2019 Clos Sainte Magdeleine Cassis Blanc, Provence, France

The ancient fishing village of Cassis has seen its fair share of visitors over the millennia. Greek sailors from Phocaea established the nearby colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille) in the sixth century BC, bringing their viticultural savvy to the region and planting what are thought to be Provence's first vineyards. In 1936, Cassis gained the distinction of being named among France’s first official AOCs, in the elite company of Tavel and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.   

Fermented with indigeneous yeasts, and aged in stainless steel and 600L French barrels, this traditional Provencal blend - Marsanne 65%, Clairette 15%, Ugni Blanc 15%, Bourboulenc 5% - is rich and full, yet somehow light and minerally with aromas of wild flowers and herbs.   It’s incredibly food-friendly as well as delicious on its own.   

2018 Montes ‘Purple Angel’ Carmenere, Colchagua, Chile

The Carmenere grape’s origin is the Bordeaux region of France and in the last two hundred years, made its way to northern Italy, California, but its modern fame comes from the attention that the Colchagua Valley of Chile has given it.    Known as one of the best Carmeneres in the world,  the Purple Angel shows how rich, complex, and intense this grape variety can be.   

Blended with just 8% Petit Verdot for some backbone, the wine is an impressively deep purplish-red in color. The aromas are complex, with pronounced blackberry and ripe blueberry fruit. There is also dried plum, cooked cherry and candied fruit. The 18 months of aging in French oak gives a complex nose of toasted aromas, nuts, sweet spice, and touches of dairy and vanilla. On the palate, the flavors follow the aromas, with sensations of dark fruit and toast leading to a long finish that is finely balanced with good body and structure.

For those with a pension for CA Cabs and Bordeaux reds, this is the wine for you.   This will drink with a mighty fine steak but also age for another 10-20 years if you let it.   

2020 Domaine Saint Préfert Chateauneuf du Pape, Rhone Valley, France

“When I announced to my family that I wanted to become a winemaker it was like a violent thunderstorm in the sky of Provence. <> My parents' question was legitimate. But how could I explain the energy calling me to the vines, my obsession to find the rhythm of the seasons, the desire for silence, freedom, and more than anything the dream of creating. Again and again creating a new interpretation of Provençal cooking, sun drenched flavors, from the happy table of my childhood.It will be Châteauneuf du Pape or nothing!” - winemaker Isabel Ferrando

You know when you can taste the love that goes into a chef’s cooking?  Well, we felt the energy and passion in this wine and you can probably get a sense from the passage above. The sheer complexity of this bad-ass Chateauneuf cru cuvée is one of our finest young wines from the region we’ve ever tasted. 


A classic blend of 72% Grenache, 12% Cinsault, 11% Mourvedre, 2% Syrah.  Aged in large amphorae and barrel.   Raspberries, cassis, cured meats, graphite, and pink and purple flowers.   Rich, powerful, and really hard not to pair with a nice lamb shank or one of the best gourmet burgers you’d concoct in your wildest dreams. 

2011 J. Lasalle ‘Cuvée Angeline’ 1er Cru Brut, Champagne, France

In 1942, Kermit was the first to begin importing artisanal, grower Champagne, and the Lassalles have been in the KLWM portfolio longer than anyone. Champagne J. Lassalle works with all three varietals authorized in the region (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier) on sixteen hectares of vineyards, all of them premier cru. These tough, hardworking women continue to follow the vinification methods established by Jules in the forties: they use the same wooden basket press he installed in the winery over fifty years ago, pressing and vinifying the individual plots separately.

This Cuvée Angeline - 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay - is only made in the best of years.   It is aged a minimum of 7 years on the lees before disgorgement and has 8 g/L of dosage. It’s a beautiful, tight-knit expression of the clay/limestone terroir, with a delicate mousse that caresses your palate.  Asian pear, almond, lemon pith, minerally chalk and saline weave throughout.   

Pair this with a decadent lobster mac & cheese, fish with buttery sauces, foie gras, gourmet potato chips, and believe it or not, a nice steak!