Gail, the Champagne-loving flight attendant, stayed over for the holidays between flights, so after our museum jaunt and lunch at Burma Superstar we cruised down to K&L to squander some income.
Along with some Macon and a few 2005 commune burgs for basics, Gail picked up a Bruno Michel, taunted as a "Staff Pick".
Having spent a few years in retail, I know that 'staff pick' can mean either
A. this is so good and so impressed us that we absolutely want you to buy some and share our joy
B. we make extra profit off this and that's why it's a 'staff pick'
C. we are overstocked and need to sell as much as we can before we have to do our year-end inventory
D. and occasionally, all of the above.
In this case, the staff pick was okay. Okay for me; the ladies liked it quite a bit. I thought it was decent enough stuff, but somewhat lacking in complexity. Simple, lemony-yeasty, light-bodied; not much bottom to it.
Checked the website. The winemaker seems earnest and dedicated and trying to do well with what he has (which is apparently the Coteaux). The Cuvee Blanches is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Althought the website alluded to some of his cuvees being cask-aged, I would assume this one is the result of stainless steel, as I didn't get any characteristics of barrel treatment
For $30 it was...okay, but I've had others that impressed me as much if not more for lower prices.