The Clyde
Château Verdignan
Haut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend 2003
Kalinda
Lot 2 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Don’t walk, run to buy at least a case of the 16 Napa Lot 2 Kalinda Cabernet. At $22 a bottle, it’s delicious at pop & pour (not to try & sound like @Paul Treadway Huntington Beacher Bum) and I can’t wait to experience it’s rounded complexity in 5-7 to years.
I don’t know which Napa producers juice K&L Wine Merchants bottled or had make their 2016 but, it’s delicious. They’ve bottled a Kalinda Cabernet every year since 1984 and have not missed on any bottling that wasn’t worth two or three times + what I paid for it. The 16 is absolutely one of their best.
On the nose, ripe & slightly candied; kirsch cherries, blackberries, dark cherries, poached strawberries, some plum and hues of blueberries. Incense, bright vanillin, cinnamon, clove, smoke, dark, moist soil, limestone minerals and bright dark, red & blue florals.
The body is rich and leaning towards full. Tannins are dusty big. The length, tension, structure and balance are beautiful now and will evolve over the next ten years. Kirsch cherries, dark cherries, blackberries, blueberries, plum, strawberries, big vanillin cream, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, incense, dark spice with heat, licorice/cola, limestone minerals, crushed rocks, dark, rich moist soils, soft leather, wood shavings, cigar, bright, dark & red bright florals, waterfall acidity and a very, rich, long, elegant, well polished & balanced finish that lasts minutes. A steal @ $22. Don’t miss it.
Photos of, the K&L tasting bar in San Francisco, racks of wine in their SF store, Owner of K&L-Clyde Beffa and the marquee Napa sign all tourist stop to take a photo. — 6 years ago
Château Haut-Bailly
La Parde de Haut Bailly Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2016
Haut-Bailly Dinner in SF with Veronique Sanders of Haut-Bailly.
The La Parde is fresh, bright, ripe, dark fruit & easy to drink young. The La Parde will be renamed as Haut-Bailly II with the release of the 2018 vintage. They are also releasing a third wine Haut-Bailly III and a Rosé wine beginning with their 2019 vintage.
Served with Gnocchi a la Parisienne. The best Gnocchi we’ve had outside of Italy @Mathilde French Bistro
Wine will improve 2-3 points with 7-10 more years in bottle.
Photos of; Clyde Beffa Owner of K&L Wine Merchants & Veronique Sanders, dinner menu & pairing & dinner guests.
— 4 years ago
Château Pontet-Canet
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2013
Pontet Canet tasting and dinner with Alfred Tesseron.
The 13 was a brutal tannin vintage when I tasted it at En Premier. The tannins are still bitty but, nothing like they were out of barrel.
The fruit in the 13 shows the difficulty in the vintage. They are duller and it’s really stands out from other vintages and not in a good way.
It’s lean and there is nothing that really draws you in. Fruits are; dark cherries, rhubarb, blackberries, some blueberries@and the strawberries show some ripeness the other do not. Lots of dry earth, dry stones, some herbs, dark withering florals, decent acidity and a uneventful dry finish.
Photos of; Clyde and Alfred at the bar, their Amphora style cement tanks they ferment part of each vintage now, road signs of the good neighbors they keep and Chateau Pontet Canet. — 5 years ago
Buffalo Trace Distillery
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
I like this better than Clyde Mays which is my second favorite — 5 years ago
Clyde Park Vineyard
Millie's Block Bannockburn Chardonnay 2006
It held beautifully
Great balance
I Just think the wine didn’t have so much to say
Very enjoyable though 👌 — 6 years ago
Château Haut-Bailly
Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2010
Haut-Bailly Dinner in SF with Veronique Sanders of Haut-Bailly.
The 2010 is an excellent vintage but, it is for the later part of your life or your children.
This is drinking beautifully with a 4 hour decant. The structure & tension are just starting to their softening stage. The length and balance are in the forget about it range and will just get better & better. Ripe, stunning fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, plum & a touch of blue fruits. Moist clay & top soils, stones, mint, graphite, fresh tobacco, dark cola, anise to black licorice with stunning, withering floral bouquet. Acidity is perfect. The finish is everything you want in a Bordeaux.
Definitely a 99-100 point wine in 15 years plus.
Served with the Cheese Plate; Red Hawk, Hop Along & Roquefort. @Mathilde French Bistro
Photos of; Clyde Beffa Owner of K&L Wine Merchants & Veronique Sanders, dinner menu & pairing, Veronique talking terroir/vintages & dinner guests. — 4 years ago
Conecuh Ridge
Clyde May's Straight Bourbon Whisky 1946
Grey Stack Rosemarys Block is in Jersey still. For $22.00 its one of the best SB I’ve had, drinks at double the price
Château Cos d'Estournel
Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1990
The reason I fell in love with Bordeaux is because I had one of the greatest mentors one could have, Clyde Beffa Jr. - Owner of K&L Wine Merchants. I could never thank him enough or show enough gratitude for the kindness he has shown me. He has been going to Bordeaux multiple times a year for 40 plus years and shown me the greatness of well made Bordeaux’s enjoyed at the age of 25 years plus!
Many who open well made Bordeaux’s young will never know the absolute Heaven they bring to the palate and even more so with a great steak. You only rob yourself of perfection when you open them inside of 25 years. Sure you can check em at 10-15 years for longevity but, you need to have/save bottles for 25 years plus.
Also, an old Bordeaux at 95 is not nearly the same as a young 95. At this age, technical scores are simply not the same as young wine. The enjoyment is completely different.
The nose reveals; a slight touch of funk, dark, ripe, currants, blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, strawberries on the edge of the glass, anise, cedar, graphite, used leather, just a whiff of green pepper, vanilla, caramel, mocha, dark Asian spice, incense, dark & mid berry cola, dark, rich earth, underbrush, limestone, dry stone, hint of sweet tarriness, light, dry herbaceousness, black tea, with dry, withering, fresh, dark, red, blue candied flowers and violets and lavender for days.
The body is round, soft and full. The 90 is the definition of elegant and floral. The structure, tension, length and balance are perfect with another 5-10 years of pleasure to give. It’s gorgeous and sexy. Dark, ripe, currants, blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, some blueberries, strawberries on the long set, anise, cedar, graphite, soft, used leather, vanilla, caramel, mocha, dark chocolate, salted, milk chocolate, dark Asian spice with just a touch of palate heat, a hint of green pepper, savory meats, incense, dark & mid berry cola, dark, rich earth, underbrush, limestone, dry crushed minerals, dry stone, hint of sweet tarriness, light, dry herbaceousness, black tea, with dry, withering, fresh, dark, red, blue candied flowers and violets and lavender for days. The acidity is perfect like a warm gentle rain shower. The finish is a “forget about it.” It’s; gorgeous, sexy, lush, ripe, just the right amount of earthiness, elegant, well balanced and will persist until you go to sleep.
13% ABV. I sure miss the 12–13% ABV of the 80 & early 90 Bordeaux’s.
Photos of; the majestic Chateau Cos d’Estournel and Estate vines, their barrel room with translucent floor to walk above, their library cellar that most would love to raid and their sitting salon.
— 5 years ago
David T
Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator
I have mentally thought about doing this post for quite awhile. Opening this 2003 Verdignan brought on the appropriate moment. I am a believer in paying respects and it’s the basis of this post.
We learn to drink certain wines from the regions we live near or from the people we learn & enjoy wine with as we walk the road to understanding what we really enjoy. I started as an exclusive CA Chardonnay drinker for many years before moving on to nearly every varietal and regions offer. Next was Napa Cabernets which, led me to my true love, red Bordeaux. It was a bit of curve getting there but, once I had them with proper aging, I was hooked for life.
While my curiosity got me to Bordeaux wines, there one person that helped shape my Bordeaux palate and I agreed with more than anyone else’s, including every well known wine critics at that time and even today after spending 10 weeks learning from several Master Sommeliers on my way to passing the Court of Master Sommeliers exam and becoming a Sommelier myself. This person is Clyde Beffa Jr., Owner of K&L Wine Merchants.
Clyde has been traveling to Bordeaux for over 40 years and sometimes multiple times in a year. His palate and experience are second to none. Especially, when it comes to Bordeaux.
I owe him a lot. He taught me the importance of letting good Bordeaux’s age 20 years plus. What were the jewel value producers. Brought in Bordeaux wines direct from the Chateaus that had 10 years of bottle age and older. Bordeaux’s that critics did not like young but, he knew something special had taken place over time as he was tasting them much later in their lives and often. I bought and drank a lot of these wines. They also kept temptation at bay in me reaching for my too young and more expensive wines.
He is very kind and kind enough to allow me to travel with him & key staffers to the 2014 En Premier to taste what was a very difficult 2013 Bordeaux vintage. You can go to En Premier and then there is going with Clyde. You have all the key appointments, Chateau accommodations/dinners and taste somewhere around 1500 plus wines in 6 days. He is loved by the Bordelais and for good reason.
So, I dedicate this post to him. He is the one who told me to buy this little known 2003 Verdignan at the same “Affordable Bordeaux Tasting” I mentioned in my Chateau de Candale post on Friday. As of Friday, that was the wine of the tasting. Well…until I coravined this slowly over the weekend. This 2003 was under $25 and it is one of the very best Bordeaux’s I had in some time. As well, perhaps the best QPR in my over 20 years collecting wine. Clyde knew that day just how good it would become. He said, forget about this for 20 years. So, I am a little early here.
Clyde has recommended more great Bordeaux’s to me that most people don’t hear about, let alone try. He told me to buy the poorly reviewed 91 Pichon Lalande when he brought more into the store seven years ago Chateau direct. It was a very difficult vintage with spring frost, hail storm and a difficult growing season. He described as “Heaven in a Bottle” and It most certainly the case. To this day, Pichon Lalande is my favorite steak wine and the 91 is still my favorite vintage. I purchased a 3L from him recently that he brought in direct from the Chateau for my 60th next year. Can’t wait to open that with our good friends and celebrate.
As for the Verignan, the nose reveals; dark brooding & slightly bake fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, black plum, some poached strawberries & haunting blue fruits. Black tea, forest floor with leaves, anise, limestone, moist clay, dry crushed rocks, dry stones, beautiful, mid intensity dark spice, dry tobacco, graphite, mixed dark berry cola, understated, well layered baking spices; clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, dry herbs, mint with candied; dark, red, blue and purple florals.
The body is full, rich, lush, satiny with plenty of well rounded, soften tannins. The tension, structure, length and balance are excellent and will continue to improve. This will last another 15 years and beyond with proper storage. This is a very classic Bordeaux well balance in fruit and earth. It is sheer elegance on the palate. It’s why I love Bordeaux more than Napa and I love Napa Valley Cabernet. Dark brooding & slightly bake, ripe fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, black plum, boysenberries, some poached strawberries & haunting blue fruits. Black tea, dark chocolate bar, touch of mocha powder, light caramel notes, Expresso notes, forest floor with leaves, anise, limestone, moist clay, dry crushed rocks, dry stones, beautiful, mid intensity dark Asian & Indian spices with just right amount of palate heat, dry tobacco, graphite, dry twigs with a little sap, mixed dark berry cola, understated, well layered baking spices; clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, dry herbs/sage, mint with candied; dark, red, blue and purple florals. The acidity is round and nearly perfect. The long finish is, classic, elegant, well balance fruit and earthy Bordeaux that persists softly on the palate for minutes with just the right amount of spice.
This is a heady wine that you really think about as you slowly sip and it affects your whole body. Can’t wait to have another in five years.
Photos of; Chateau Vergignan in Medoc near St. Estephe, their vineyard that reveals where Bordeaux gets its earthiness, Owner Jean Miaihle who acquired the property in 1972 and a wide shot of their vines. — 4 years ago