc do Blanc, but with the added complexity and downright deliciousness of a Rose. Wild cherry and raspberry provide perfect base notes, while the Chardonnay adds high tones of Fuji apple and zippy lemon zest.
Price:
$59.99
Franck Bonville Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Review Date: 02-19-2015
Update 2014: The 2011 Vintage in Champagne was pretty terrible, turns out to be a blessing in disguise for one of my favorite bottles of Champagne in the store. Wanting to make sure he kept the quality up, Olivier Bonville declassified all of his high end and old vine vineyards into this little gem. The depth of fruit and minerality is what catches me off guard when I drink this wine, light and elegant, the chalk in the soils sing through the nose and offer a back bone that frames the entire wine. White flowers, golden apple, and a hint of spice cake. Vintage Champagne in disguise.
2011: The picture of elegance and class. Such pure and clean lines, a touch of citrus, a hit of minerality all delivered effortlessly on a find bead and sensuous mouth feel. One of my annual holliday favorites and sure to please any Champagne snob that might haunt your gatherings.
Singani "63" Bolivian Muscat Brandy (750ml)
Review Date: 09-15-2014
Exactly what we love to drink. After a "serious day in the office" tasting as many as 40 different whiskies, the Singani is the type of spirit I want to come home to, delicious. Fresh, and lively, you get the essence of the Muscat grape, floral, with ripe peach and apricot, this is super clean and dangerously drinkable.
So much to do with it: Pisco sour stand-in, add some tonic, or lemon soda with a twist; I would even venture to say it would be killer in a Mojito.
Price:
$29.99
Nikka Coffey Still Japanese Grain Whisky (750ml)
Review Date: 09-11-2013
One of the most unique and exciting Whiskey's I have had this year! I always love off the beaten path Spirits that just wow you. This is the ultimate in soft, supple, and yummy unmalted grain Whiskey. Notes of caramel, candied nuts and sweet sweet grains all combine to make something that is absolutely delicious. The finish is velvety vanilla and hazel nut and lengthier than I would have expected. With the other expressions from Nikka being so highly allocated, jump on this while you can!
Montechiara Prosecco
Review Date: 11-29-2012
Beautifully crisp and refreshing, this is the perfect wine for parties, cocktails and just plain enjoying a very affordable bottle of bubbles. The Montechiara Prosecco is full of pears and green apples, enough richness for weight, and the perfect balance of acidity for freshness. This is great for the price.
Price:
$10.99
Sorelle Bronca Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Extra Dry
Review Date: 09-29-2011
Perfectly crisp and refreshing,this Prosecco delivers a festive drink that is a certain people pleaser