K&L’s Monthly Newsletter—Featuring 2018 Bordeaux

A close look at a truly spectacular vintage... Monday Jun 3rd, 2019 [View in Browser]( [KL-emailheader.gif]( in at an impressive sixteen pages, [this month’s newsletter]( is among the most comprehensive assessments of the 2018 Bordeaux vintage to date. This past April, our buying team visited scores of producers and négociants over the course of eight days, exploring what Neal Martin of Vinous describes as “one of the most dramatic growing seasons in recent memory.” While the jury may still be out on the 2018s as a whole, early indications suggest it is on par with such celebrated vintages as 1989, 2009, 2010, and 2016. From the Medoc to Graves, Fronsac to St-Emilion, our team found a seemingly endless bounty of exceptional wines in a range of styles and prices. In an inversion of the classic saying, we’ve described the vintage as “a velvet fist in an iron glove” in an attempt to capture the dual nature of the wines—deliciously sweet and ripe fruit framed by firm tannins and well-defined structure. These are age-worthy wines that will show their best with some cellaring, where the reward of patience will be immeasurable. While we are still early in the en primeur campaign, we are relieved to find that prices are nowhere near 2009 and 2010 levels. Given this, 2018 will afford collectors no shortage of opportunities to secure world-class wines at very approachable prices. Keep in mind though that demand is high, with many of the vintage’s top first tranche releases selling out immediately. In [this newsletter]( and highlighted below are some of our top picks from this very special vintage. Please note that all 2018s listed are futures and will arrive in mid-2021. Now is the best time in the campaign to secure large formats of any of the wines, so please contact us directly if you see an available wine and need us to secure it in a different format. Also keep an eye on the website and your e-mail for upcoming releases. Beyond the set you see below, we expect to see some of the biggest wines of the campaign to release in the next few weeks, including the First Growths and names like Ducru-Beaucaillou, Pichon-Lalande, Léoville-Las Cases, Cheval Blanc, and more. Also, make sure to check a [full listing of our past vintage reports](. Top Values Many are quick to note that there's no better place to look for value than in Bordeaux. Considering the unprecedented amount of acclaimed wines in the sub-$50 range in this Bordeaux campaign, it is hard to argue the point. The stunning duo from Labégorce and Marquis d'Alesme lead the way from Margaux, while two of modern Bordeaux's great champions shine in St-Emilion with another reference-point Tour St-Christophe and Barde-Haut. Saint-Estèphe was arguably the top region in 2018, and Capbern shows why, and at an extremely reasonable price to boot Vintage Item Name Score Retail Link 2018 Capbern, St-Estèphe (Pre-Arrival) 94 $24.99 [View]( 2018 Tour St-Christophe, St-Emilion (Pre-Arrival) 97 $29.99 [View]( 2018 Laroque, Saint Emilion (Pre-Arrival) 97 $29.99 [View]( 2018 Labégorce, Margaux (Pre-Arrival) 96 $29.99 [View]( 2018 Siran, Margaux (Pre-Arrival) 95 $29.99 [View]( 2018 Sansonnet, St-Emilion (Pre-Arrival) 96 $36.99 [View]( 2018 Barde-Haut, St-Emilion (Pre-Arrival) 96 $39.99 [View]( 2018 Marquis d'Alesme, Margaux (Pre-Arrival) 97 $44.99 [View]( Best Buys Of what has been released so far, Saint-Julien steals the show for us in this range that includes more affordable renditions of classified growths and other big names. Branaire-Ducru made a take-notice rendition of their Grand Vin that should be on any collector's radar, while Léoville-Barton crafted an absolute classic. Outside of Saint-Julien, one of our personal favorites is La Gaffelière, which shares a border with Ausone and made the most of their terroir in a sharply priced '18. Malescot-St-Exupery also made another tremendous wine in the vintage, continuing an unbelievable run from the humble estate. Vintage Item Name Score Retail Link 2018 Branaire-Ducru, St-Julien (Pre-Arrival) 97 $54.99 [View]( 2018 Malescot-St-Exupéry, Margaux (Pre-Arrival) 98 $57.99 [View]( 2018 Beau-Séjour Bécot, St-Emilion (Pre-Arrival) 99 $64.99 [View]( 2018 La Gaffelière, St. Emilion (Pre-Arrival) 97 $69.99 [View]( 2018 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge, Pessac-Léognan (Pre-Arrival) 100 $79.99 [View]( 2018 Léoville-Barton, St-Julien (Pre-Arrival) 99 $89.99 [View]( 2018 CCanon-la-Gaffelière, St-Emilion (Pre-Arrival) 98 $89.99 [View]( Collectibles Some top properties produced wines that will rival their top vintages. Jeb Dunnuck compared 2018 Léoville-Poyferré to their 2009, a wine that's infamous for its 100-point score and routinely sells for multiples of this sub-$100 mark. Pontet-Canet lost 70% of their harvest, and the wine has quickly become a prized bottling due to its rarity and the sheer quality of what they did produce. Palmer was equally afflicted, but crafted a wine that they compare to their all-time best vintages. Vintage Item Name Score Retail Link 2018 Léoville-Poyferré, St-Julien (Pre-Arrival) 99 $94.99 [View]( 2018 Lynch-Bages, Pauillac (Pre-Arrival) 99 $129.99 [View]( 2018 Pontet-Canet, Pauillac (Pre-Arrival) 99 $129.99 [View]( 2018 Hosanna, Pomerol (Pre-Arrival) 99 $189.99 [View]( 2018 La Mondotte, St-Emilion (Pre-Arrival) 99 $229.99 [View]( 2018 Palmer, Margaux (Pre-Arrival) 100 $349.99 [View]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [New Feed]( [Auction]( [Local]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [On the Trail (K&L Blog)]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [BORDEAUX]( | [NAPA]( | [BURGUNDY]( | [CHAMPAGNE]( | [ITALY]( | [RHÔNE]( | [SPIRITS]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [My Account]( | [Wine Clubs]( | [Events]( |[Gift Cards]( | [Accessories]( | [Delivery]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Missed an offer? 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