K&L Top Ten Picks: March 2023

Hand-Picked, Over-Delivering Selections from Across the Globe... Monday Mar 13th, 2023 [View in Browser]( [KL-emailheader.gif]( K&L's Top Ten Selections: March 2023 --------------------------------------------------------------- [Our monthly Top Ten]( represents our finest offerings that we believe deliver the absolute best character and style for their prices. No matter your tastes, preferences, or budget, you'll find something to capture your interest and take your wine and spirits experience to a new level. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Dominus Estate]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Vintage Item Name Score Retail Link 2020 Domaine Roche Cairanne 92 $16.99 [View]( 2021 Capiaux "Chimera" Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (Elsewhere $36) 94 $29.95 [View]( 2021 Domaine de la Mordorée "La Reine des Bois" Tavel Rosé 94 $29.99 [View]( 2019 Beringer "Private Reserve" Napa Valley Chardonnay 95 $32.95 [View]( 2019 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco 95 $39.99 [View]( 2001 Barde Haut, St-Émilion (Elsewhere $80) 95 $49.99 [View]( 2013 Launois "Special Club" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne $64.99 [View]( 2019 Dominus "Napanook" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend 96 $89.95 [View]( 2016 Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac 97 $99.99 [View]( Clear Creek McCarthy's 6 Year Old "K&L Exclusive" Cask Strength Single Barrel #367 Peated Single Malt Oregon Whiskey (750ml) $109.99 [View]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [2020 Domaine Roche Cairanne]( Domaine Roche Cairanne]( ($16.99) 90-92 points Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2020 Cairanne shows the more elegant, charming, pretty style of this appellation, revealing notes of Provençal garrigue, violets, candied strawberries, and black raspberries. Medium-bodied, seamless, and downright pretty, it's going to drink nicely right out of the gate and put a smile on your face over the coming 5-7 years." (01/2022) K&L Notes: The Cairanne is a blend of Grenache (planted in the 1950s and '60s), Syrah (planted in the '70s), and Carignan (planted in the '50s). The wine is fermented in concrete tanks and aged in a mix of concrete tanks and oak barrels. The wine is 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah, with the Grenache aging in concrete tanks for 8 to 10 months and the Syrah aging in barrels and demi-muids for the same duration. --------------------------------------------------------------- [2021 Capiaux "Chimera" Russian River Valley Pinot Noir]( Capiaux "Chimera" Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (Elsewhere $36)]( ($29.95) 94 points Vinous: "The 2021 Pinot Noir Chimera is a rich, heady wine. A burst of dark red cherry, plum, lavender, rose petal and blood orange are all dialed up. This bold, generous Pinot delivers the goods, big time. It's a fabulous entry-level offering from Sean Capiaux, if that term can even be used here. The Chimera is mostly young vines from Starscape, with dollops from Widdoes, Pisoni and Garys. Sean Capiaux's 2021 Pinot Noirs are impressive. They are the best wines I have ever tasted here. The 2021s offer a combination of fruit density and vibrancy that is absolutely compelling. This is a special vintage for Capiaux. (AG)" (01/2023) Woodhouse]( | K&L Domestic Buyer | Review Date: February 09, 2023 Sean Capiaux's Chimera bottling is consistently one of the best examples of Russian River Pinot Noir you'll find regardless of price. It always over-delivers on value and is a staff and customer favorite alike. Sourced largely from Starscape Vineyard in the heavily coastal-influenced, western part of the region, and the famed Widdoes Vineyard (farmed by DuMOL). These 45-year old vines provide a deep, powerful core to the wine, melding with dark cherry compote, black raspberry, sassafras, earthy spices, leaf litter, and freshly turned soil. A bold, expressive style with rich textures and great density to the fruit. This is always one of my most highly recommended Pinot Noirs, and it's great to see it once again being recognized with glowing press from a top critic. Moses]( | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: February 08, 2023 A go-to from vintage to vintage for a structured Russian River Pinot, this wine is threaded with minerality in a way that harkens to Burgundy, but with a richness of fruit that keeps its Russian River roots front and center. Red raspberry and black pepper aromas lead to a palate that is lined with blackberry, orange rind, baking spices, and fruit-coated tannins culminating in a spice-lined finish. It is a great intro to the 2021 Sonoma vintage that will be up there with some of the best, and another reason why Capaiux stands tall for top-class value from vintage to vintage. This is one that does wonders in a decanter at this stage, but would be awesome to check in on over the years to come. --------------------------------------------------------------- [2021 Domaine de la Mordorée "La Reine des Bois" Tavel Rosé]( Domaine de la Mordorée "La Reine des Bois" Tavel Rosé]( ($29.99) 94 points Wine Enthusiast: "A powerful core of black cherry and plum flavors reverberates throughout this profoundly ripe, stately wine that's anchored in minerality and freshness. A Grenache-based blend of both red and white regional grapes, it's a deeply extracted, garnet-hued rosé that truly straddles the lines between red and white winemaking. Framed with tea tannins, it's a satisfying year-round sip that will hold well into 2024. (AI)" (05/2022) 93 points Decanter: "A little paler in colour than usual, this has a spicy note to the blood orange aromas and a slightly musky scent. Full-bodied, powerful, there's a touch of grip on the tongue that adds texture and interest, and a long finish. Plenty to enjoy here, this will last. Also contains 10% Clairette. The estate is now run by Ambre Delorme, a biodynamic evangelist who has led the estate to Demeter certification. (MW)" (09/2022) 92 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Lastly, the smaller production 2021 Tavel La Reine De Bois comes from more pebbly soils (the base Tavel is more sandy soils), and while it's not as powerful as some of the past vintages, it nevertheless has remarkable purity, precision, and elegance, with beautiful notes of framboise, honeyed flowers, spice, and crushed stone. Rosé doesn't get much better in my opinion, and this is Tavel at its most elegant and seamless." (11/2022) 92 points James Suckling: "This Tavel rosé has a stunning nose of ripe cherries and summer flowers! This manages to be simultaneously be mouth-filling, silky and crisp. I love the mineral freshness that drives the long finish. A blend dominated by grenache and clairette." (02/2022) Pross]( | K&L France Buyer | Review Date: February 16, 2023 The flagship offering by Domaine de la Mordorée is an absolute rockstar wine in this 2021 vintage. A bold, rich pink color hints at what is awaiting you in the bottle with brilliant red berry fruit, spice, minerality and a wealth of tannins give this wine a full-bodied, complex and layered feel that allows this wine to pair marvelously with most cuisines or as an aperitif to start the meal. Fans of Clos Cibonne should take note here, this wine has the same mouthfeel and depth you crave from Clos Cibonne but wrapped up in a Tavel package for a discount. Schroeder]( | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: February 16, 2023 La Reine des Bois comes from a single, organic vineyard and is the top offering from Domaine de la Mordorée in the Rhône Valley. It is as serious as rosé gets in term of complexity, balance, and precision but is still incredibly refreshing and almost too easy to drink. Feel free to throw this in the cellar—this is one of the few rosés that gets better with age. --------------------------------------------------------------- [2019 Beringer "Private Reserve" Napa Valley Chardonnay]( [2019 Beringer "Private Reserve" Napa Valley Chardonnay]( ($32.95) 95 points James Suckling: "Aromas of cooked apple, mango, lemon curd, praline and toffee. Its full-bodied with crisp acidity and a dense, creamy texture. Flavorful with a solid core of ripe fruit and toasted nuts. Rich and generous. Solid structure." (01/2021) 94 points Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2019 Chardonnay Private Reserve is certainly the richest and most opulent of the whites here, although it shows a fresher, less oaky, toasty character than older vintages (which I think is what theyre looking for). Impressive stone fruits, white flowers, orange blossom, toasted almond, and a touch of minerality all define the bouquet, and this beauty builds nicely, offering full-bodied richness, a layered, opulent texture, terrific balance, and a great finish." (01/2021) 92 points Vinous: "The 2019 Chardonnay Private Reserve, all from Gamble Ranch, balances the natural richness of this Oakville site with the fresher style favored by Beringer today. All of that yields a wonderfully expressive, creamy Chardonnay long on class and personality. Light tropical and pastry notes linger. (AG)" (01/2021) --------------------------------------------------------------- [2019 Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco]( Giuseppe Cortese Barbaresco]( ($39.99) 95 points Wine Enthusiast: "Fragrant purple flower, red berry and wild herb aromas mingle in the glass together with a whiff of camphor. Tightly wound and linear, the youthfully austere palate shows crushed raspberry, Marasca cherry and star anise framed in taut, tightly knit tannins and bright acidity. *Editors' Choice* (KO)" (09/2022) 94 points Wine Spectator: "A pretty red, this boasts strawberry, cherry, raspberry and rose aromas and flavors aligned to an elegant profile. Firm and intense, with a long, detailed aftertaste of fruit, rosemary and mineral accents. (BS)" (01/2023) 92 points James Suckling: "Lovely aromas of strawberry, cherry and orange leaf. Medium-bodied with fine and polished tannins and pretty tension and focus. Needs a year or two to open, but already attractive." (10/2022) 92 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "Here's a good value from Piedmont. The Giuseppe Cortese 2019 Barbaresco is fine and silky with determined aromas of dried fruit, pressed rose, licorice and crushed stone. The wine shows classic Nebbiolo aromas in a simple manner and with just enough complexity to underline the distinct personality of this special grape. (ML)" (08/2022) 92 points Vinous: "The 2019 Barbaresco is classy, elegant and polished. In other words, everything Barbaresco can and should be. Rose petal, bright red fruit, orange peel and cinnamon all grace this exquisite Barbaresco from Cortese. The straight Barbaresco is a blend taken from Trifolera and declassified lots of Rabajà . It spent 18 months in cask. It's a gorgeous wine in every way. (AG)" (09/2022) 92 points Wine & Spirits: "A brawny and muscular take on Barbaresco, this wine's dark cherry flavors feel dense and extracted, the fruit tones balanced by earthy and savory notes as well as hints of scrubby herbs." (12/2022) Moses]( | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: January 03, 2023 The wines of Giuseppe Cortese were some of my first tastes of Barbaresco, so it's great to visit an old favorite and see such impressive results in 2019. Based in the heart of Rabajà , their signature label has long been one of the great values from this famed cru. Their new non-cru Barbaresco still contains a good amount of the flagship Rabajà , but also takes advantage of the neighboring Trifolera in one of the most noteworthy hills of the Langhe. The 2019 at this address delivers quintessential Nebbiolo, with enticing floral, red plum, and licorice aromas. The palate is graceful, with plenty of sour cherry and burnt orange, with a lightweight texture that frames compact but integrated tannins and delivers a ton of flavor. There's a touch of spice on a lingering finish. This is a wine that speaks to the royalty and elegance of Barbaresco, and does so at a remarkable price. --------------------------------------------------------------- [2001 Barde Haut, St-Emilion (Elsewhere $80)]( Barde Haut, St-Emilion (Elsewhere $80)]( ($49.99) 95 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Even better, the 2001 Château Barde-Haut offers a full-bodied, beautifully textured style on the palate as well as incredibly complex notes of blackcurrants, chocolate, tobacco, and Asian spices. With resolved tannins, a great mid-palate, and a concentrated, rich, powerful style, it's another 2001 that's drinking brilliantly today." (03/2020) Beffa, Jr.]( | K&L Bordeaux Buyer | Review Date: August 12, 2021 From one of our favorite vintages and definitely one of our favorite producers. Hélène Garçin-Leveque and husband Patrice have fashioned many great value vintages at Barde Haut. This twenty-year-old beauty has some olive aromas mixed with a bit of toasty oak. Black fruit flavors. Fine acid balance and soft, ripe tannins. Perfect with rack of lamb. Moreira]( | K&L Bordeaux Specialist | Review Date: March 14, 2022 Every once in a while we have a wine that is perfectly aged with an affordable price and above all, of exceptional character. The 2001 Barde-Haut ticks all these boxes. From an often overlooked vintage, which in a way is a good thing, as prices stay down. It is drinking beautifully, and very elegantly. If you are looking for a classic aged Bordeaux, I wholeheartedly propose this bottle. --------------------------------------------------------------- [2013 Launois "Special Club" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne (Ships as a 1.5L Due to Bottle Size/Shape)]( Launois "Special Club" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne]( ($64.99) *PLEASE NOTE: Due to bottle shape and size, this product ships as a 1.5L Magnum. [gary.gif]( Westby]( | K&L Champagne Buyer | Review Date: July 22, 2021 Without a doubt, this is one of the best Champagnes we carry at any price. This is made from the Launois "mother vines" — the massal-selected old vines planted from 1947-1953 on the best mid-slope sites of their Grands Cru vineyards in Mesnil, Oger, and Cramant. This is the very last vintage of Special Club that the Launois family will make, and they have gone out with a bang! This shows off how well Chardonnay did in 2013, with pinpoint focus and a display of chalk that is hard to find in any other bottling, but at the same time it remains creamy and generous. The 2013 vintage was a late one and, like in Burgundy, a huge success for Chardonnay. This wine is a masterpiece that offers not only open, white flower aromatics and perfect, silky texture from a tiny bead of bubbles, but also a laser-like, bone-dry, nearly infinite finish that shows off the pure chalk of these priceless vineyards. This is drinking so well right now when paired with shellfish or a sushi dinner and will evolve for decades in a good cellar. --------------------------------------------------------------- [2019 Dominus "Napanook" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend]( Dominus "Napanook" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend]( ($89.95) 96 points James Suckling: "An open and beautiful wine with green-olive and currant aromas and flavors. Some bark and earth, too, together with mushrooms, herbs, crushed stones and pomegranate. Medium to full body with round, creamy tannins and refined finish. Blood orange at the end. Crunchy. So drinkable now, but will age beautifully." (03/2022) 93 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "Exuberantly fruity on the nose, the 2019 Napanook is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Despite seeing 40% new French oak, what shines on the nose are the ripe cherries, delicately brushed with wisps of tobacco, sage and bay leaf. It's medium to full-bodied, supple and silky in feel on the palate, while the finish lingers easily, adding notes of pencil shavings and mocha. To get this sort of pedigree for less than $100 is a rarity in Napa these days, making it a notable value. (JC)" (05/2022) Woodhouse]( | K&L Domestic Buyer | Review Date: September 21, 2022 In a truly stacked line up (2019/2018/2010/2006 Dominus), the 2019 Napanook really held its own! In fact, the purity of fruit was really quite striking. Despite being one-third the price of the flagship wine, Napanook shares many of the qualities of its high-end stablemate. Sourced from the same singular estate, grown and made with the same exacting attention to detail as the grand vin. I think Napanook is one of the very best deals in all of Napa Valley. Immediately accessible today, but probably ten years of potential in the cellar too. Moses]( | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: September 13, 2022 Anybody who needs a quick reminder about why many consider Napanook to be one of Napa's greatest collectible buys just needs to spend a few minutes with a glass of the 2019. Composed, layered, juicy, and generous, it carries that slight savory note that is more unmistakable in the grand vin, but many will greatly enjoy the relative accessibility of the Napanook. Waves of black and red fruit lead to ripe but balanced and fine tannins, with a finish that is lifted by a lingering acidity. Crafted from the same exact vines as the flagship $300 release (just the other side of the rows), Napanook is dynamic, full of character, and flat-out delicious. --------------------------------------------------------------- [2016 Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac]( Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac (Pre-Arrival)]( ($99.99) 97 points Neal Martin - Vinous: "The 2016 Grand Puy-Lacoste has a clean, precise bouquet with nicely detailed blackberry, briar and tobacco aromas, touches of mint emerging with time, all utterly charming. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity, conveying a sense of symmetry throughout and leading into a deft, quite persistent finish. This is very classy, and it should age with style." (08/2020) 97 points Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux: "Inky red in colour, the fruits are concentrated and knitted down and need some coaxing out of the glass to really open up—make sure you carafe this even if leaving for another few years, and enthusiastically swirl to let that oxygen in. As it opens you start to appreciate just how great this wine is—so balanced, so Pauillac, feathered but rich tannins, zero dip through the mid-palate, black truffle, graphite and pencil lead set against cassis, cassis, and a little more cassis. The tertiary flavours won't come in for at least another decade, because everything here is so concentrated. Everything that you love about Grand Puy Lacoste is right here in this glass, and a vintage that shows what truly ripe fruits brings to Cabernet Sauvignon." (09/2021) 97 points James Suckling: "A neoclassical edition of Grand-Puy-Lacoste, this has cedar, graphite, deeply integrated cedar and spicy-oak influence and a very fresh array of ripe blackberries, dark cherries and cassis. The palate is so seamless. It builds beautifully and delivers a long, seamless array of perfectly ripe dark fruit, swathed in fine, firm, ascending layers of tannins. As good as we have seen in recent vintages, this is a star of the vintage." (02/2019) 95+ points Antonio Galloni - Vinous: "The 2016 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a powerful, exciting wine. That is the good news. But readers are going to have to be patient, as the 2016 shows very little of the upfront appeal that was so evident when it was in barrel. In the glass, the 2016 is sumptuous, vivid and incredibly detailed, with generous super-ripe red fruit and floral notes that develop with time. The wine's concentration and vibrancy lead me to think it will enjoy a very long life. Wow!" (1/2019) Moses]( | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: May 09, 2022 This expresses pure Pauillac in a way that classic claret fans will undoubtedly adore. Pure cassis, graphite, and cedar highlight expressive aromas that develop beautifully with some air. On the palate, it is elegant, but there's a density that hints at depth that will unfold over time. It is mouth-coating, but never heavy. Laden with deep red fruits and a silky texture, fine tannins surround a long finish. It needs a good decant to show its stuff now but is showing its pedigree without a doubt. This is a quintessential example of classicism in modern Bordeaux, and it's only getting better from here. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Clear Creek McCarthy's 6 Year Old "K&L Exclusive" Cask Strength Single Barrel #367 Peated Single Malt Oregon Whiskey (750ml)]( Creek McCarthy's 6 Year Old "K&L Exclusive" Cask Strength Single Barrel #367 Peated Single Malt Oregon Whiskey (750ml)]( ($109.99) K&L Notes: This wonderful barrel of whisky was distilled on January 4th, 2016 at the original Clear Creek facility in Portland before being filled into refill Oregon oak at a filling proof of 55% ABV. Like all McCarthy's Whisky, it was double distilled on small copper pots from heavily peated Scottish barley, fermented naturally, and bottled without the use of additives or chill-filtration. The barrel would have been transferred shortly after filling to the new Hood River distillery, where it aged for more than six years in the unique Cascadian climate. Harvested on August 29th, 2022, it rested in tank for an additional two months before bottling on October 10th, 2022. Hand-selected by K&L's Spirits Buyers, this is one of the few true cask-strength single barrels ever to make it to our shelves and easily one of the most special. McCarthy's does an incredible job to produce whisky of great complexity and maturity at a young age, and this is pushing the limits of the oldest we've ever come across. Showing powerful smoke and a zesty, cleansing oceanic character balanced by a sweet malty core, no Islay drinker will be able resist this special cask-strength single barrel from one of the America's original craft distillers. A true gem by any measure! Othenin-Girard]( | K&L Spirits Buyer | Review Date: February 22, 2023 This wonderful cask strength single barrel from the excellent Clear Creek distillery in Hood River, Oregon represents the legacy of one of the most important and skilled craft distillers in the U.S. Sadly, the legend himself Steve McCarthy passed away on January 2nd. His bold and innovative distillery would set the stage for a craft distilling revolution, and his exceptional single-malt whiskey has been sold at K&L since its release decades ago. His big idea was to take peat-smoked malted barley from the great malters in Scotland and distill this excellent barley on his tiny pot stills. Then he'd age it in Oregon oak. One of the founders of the American Single Malt category, we've always loved Steve and when he stepped away from the business, we knew he'd chosen an excellent steward to continue his legacy. Hood River Distillers has kept the brand going providing much needed capital and expanding their selection to include a 6-year-old offering. Now we're finally able to select cask-strength, single-barrel 6-year-olds, and they're just as amazing as you'd expect. This cask is one of the very last to be distilled in the original Clear Creek facility in Portland before the brand (and all the barrels) were moved to the new, larger facility in Hood River. While it was aged in fourth-fill barrels, the Garryana is still incredibly prominent yet exceptionally well-integrated. Let's taste it! The color is an attractive, deep gold. The nose is a perfect explosion of dense peat smoke, complex ocean character, dense herbal oak, and malty sweetness. With air, the complexity continues to expand into hints of salted fish, Sharpie marker, tanned hide, camphor, lanolin, citrus oil, and Velcro. On the palate, it's exceptionally sweet with powerful lemon oils, licorice bark, sweet smoke, bunches of fresh green herbs, and an almost Ardbeg-like white smoke. With a drop of water, it adds a sweet, honeyed character, greengage, gooseberry, roasted espresso bean, still some Sharpie, and clean background smoke. On the palate, by contrast, more peat than before, a zingy ocean minerality, and some wildly exotic spices round out the long, satisfying finish. This is an absolutely exceptional cask that captures the essence of McCarthy's and turns everything up to the maximum without being overwhelming. A fitting sendoff to the great man that captured our hearts and palates for decades. This one is for you, Steve. 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