K&L Newsletter: Cellar Restock

The end of the year is often when some of the best bottles get opened, and January is when the cellar shows the impact. This selection of old and rare wines and spirits is designed to restock cellars with bottles chosen for how they age, not just how they impress on release, including mature classics, proven benchmarks, and younger wines with decades ahead of them. You will find fully mature icons alongside bottles selected for long-term aging. For collectors looking beyond current inventory, our wine auctions and spirits auctions remain two of the strongest sources for rare, older bottles and singular releases that rarely reappear once they are gone.

• Bordeaux Picks
• Burgundy Picks
• Domestic Picks
• Italy Picks
• Picks from Other Regions
• Collectible Scotch Picks

Bordeaux remains the backbone of many cellars because these wines are built to return value over decades, not seasons. At the top end, the 1982 Pétrus and 1996 Lafite-Rothschild offer fully realized expressions of legendary vintages, while the 1982 Margaux shows the kind of classical maturity that is increasingly hard to source intact. For long-term restocking, the 2019 Canon, Lynch-Bages, and Ducru-Beaucaillou stand out as modern benchmarks with the structure to age effortlessly for decades. This is a list designed to replace bottles that were opened with wines that will justify patience all over again.

Burgundy rewards patience like few other regions, and these bottles sit squarely in the window where maturity and site begin to speak clearly. The 2005 Clos des Lambrays, offered here across multiple formats, is a reference-point wine from a structured, long-lived vintage that continues to unfold with authority. The 1999 Dujac Clos Saint-Denis and Bonnes Mares show the domaine’s signature clarity and restraint at full maturity, with secondary complexity now firmly in place.

Domestic Cabernet remains one of the most reliable ways to restock bottles that reward time, and this lineup leans hard into proven sites and estates built for the long haul. Heitz Martha’s Vineyard anchors the list, a benchmark Napa wine whose structure and restraint continue to justify decades in the cellar, while the 2016 Dominus and 2019 Colgin IX Estate represent modern classics already stamped with longevity. Mount Veeder and Spring Mountain show their strength here through Mayacamas and Stony Hill, wines that age on tension rather than sheer ripeness. Kapcsándy’s State Lane releases offer a rare chance to replace library bottles with pedigree already proven, and Greer and Ad Vivum round out the section with site-driven Cabernets that consistently mature with grace.

Italy remains one of the deepest cellars to draw from when longevity matters, and this selection is built around wines that have already proven their ability to evolve. The twin 2001 Giacosa Riservas from Rabajà and Le Rocche del Falletto sit at the top of the list as fully mature benchmarks, while the 2004 Rocche del Falletto magnums offer rare scale and staying power for the decades ahead. For those replenishing younger bottles, Masseto in both 2018 and 2019 delivers its signature density and polish, and the 2019 Cavallotto Vignolo Riserva shows why traditional Barolo remains one of Italy’s great long-term bets. Brunello picks include Cerbaiona and Uccelliera Riserva, both structured, site-driven wines that reward patience and belong firmly back in any well-stocked cellar.

This grouping pulls together long-lived bottles from regions that quietly reward patience and careful cellaring. Champagne anchors the section with Cristal 2016, Dom Pérignon 2015, and Comtes de Champagne 2013, all wines that continue to gain depth well past their release windows. Outside France’s core regions, highlights include Chapoutier’s 2012 L’Ermite, a reference-point Hermitage built for decades, and Henschke’s Mount Edelstone, one of Australia’s most reliable long-term Shiraz. Sweet and fortified wines round things out with Huet’s 2005 Cuvée Constance, mature Madeira from 1999, and aged Riesling from Alsace and the Mosel, all bottles that age on a different clock and bring balance to a well-rounded cellar.

Scotch remains one of the most reliable long-term cellar categories, especially when focused on mature single casks that were distilled in a very different era of production. This lineup leans heavily into that strength, led by deeply aged expressions like the 1990 Bowmore 32 Year in magnum, the 1993 Linkwood 30 Year, and the 1991 Macallan 30 Year, all whiskies where time has done the heavy lifting. Our own K&L exclusive casks anchor the value side, particularly the 2007 Bruichladdich 18 Year and the 2009 Mortlach 16 Year, both bottled at cask strength and built to evolve further in bottle.

K&L Wine Merchants is once again honored to present the 2023 vintage of Bordeaux Grands Crus in partnership with the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB). Come and taste alongside 65+ château owners and distinguished estate representatives, offering an insider’s glimpse into the newest chapter of Bordeaux’s storied legacy. Be among the first to taste these wines straight from the heart of the region and hear the winemakers tell the stories of their estates. This is truly the pinnacle of Bordeaux tasting experiences.

This year’s event will take place at the City View at the Metreon in San Francisco, a beautiful backdrop for an evening devoted to discovery. Come taste, learn, and celebrate the 2023 Bordeaux vintage. This event sells out every year—secure your tickets early to ensure you don’t miss this extraordinary night!

LINEUP (subject to change)
Batailley ~ Beaumont ~ Beau-Séjour Bécot ~ Beauregard ~ Beychevelle ~ Branaire-Ducru ~ Brane-Cantenac ~ Cantenac Brown ~ Cantemerle ~ Carbonnieux ~ Citran ~ Clerc Milon ~ Clinet ~ Clos Fourtet ~ Cos Labory ~ Coufran ~ Coutet ~ Dauzac ~ de Fieuzal ~ de Pez ~ d’Armailhac ~ Doisy Daëne ~ Domaine de Chevalier ~ Duhart-Milon ~ Fourcas Hosten ~ Gazin ~ Giscours ~ Gloria ~ Grand Mayne ~ Grand-Puy Ducasse ~ Grand-Puy-Lacoste ~ Haut-Batailley ~ Kirwan ~ La Cabanne ~ La Tour Blanche ~ Lagrange ~ Langoa Barton ~ Larcis Ducasse ~ Larmande ~ Lascombes ~ Larrivet Haut-Brion ~ Le Gay ~ Léoville Barton ~ Léoville Poyferré ~ Lynch-Bages ~ Lynch-Moussas ~ Malartic-Lagravière ~ Ormes de Pez ~ Pavie Macquin ~ Petit-Village ~ Phélan Ségur ~ Pichon Baron ~ Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande ~ Prieuré-Lichine ~ Rauzan-Ségla ~ Rouget ~ Saint-Pierre ~ Siran ~ Smith Haut Lafitte ~ Soutard ~ Suduiraut ~ Talbot ~ Valandraud ~ Villemaurine

Thursday, January 8^th – Wine Club Tasting (All Stores)
Friday, January 9^th – Southern Rhône Tasting (All Stores)
Saturday, January 10^th – Riesling Tasting (All Stores)
Saturday, January 10^th – Bruichladdich: A Victorian Distillery Re-Imagined (Culver City)
Thursday, January 15^th – Blind Tasting (All Stores)
Friday, January 16^th – South America Tasting (All Stores)
Saturday, January 17^th – Burgundy Tasting (All Stores)
Saturday, January 17^th – Perro Verde Mezcal Spirits Tasting (Culver City)
Saturday, January 17^th – Sylva: Non-Alcoholic Aged Spirits (Hollywood)
Sunday, January 18^th – Superlative Spirits Presents: Mainland Rum (Culver City)
Thursday, January 22^nd – Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) - Bordeaux Grand Tasting (SF)

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