Find Us
Orders are available for pick-up at Restaurant Nicholas at 160 Route 35 South Red Bank, NJ 07701 during the following times:
Monday: 9:30-3:30; Tuesday – Friday: 9:15am – 9:00pm; Saturday: 11:00am – 9:00pm; Sunday: Closed
Orders are available for pick-up at Restaurant Nicholas at 160 Route 35 South Red Bank, NJ 07701 during the following times:
Monday: 9:30-3:30; Tuesday – Friday: 9:15am – 9:00pm; Saturday: 11:00am – 9:00pm; Sunday: Closed
$22.00 $17.50
The Uco Valley is definitely having its moment in Argentina. The subregion of Mendoza is considered one of the very best spots to grow grapes in all of Argentina with limited production, sustainable growing practices and unbeatable vineyard locations. These are the ‘Valle de Uco’ calling cards. But as most wine folks will tell you, this region is just heating up.
Led by a handful of major players, international critics and consumers are both seeing something special developing. Master of Wine, Tim Akin said that the Uco Valley was once considered, “too far” away from the cluster of wineries in Mendoza but is now “being talked about as the new Napa Valley” with vineyard plots being auctioned off starting at a hefty $150,000 per hectare.
Tim Akin says, “the spiraling price of land is directly related to the quality of the area’s wines. In a short space of time, the Uco Valley has become the most exciting wine region in Argentina and one of the most talked about in the Southern Hemisphere”. I told you it’s heating up!
One of the top spots in the area belongs to Altocedro and their superstar winemaker Karim Mussi. Mussi consults with nearly a dozen wineries mainly thanks to his work at Altocedro over the last decade. They’ve gotten a cult-type following in Argentina, mainly pushing the envelope beyond simply Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon and instead opting for sophisticated Red Blends with tons of expression, depth and age-worthiness.
Out of stock
92 Points, James Suckling
Aromas of black plums, baked blueberries, stewed cherries, vanilla, cocoa butter and sandalwood. It’s full-bodied with creamy tannins. Rich, bold and intense. Hint of chocolate at the finish. Drink or hold
92 Points, Tasting Panel
We were wowed by this blend of 40% Malbec, 19% Syrah, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Tempranillo, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Merlot grown on vineyards at 3,330 feet above sea level and aged eight months in (70% new) French oak barrels. Graphite and espresso notes are drying at first, but the palate then opens up like a wide double door, leading to velvety notes of big, bold, and tarry fruit. Blackberry preserves peek through black walnut and plum tannins.
91+ Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate
The 2018 La Consulta Select is a co-fermentation of 37% Malbec, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot, 10% Tempranillo and 5% Syrah, all aged in second and third use French oak barrels for 12 months. It’s floral and harmonious, complex and nuanced, with nice integration of the different varieties and the wine with the oak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins and a balanced palate with nice texture and a chalky mouthfeel.
91 Points, Stephen Tanzer – Vinous
“Bright ruby-red. Aromas of black cherry, spices, menthol and crushed rock are complicated by a honey nuance. At once dense and juicy, with youthful flavors of black fruits, spices and flowers offering a captivating restrained sweetness. Finishes with sneaky rising length and nicely supported dusty tannins. I suspect this well-balanced wine will gain in complexity and length with a couple more years of bottle age. Incendally, this is the only one of these three Karim Mussi wines that saw some new oak, in this case 20% with the rest second-use barrels.”
Now some of the best Pinot Noir in the world comes from the Yamhill-Carlton District (this small neck of the woods has earned its own AVA) and specifically from Shea Vineyards. Big name wineries clamor for fruit: Antica Terra, Beaux Freres, Bergstrom, Penner-Ash, & Sine Qua Non, to name a few. This Pinot is lights out and even given the pedigree, drinks several echelons higher. Blueberry, Blackberry, Blue Cheese (?!?), chanterelle mushrooms, lavender, mint – I could go on. It’s literally got it all, but I won’t spoil it for you.
99 Points, James Suckling – 98 Points, Wine Enthusiast – 97 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate
“This is an exceptional vintage of this exceptional wine, its foundation built around 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, with dustings of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Beautiful in berry fruit, textured and refined tannin and hints of lavender, licorice and sage, it has complexity and energy in equal measure, lengthy and beautifully focused, a truly impressive achievement of site, vintage and winemaker.” -Wine Enthusiast
98 Pts, Jeb Dunnuck – 96 Pts, Vinous – 95 Pts, Decanter – 95 Pts, Wine Spectator
“The 2016 Poggio al Granchio Brunello di Montalcino is aromatically expressive of perfectly ripe cherry, sweet herbs, dried flowers, and stony earth. There is generous purity of fruit on the palate, with mineral-rich earth, and it had the most balanced and harmonious structure in the lineup on this tasting, with present but fine-grained tannin. I love this wine for its darker mineral edge in counterpoint with crunchy and ripe fruit. It is a super-pleasurable wine right out of the gate and will continue to be so over the next 20 or more years”
100 Points, Decanter
“Finely textured, with a nuanced perfume that fills the glass and takes you to the intense underbrush of Tuscany. Succulent and yet savory, this has a lilting freshness that is overlaid with ripe berry fruits, sage and white pepper spice, and clear minerality in terms of its scraping texture that makes your mouth water on the finish. Feels light and sculpted and yet has an intensity that skewers you to the spot. This is a great wine, with scope and imagination that doesn’t want to let you go. Genuinely stands out among the wines of this tasting, and these are a fine array of wines. As with Colore, Bibi Graetz selects only old vines, the youngest 50 years old from five different vineyard sites across Tuscany, all farmed organically.”
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.