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
$20.00 $15.50
High up in the foothills of the Pyrenées, they made a remarkable find: at 350 meters in elevation in the Haute Vallée de l’Aude (“Vallée d’Atacis”), with a direct southern sun exposure was a perfect plot of 30 to 50 year old Pinot Noir vines.
And then to take it completely over the edge, the high slope, perfect drainage soils forced vines to dig deep into the clay-limestone slopes to gain precious water. The only downside – if there was one – was that harvesting would have to be almost completely done by hand.
Nonetheless, if that’s what it would take, the foursome got to work – farming organically and mostly by hand over the last 20 odd years. Wines of this pedigree back home near Davayé would easily fetch in high double digits.
Here they had the opportunity to craft compelling Pinot Noir at a fraction of the price. The 2021 Altugnac Pinot Noir bounces out of the glass with an abundance of bing cherry which slowly give way to a touch of cinnamon spice. Tannins are light and balanced by a kiss of acidity but the overall impression is a light, delicious and super-easy drinking wine featuring black berries, raspberry, clove, and baking spices.
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90 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Xavier Vignon’s brand spanking new CDR 100% is a thing of beauty. It’s already got a blessing from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate who described this wine as, “Full-bodied, concentrated and supple”. This is a gorgeous and intricate blend that features all of the Southern Rhone appellations. This year, the blend was 40% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, 15% Syrah, 7% Cinsault, 7% Marselan, 6% Terret Noir. Nobody can do it like the mad scientist, Xavier Vignon.
93 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – 93 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
“Vignon’s 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape delivers even more than I hoped for based on a previous sample. Hints of garrigue, roses, cherries and raspberries appear on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied, silky and long, with an intense, almost briny finish. The assemblage is 50% Grenache, 10% each Mourvèdre and Syrah, plus smaller proportions of seven other permitted varieties, while the élevage includes foudres, demi-muids, concrete and wooden tanks, plus terracotta amphorae.”
95 Points, Jeb Dunnuck – 95 Points, Lisa Perotti-Brown
The oft 100-point winemaker, Jayson Woodbridge had this to say when tasting his 2021 ‘Stargazing’ Sonoma Pinot: “The wine is vibrant and complex with subtle dark fruits and berries, grandmother’s cherry pie, minerals, and a slight touch of rain-soaked earth, intertwined with a balance and very pleasing easy-going luxury. Should have been priced higher but what the hell.” I have no doubt this clerical error will be addressed in the vintages moving forward. But for now, this is a cult Pinot for under $100/bottle.
At J Vineyards, Nicole is nothing short of a magician, making 30 different skus or more each vintage between her Pinots, Chardonnays, and Sparkling wines. For the vineyard’s flagship Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, up to 100 individual small lots are combined to make this great wine. Somehow, the blend is effortless–a quintessential RRV Pinot that has those soaring aromatics, bright red fruits, clove, and nutmeg spice with perfect balance.
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