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After 18 years of buying spirits for K&L, this special parcel may be my crowning achievement. Just a few years ago, it would have been nearly unfathomable that we could gain access to stocks of this quality at such low prices. We have, of course, bottled similar whiskies before. Years back, we secured a 1991 version from Hunter Laing, and only last year we offered a Faultline barrel from 1998 that sold out almost immediately. Now, we bring you another "Single Vintage Blended Malt" a full decade that barrel's senior for exactly the same price. It is an absolute coup and, if I’m honest, may get me in a little trouble, but that surely will not stop me. My style has always been to ask forgiveness rather than permission. The true challenge with stocks like this is how you label them. We cannot, under any circumstances, place the distillery name on the label, even though it is beyond doubt where the whisky comes from. The once-accepted trade name Burnside belongs to our dear friends at Cadenhead, and out of respect (and good sense, given their well-known litigious nature) we would never infringe on it. So the question becomes, what do we call this whisky? Our friends at Duncan Taylor sold us that wonderful barrel for our Faultline label that they dubbed “The Huntley,” a reference to their hometown. That option was off the table for us. After some consideration, we settled on a playful nod to our friends in Campbeltown: “The Sideburns.” We are not the first to use the name, but ours is plural, because who on earth needs just one Side-burn? Needless to say, this is one of the most outrageous deals I have ever had the honor of brokering for our shop. It represents the pinnacle of my ongoing effort to push back against one of the most damaging trends in our industry: the erosion of value for the end consumer. If you destroy the primary market for great whisky by pushing prices beyond reason, you eventually destroy the market itself. Too many producers have forgotten the first rule of selling anything: give customers what they want at a price they can afford. Start with the customer’s experience and build the system backward from there, rather than forcing corporate projections and marketing jargon down their throats. What do customers want? Great old malt whisky. But in today’s marketplace, finding a bottle over 25 years old that delivers real value in the glass is nearly impossible. Certainly there are other ways brands create value for their customers through lifestyle, image, luxury packaging, or grand storytelling. But if the true measure is taste—and for me it always is—you will struggle to point to a single product that offers what this whisky does at anywhere near this price. This parcel is, without exaggeration, one of the finest opportunities ever presented to lovers of Scotch worldwide. I hope this is only the beginning. If we can continue to secure parcels like this through new channels, then perhaps we can begin to chip away at the barriers keeping customers from enjoying extraordinary old whisky rather than just looking at them. For now, I am confident in saying this is easily the greatest Scotch deal K&L has offered in its 40-plus year history.

This is a fascinating showcase of how graceful Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon can age. Now 15 years old, this bottling still shows complex aromas of roasted strawberry, ashy wood, mashed olive, espresso bean and damp mushroom. The palate remains as fresh as many new Cabs, with polished tannins offering dark fruit, dried porcini and bittersweet cocoa flavors. *Editors' Choice* (MK)

This wine delivers a benchmark Anderson Valley flavor profile at a price point that is simply unbeatable. Over-delivering on value has always been at the core of the Anonymous Wine Collective, and I'm certain this wine does that and then some. I'm thrilled with the end result of this bottling that I was able to compose from barrel samples dialing in the exact character I wanted to capture from this top quality vintage and great but (top secret) vineyard source. The wine is loaded is pure forest berry fruit, dusty, earthy spices, brambles, Redwood grove, and alpine herbs. Elegant and silky, but full of flavor and layered nuance. For $20 I challenge you to find a more complete bottle of Pinot Noir that delivers the goods so emphatically! Enjoy!

Since acquiring the property in 2009, Virginie Saverys has worked to convert all 162-plus hectares of vineyards to organic and biodynamic practices. In 2015 the Sangiovese was harvested relatively early, between 10-28 September. Hints of dried rose petals, violet, pepper and black tea add complexity to fragrant red cherry and strawberry. (MM)

We've worked with brothers Jean-Marie and François Cherrier for more than 20 years, and their wines remain one of the benchmarks for value in Sancerre. For us, they've long served as a lodestar for what classic Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc should be. It was great to reconnect with the family at Wine Paris earlier this year and taste through the new releases. As the next generation becomes increasingly involved in the domaine, the Cherriers are finding exciting new ways to build upon a tradition that has made them one of our most trusted partners. The 2025 vintage was a challenging one, with reduced yields across much of the region. Fortunately, our long-standing relationship has helped preserve the majority of our allocation, even if quantities are a bit tighter than usual. The new Sancerre captures everything we love about the estate's style. Aromas of Meyer lemon and ruby red grapefruit lead the way, followed by hints of nectarine, wild thyme, and white flowers. The palate shows impressive ripeness and polish, delivering generous texture and concentration without sacrificing freshness or balance. Year after year, this remains one of the most re-ordered wines in the category. If you've yet to discover what makes Cherrier such a perennial favorite, the outstanding 2025 vintage is the perfect place to start.

This is no ordinary brut sans année. I tasted this with Damien at the maison this May, and three times this week, and I was impressed by the generous, creamy, white fruit character of the wine. This wine is entirely fermented in large oak barrels, and comes from vineyards tended to like a vanity garden. It is composed of 70% Chouilly Grand Cru and 30% Cramant Grand Cru, with 30% reserves from his solera-style foudre of older vintages. The back end not only has the chalk that one would expect but also a very nice chestnut flavor. This is top-class blanc de blancs, and no one that enjoys this style should miss it given the extraordinary price.

This long-aged bottle, from the best vintage of my career, is one of the most laughably great deals that I have been able to offer in 26 years as the champagne buyer here at K&L. The super long ageing (this is being released after Bollinger RD and Dom Pérignon P2 2008 after all!) has given this wine the fine brioche, the delicate beurre d’Issigny aromas and the pinpoint stream of fine bubbles that can’t be had any other way. The best vintage of the 21st century has given it concentration, length and a Puligny-Montrachet like lime character. This is a wine that will cellar well, and the long, detailed finish, loaded with freshness and chalk is something one does not expect even from a bottle at twice the price. Don’t wait to case up on this.

Infectious dark purple florals, spiced damsons and smoky minerals overlay the meaty, juicy texture and fine shapely tannins and purr contentedly towards the finish line. (DWWA 2024)

Elisabeth and Jean-Marie Egrot have made one of the most elegant, textural and complete non-vintage champagnes that we carry- and it is still at an affordable price! It is composed of 80% Pinot Noir from the grand cru of Ay and 20% Chardonnay from the 1er cru of Louvois and dosed at a little under 8 grams per liter. This wine has the silky texture and tiny streamers that only patience brings and I think you will be surprised at the finesse of this bottle. That being said, the power is still there, and I love this Champagne with full flavored, hot smoked salmon!

Aromas of honeydew melon, guava and golden apple. On the palate, the wine has buttery textures, sustained acidity and spiced-citrus length. *Gold Medal*

*Tasting Note Redacted*

This new discovery is almost too good to be true. Chateau Chadenne's La Fleur is a gorgeous Fronsac from the famed 2009 vintage, a wine that I fell head over heels for when tasting a few months back and couldn't wait to share with folks at K&L. It's now here and stands tall as one of the best buys in Bordeaux, the kind of combination of value, vintage, and age that you really don't see anywhere else. Just as when I first tasted it, I'm enamored with how fresh and lively this 2009 is. When I think about how the style and panache of the 2009 vintage should evolve with time, it tastes like this. Floral and wild berry aromas lead to a palate that's full of red-to-black fruit, terrific acid lift, and well-integrated tannins that follow through to a finish with a stony, mineral edge that feels very much at home in Fronsac's clay-limestone hills, along with a touch of spice. A beautiful combination of freshness and richness, it hits all the hallmarks of this celebrated vintage. A remarkable wine that defies its low price, this is one to buy by the case. It will impress wine drinkers of all stripes and, given how fresh, composed, and vibrant it remains today, should continue to evolve gracefully for another ten to twenty years. This is a modern classic and a not-to-be-missed value.

Chardonnay prevails in the 2023 Crémant De Limoux Eugénie Extra Brut Blanc, a blend of complemented by 20% Chenin Blanc and 10% Mauzac. Using the traditional method, the wine first spent six months on fine lees before being bottled for the second fermentation, then spending a further 24 months on laths before disgorging. From the outset, this very delicately sparkling wine opens with a lemony bouquet of peach skin, lemon zest, candied nectarines, and a hint of honey. It's a straightforward crémant, delicately expressive, precise, and very long, with a fine bitterness and spicy notes on the finish. With very little dosage, it's more than an aperitif bubbly and could just as easily be served at the table to accompany a meal. (Now forgotten, this used to be done a lot.) (BJ)

Readers will find a rich, flamboyant wine in the 2016 Barde-Haut. There is not a ton of subtlety here, but I am not sure that matters all that much given how immensely pleasing the 2016 is. Crushed rocks, graphite, lavender, blackberry, plum, and violet infuse a Saint-Émilion that offers tremendous textural richness as well as vibrancy. Most importantly of all, the 2016 is flat-out delicious. This is a decidedly opulent, dark Saint-Émilion with all of the elements impeccably balanced. I loved it. (AG)

Sumptuous aromatics of pomegranate, black raspberry, clove, orange zest, toasted vanilla, and dried florals arise on the nose of this wine. The palate oers concentrated black currant, black strawberry, coriander, mocha, candied orange zest, and tannins on the finish. *Cellar Selection* (TP)

There’s simply nothing more fascinating in the whisky world than the inner workings of the big Scotch industry. From the outside, it looks like an industrial monolith of unfathomable proportions, and it’s easy to forget that the whole thing is run by people doing difficult, often dirty jobs. And people make mistakes! Sometimes someone accidentally empties a tanker of top-tier sherried single malt into a vat containing a tiny amount of young grain whisky. What can you do? In the old days, you might have ended up with a slightly better batch of Cutty Sark. Today, that malt is far too valuable to disappear into an everyday blend. Thankfully, our friends in Dornoch have excellent relationships throughout the industry and get first crack at some extraordinary parcels. Better still, they had the patience to give this one more time. While the front label says nine years, we understand that 99.999% of the contents is sherry-matured single malt from one of Scotland’s most prestigious distilleries, now aged 15 years. Incredible for $65. This is the final batch of this particular parcel, so we’ll have to wait for someone else to make a very expensive mistake before anything like it comes around again. Shall we? The color is a vibrant burnished gold (1.1). The nose is pure oloroso: roasted nuts, oxidative depth, leather, stone fruit compote, marmalade, roasted arabica, and the wonderfully evocative scent of an old dunnage warehouse. The palate opens sweetly with dense stone fruit, mostly apricot, before an oily mid-palate delivers old-school sherry rancio. It’s less sugary and less dominated by red fruit than many modern sherry bombs, but it sacrifices nothing in character. To my palate, these flavors are closer to great old sherry itself than the overtly wine-driven profiles we encounter so often today. This is one of the best Scotch whisky deals we’ve ever offered, a truly special bottle whose quality is immediately apparent, even without knowing the improbable story behind it.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Radius is a gorgeous wine from a favorable growing season. Velvety berry fruit and elegant structure are the orders of the day. Supple and focused, it is supremely clear and precise, with beautiful curves. Tea leaves, blood orange and sweet black cherry flesh out, expanding like a peacock's tail on the epically long finish. What a beautiful wine. (BN)

There have been few greater pleasures in my 20-plus years exploring whisky than the opportunity to taste blind. It happens so infrequently, and I have officially exhausted my credits asking my wife to organize tastings, that I simply never get to do it. So when our friends at Thompson Bros first mentioned this project a couple of years ago, I was absolutely floored. They proposed sourcing a huge variety of single casks and bottling them without revealing any specific details until the bottle was opened. I assumed the federal regulators might object, but it turns out the required information can be concealed beneath the capsule. The craziest part of the project is the extraordinary effort the brothers have made to balance the quality of every six-pack. Buy a sealed case and you are guaranteed six completely different single casks, carefully selected so that the overall quality remains remarkably consistent from case to case. It is a ready-made blind tasting requiring virtually no effort, and the list of possible casks is genuinely exciting and unusual. The project has now attracted significant international attention, and distillers increasingly see it as a calling card for their stocks rather than some goofy side project. As a result, the brothers have been able to source particularly compelling barrels for the series. I opened six and could not have had more fun. With a little care, you can easily avoid identifying the distillery when opening each bottle. Simply leave the foil around the cap intact, note which side conceals the round sticker underneath, and keep it facing away. You will have an instant blind tasting of the highest order. For several of these casks, this is the first expression from this distillery ever sold in the US. The list is HERE of what you might encounter: PLEASE NOTE ALL CASKS ARE BOTTLED 48% without Chill-filtration. Distillery AGE No. Bottles Cask Type Speyside 29 Year 89 Btls Refill Sherry Butt Inchmurrin 28 Year 24 Btls Refill Sherry Butt Inchgower 27 Year 29 Btls Refill Bourbon Hogshead Bruichladdich 21 Year 8 Btls First Fill Bourbon ASB Teaninich 17 Year 30 Btls Oloroso Hhd Tormore 17 Year 173 Btls Sauternes Cask Royal Bra 16 Year 19 Btls Refill Hhd Craigellachie 15 Year 64 Btls Refill Hhd Teaninich 12 Year 36 Btls Stout Barrel Bunnahabhain 11 Year 27 Btls Refill Hhd Wolfburn 11 Year 8 Btls Sherry Hhd Lochranza 10 Year 79 Btls Refill Sherry Hhd Kingsbarns 8 Year 133 Btls First Fill Bourbon Torabhaig 7 Year 149 Btls First Fill Bourbon Nc’Nean 5 Year 159 Btls STR Dornoch 5 Year 56 Btls Rye & Bourbon Lagg 5 Year 21 Btls First Fill Bourbon Glasgow 5 Year 10 Btls American Oak Virgin ASB Lochlea 4 Year 162 Btls Refill Bourbon Raasay 4 Year 120 Btls Dutch Oak Virgin Hhd

Capacious blackcurrant, blueberry and dark cherry fruit cradled in a coffee, cacao richness which fortifies the weighty structure and strident tannins. Oozing substance and charisma. (DWWA)

From Shamrock and Te Whare Ra vineyards located in 70% Awatere and 30% Wairau, with a savvy 18% barrel fermentation. Holy moly, this is simply heavenly, with starfruit, pulpy pomelo segments and glistening limes. Summer frangipanis and lotus flowers. Citrus manages to have the high tones of lime but base tones of ruby grapefruit, and acidity hums, grounded deep within the fabric of the wine. It's slippery, slightly salty and luxurious while uplifting. Every touch point of flavour and texture has been considered and if this is not on your wine list or in your cellar as a modern day representation of Marlborough's innate ability with sauvignon blanc than shame on you. Flippin' heck it’s good. Closure: Screw cap. 13.5% alcohol.

This is one of my favorite Sancerre estates and they never disappoint. Their 2024, is another winner. It combines the classic citrus fruit we're accustomed to with pleasant tropical notes thanks to the generosity of the vintage. Simply put, it's complex, satisfying and outstanding as always.

What a bottle! The lavish use of reserve wines in this bottling really set it apart from anything else that we have in stock; this wine has a texture, a drinkability, and a hidden complexity that is rare to find in any bottle, let alone one that is under $50. The value that our large volume buy has delivered is top notch. Grand Cru, especially Côte des Blancs Chardonnay Grand Cru is hardly ever spoken about as a bargain, but this is an exception. It has always been my dream to supply the champagne drinker, the champagne lover top notch wines that can be purchased by the case and consumed, and for me, this is one of bottlings that has made my dream come true. All I wanted in it was everything- classy baguette toast, subtle white flowers, a creamy texture, and a fresh finish with chalky minerality for days. And, as usual, the Bonville family delivered!

Welcome to the newest addition to our Rendez-Vous collection: Touraine Sauvignon Blanc. Why did we choose Touraine? Simply put, it offers one of the greatest values for Sauvignon Blanc anywhere in the world. The region's clay-limestone and calcareous soils share many similarities with those of its far more famous neighbor a couple of hours to the east—Sancerre. As prices in Sancerre have continued to climb, many of its top producers have turned to Touraine to craft their value-focused wines. We realized we could do the same. So we reached out to one of our longtime partners with a simple proposition: let's take one of our favorite everyday Touraine bottlings and create the next Rendez-Vous. If you've been a fan of Roches Touraine over the years, here's a little secret—you've found it. This wine is the foundation for the project. I've been buying and tasting these wines for well over a decade, and they've never disappointed. The 2024 is everything I look for in Touraine: sleek, vibrant, and mineral-driven, with notes of lemon oil, fresh verbena, and a lightly chalky finish. There's also a subtle tropical lift that I always love in Touraine Sauvignon Blanc. It gives the wine an open, inviting personality that's equally at home on a Tuesday night or at a weekend gathering. That's exactly what Rendez-Vous is meant to be: exceptional quality at an everyday price. One of our goals with this label is to redefine what a daily-drinking wine can be by leveraging the long-standing relationships we've built with outstanding growers to deliver remarkable value without compromise. We hope this new Rendez-Vous earns a permanent place at your table. Santé—we have a feeling we'll be seeing you again soon.

The 2022 Château Tronquoy is the finest vintage of this cuvée ever produced, offering fabulous aromatics of cassis, graphite, violets, flowers, chocolate, and earthy nuances. Full-bodied and beautifully rich and textured on the palate, with sweet tannins and a seamless, concentrated mouthfeel, it’s already hard to resist, and as I said from barrel, it shows the ripeness of the vintage while staying pure, balanced, and seamless. It’s going to benefit from just 4-6 years in the cellar and drink well for 25+ years.

Price aside, this is one of the best bottles of Champagne at K&L. This wine comes from the same ancient massal selected vines that made their special club in the past, and is also made the same way- in enamel lined iron tanks in their cellar in Mesnil. 2017 is a fantastic vintage for Chardonnay, and this is a top notch example of the success that variety had in Champagne. Not only is the wine full of rich brioche and generous citrus, its fabulous texture and complexity is balanced by bright refreshment and definitive chalky minerality. Not only will it drink great tonight, it will improve for at least a couple of decades in good storage. Don't miss this one!

Pure and precise with a fine bead and great balance. Classic Chenin pear and apple aromatics with a streak of lemon. Vibrantly textured with a lemony freshness and a hint of toast on the finish. (DWWA 2022)

Aromas of blood plums, violets, licorice, spices and dried herbs. The palate is medium- to full-bodied with a generous mouthfeel framed by finely extracted tannins and bright acidity. There’s tension to the wine and persistent purity of fruit in the finish. California's nod to the northern Rhone at the highest level. 100% whole-cluster fermentation. Drink or hold.

An awesome Saint Emilion, the 2015 Château Barde-Haut showed even better on this occasion than on release. A huge nose of sweet crème de cassis, jammy blackberries, violets, leather, and dried herbs gives way to a full-bodied wine that has a great mid-palate, ripe, silky tannins, not a hard edge to be found, and a great, great finish.

Really fine bubbles. Extremely intense, showing dried apples, peaches and light apricots with brioche and pie crust. Medium-bodied with a creamy texture and a long, long finish. Very subtle. A blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier. 10% of the 2020 base wine fermented and aged in barrel. Dosage 8 g/L.

Sunny, rich and ripe, offering aromas of peach, pear and quince that lead into a texture that is unexpectedly lush yet still retains an elegant balance. The cuvée is based on young vines in St-Romain - two-thirds of the blend this year - complemented by grapes purchased in the Mâconnais. The result is a charming wine perfect for current consumption. (CC)

As ever, rock solid Margaret River cabernet, ticking the boxes for all the right regional and varietal qualities as it goes along. Just on the full side of medium-bodied, the flavours of cassis and cedar build on the palate, escorted along by the fine but firmish tannin that rolls on through the finish to linger in the aftertaste. Enjoyable now or for years to come. (SC)

I initially hoped this wine would be bottled under our Anonymous Wine Collective label. When I was presented with this incredible parcel resting in barrel, I could hardly believe the pedigree of the vineyard source, the quality of the wine, and the exceptional pricing. Alas, the wine needed to find a home more quickly than the process of creating and approving a new Anonymous bottling would allow. Rather than miss the opportunity, I decided to utilize a label design the winery already had ready to go: Root & Stone. As it turns out, the name couldn't be more fitting. This Chardonnay draws incredible mineral intensity from mature vines rooted in the extraordinary rocky, marine shale soils that define this site. The fruit comes from one of the most iconic vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills and is crafted by a winemaker with decades of experience. Under its regular label, this wine sells for $50 per bottle and has a long history of glowing critical acclaim, routinely earning 92-95 points from top publications. Stylistically, this is a leaner, mineral-driven, almost Chablis-like expression of Chardonnay, with racy acidity, bright floral and citrus notes, salty, stony minerality, hints of toasted rye and golden barley, and just a subtle framing of oak. On the palate, the wine has wonderful tension and a beautifully linear feel, carrying through to a mouthwatering finish of rock salt and citrus zest. I'm super stoked on this wine. For anyone who loves taut, mineral-driven Chardonnay rather than a richer, more opulent style, I truly think Root & Stone delivers unbeatable value.

This brand-new bottling under The Anonymous Wine Collective is just beginning to come into its own. Bottled only a few months ago, it’s really starting to shine! The wine comes from two famous, highly regarded vineyard sites in the Petaluma Gap AVA, part of the broader Sonoma Coast. This is a truly special growing region thanks to the constant cooling breezes that funnel in from the Pacific through a gap in the coastal ranges. That relentless wind plays a fundamental role in producing world-class grapes: it naturally reduces yields and concentrates flavor, slows ripening to build greater complexity while preserving natural acidity, and encourages thicker grape skins that contribute texture and structure to the finished wine. Combine all of that with the region’s rocky volcanic soils, which lend a lively mineral character, and you have the magic of Petaluma Gap. This wine had so much natural flavor and concentration that we decided nine months in mostly neutral French oak was more than enough to frame the fruit. It simply didn’t need any additional “makeup.” The quality of the vineyards and the fruit speak for themselves. The result is a classic coastal California Chardonnay, with beautifully crystalline golden orchard fruit, fresh, stony minerality, vibrant acidity, and subtle, seamlessly integrated oak nuances. Fruit from these vineyards typically goes into single-vineyard-designate wines selling for $60-$80 a bottle. By keeping the source Anonymous, we can bring it to you for just $20. Cheers!

This 100% estate grown, 100% Meunier bottling has to be tasted to be believed. No short cuts have been taken- the vines are painstakingly looked after by JB Jacquesson and the wine aged for three years on the lees with 50% reserves from the four previous years. What is the catch? There is none... We buy this direct from JB and then sell it to you. The wine is clean, full of pastry crust aromas and has a long finish that is dry but not austere. Why drink sparkling when you can drink great grower champagne?

A fresh, lifted nose shows white peach, peony and violet, wrapped in a gentle touch of sweet patisserie. The palate is generous yet poised, with fleshy apricot, chalk and a soft saline edge. It's captivating on its own, but especially alluring alongside a warm almond tart or delicate Middle Eastern pastries scented with honey and rose. (ACC)

Refined and earth-driven, showing tightly wound black-fruit aromas with underlying notes of graphite, bitter chocolate and cured meats. The palate is focused and pure with finely tuned tannins and a generous yet precise palate. A lovely wine to drink now or to cellar. Drink or hold.

There was once a time when we could have nearly anything we wanted in the wonderful Willett warehouses. Back in the day, our friends the Kulsveens didn't have every liquor store in America breaking down their doors to get a barrel of their special bourbon. Until 2012, they had sourced every drop, yet something about those special ricks on the hill behind Bardstown seemed to uniformly create exceptional whisky. Honestly, they were extremely ahead of their time in almost every aspect of their business, but when the distillery opened, the doors to those rickhouses closed. Now we're extremely lucky to get our one barrel a year. It's funny because those stocks are actually controlled by the distributor, and so while we definitely feel like we should be getting the lion's share of the barrels for K&L - after all, we were some of the first to jump on the single barrel bus long ago - it's hard to fault them for only giving us one, considering they have to split their allocations between five states and thousands of stores. But, as I am wont to do, I must push every button when there's something I love and believe my customers will benefit from owning. So the choice to pick a 15-year-old barrel as our only Willett seems easy on paper - an incredibly delicious and rare barrel from the pre-distillation sourced stock - but it was actually incredibly difficult. That's mostly because of this special barrel. This is easily the best own distillate I've yet to taste, and while I'm sure there are many other, perhaps superior, barrels distilled since they opened in 2012, this one was so perfectly balanced and delicious that it absolutely sang to me. So while I ultimately picked the 15-year, I asked Ethan - the single barrel guru at Willett - to hide this sample for a few days while I worked my magic. I began to prod and pester our distributor for an additional barrel allocation, but their hands were tied. They'd already committed every barrel, and I was one of the few in California to get access to a 15-year, so my political capital seemed to be spent. Our final option was to get to the New York market, where our newly opened store had not qualified for an allocation because we were so new to the local distributor there. I begged and pleaded, but the rules in New York are extremely strict. You simply can't be allocated a barrel if there are other accounts that qualify ahead of you. So I simply left it up to fate and begged Ethan to continue guarding that sample. In an amazing stroke of luck, not a few weeks later, I got a call from our supplier in New York saying one of our competitors had backed out of their pick and the allocation had opened up. Without hesitation, I mentioned this incredible barrel, and the rest is history. K&L's first Willett barrel in New York and one of the greatest modern Willetts I've ever tasted. Sometimes the stars align and the gods of bourbon allow you to step through the gates. I'm very lucky to have people in every aspect of this business who care about what we do. They know how much I care for them. They are the bourbon angels who made this possible. I won't go into tasting notes or anything like that here today. I've already been effusive enough, but rest assured, no one who understands the potential greatness that modern Willett can deliver will open this bottle and be disappointed. The barrel is named for the song that came on as we drove up that special drive to the legendary spot, "This Must Be the Place" by Talking Heads. It's true of Willett and that special spot at 270 Madison Ave in the great state of New York. We have arrived.

Right now we have by far the best price in the country on this Napa Valley classic! In fact we're $15 a bottle lower than the next best competitor. Thanks to some exceptionally sharp pricing, you can stock up on benchmark Napa Cabernet for literally half the regular price. Yep, $25 for legitimate Napa Valley Cabernet from the team at Louis Martini. As one of the most historic producers in the valley, Louis Martini has long been a stalwart of classically styled, structured Napa Cabernet. I’ve been lucky enough to taste Martini Cabernets going all the way back to the 1960s, and these wines helped define the very character of Napa Valley Cabernet as we know it today. The winery is state of the art, and the team is committed to the legacy of this incredible property and their role in resuscitating the domestic wine industry after prohibition. The 2022 is drinking beautifully, with the warmth of the vintage giving the fruit profile a little more generosity and immediate appeal. There’s a gorgeous mix of crushed redcurrant, ripe plum, blackberry, loamy earth, charred spice, and subtle leather. The ample fruit is nicely framed by grainy, structured tannins (perhaps from a component of mountain-grown fruit) that carry the wine through a long, satisfying finish. This has the substance and structure to drink beautifully over the next 5–6 years and likely beyond. Louis Martini's Napa Cab is already a very solid buy at its $50 SRP. At 50% off, this is one of those no-brainer Napa Cab deals you simply don’t want to miss. Buy a few for now and a few for the cellar. Cheers!

Rose, mint and a whiff of forest floor accent primary aromas of ripe red berry on the gorgeous 2021 Capalot from rising star Cristian Boffa. Made with grapes grown in the Capalot MGA in La Morra, the elegant, vibrant palate delivers ripe raspberry, succulent red cherry, cinnamon stick and licorice accompanied by taut, refined tannins. Bright acidity keeps it well balanced and loaded with energy. (KO)

Finding a properly aged Montepulciano d'Abruzzo of this pedigree is a rare thrill. While visiting one of the region’s most historic, traditional estates—a family famous for holding their top wines back for a decade or more before release—I was offered a tiny allocation of this magnificent 2011 from their personal library. The 2011 vintage was warm and generous, yielding a wine of immense concentration that has now softened into absolute elegance after years of perfect cellaring. The nose is incredibly complex, offering layers of baked blackberry, dried plum, cured tobacco, leather, and a signature hint of dark cocoa. On the palate, the once-massive tannins have melted into a velvety, seamless texture, carrying savory notes of balsamic and earth through a remarkably long, persistent finish. It is a profound, soul-stirring expression of mature Abruzzo that is fully ready to drink tonight, offering an unforgettable experience of aged Italian wine without the typical premium.

What an unbelievable deal. The Billecart family decided not to release this 2015 as cuvée Elisabeth Rosé (at more than double the price) because they don't think it will age for two full generations... To me, the only problem with this wine is that it is too delicious! I have found it to be the best 2015 vintage champagne that I have tasted period, with great complexity and depth hidden behind freshness and ease of drinking. I love the blood orange and black cherry depth from the ancient vine red that makes up 6.6% of the blend, and chalky, bright drive from the 52% of chardonnay. In the mouth, this wine has incredible texture from 100 months of ageing on the lees, and an airy ease that belies its depth. The finish is a wower, a real peacocks tail display, just as long as it is spectacular. Don't miss this one!

A huge success in the vintage is the 2015 Château Suduiraut and this gem goes a long way towards showing how successful the sweet wines were in 2015. Offering a massive array of orange peel, honey, marmalade, flowers, and toasted nuts, this incredible wine hits the palate with a thunderous display of opulence, richness, and length, all while staying fresh, elegant, and seamless. It has a huge mid-palate and is reminiscent of the 2003, only with more freshness and delineation.

The precision, hewn and cut tannins, wet stones, black tea, anis, liquorice root, bilberry and blackcurrant fruit, juicy tannins, understated power, settling in to itself at 10 years old, a superb wine that captures Margaux finesse with the more blunt power and concentration of the year.

Tasted in magnum, the nose offers yeasty bready aromas topped with fresh citrus, hints of stone fruit and strawberry tart. A palate of fresh croissants, red berries, green apple and lively lemon citrus, with the larger format lending lovely creaminess to the bright finish. Veuve Clicquot's iconic Yellow Label is a blend of 30% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Meunier and 50% Pinot Noir, which provides the cuvée's signature structure. Up to 45% reserve wines in the blend ensure consistency. (JS)

A succulent, delicious and precise brut rosé, made of chardonnay, pinot meunier and pinot noir. It has notes of wild currants, peach skin and mild spices. It’s medium-bodied and vivid with fine bubbles and plenty of succulence. Sour cherries and redcurrants on the palate. Fresh acidity and a comforting, fruity character to the delicious finish.

Elegant and spicy, with a silky texture and mouthwatering acidity and tannins. Red and black tea, savory mountain herbs, tobacco and crushed roses on the palate. Really good. Drink or hold.

Compelling smoky mineral and sultry lemon characters ebb and flow across the nose and palate with a gorgeous crunch of acidity and texture. Very long and delicious. (2024 DWWA)

"This is a very special library release. The 2016 vintage is one of the greatest of our lifetime. A forward-thinking family estate, known for their impeccably balanced and polished Barolos, agreed to release a small parcel of their classic 2016 from their cellars for us. Now with years of perfect cellaring, this wine is entering its prime. The tannins have resolved into silk, revealing complex notes of dried cherry, tar, leather, and cocoa. It is a harmonious, complete, and utterly classic Barolo that is ready to drink tonight. A rare chance to enjoy a perfectly aged wine without having to wait."