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
$60.00 $50.00
It took only two 2016 Barbaresco offers to come across my desk before I emphatically have decided I’m all in on this vintage. It’s a modern-day classic in the making, one that after tasting from barrel, preeminent Italian wine critic Antionio Galloni gushed, “The young 2016 Barbarescos are some of the most compelling young wines I have tasted in twenty years of visiting the region…the picture that is starting to emerge from wines I tasted in bottle and cask is of a very high quality vintage with the potential to be truly extraordinary.”
He’s right. So, I’ve been on the hunt to find the best. The first offer was Gaja, the legend. 96 points for the ’16. The second was from Giancarlo Rocca, winemaker and proprietor of Ronchi, a tiny estate (just 12 acres total!?!) that I discovered on a trip a few years ago. His 2016 grand cru, Ronchi recently received an emphatic 95 point review from Galloni, just a point behind the HOFer, Gaja. Both wines are aromatic fireworks shows, with deep concentration and the bones to improve for decades. The catch? Gaja’s average price online of $269 keeps this out of reach of most, including me.
But Giancarlo’s epic Ronchi 2016 can be had for $45/btl on case orders, a crazy price given the pedigree. Oh, the other catch is that while Gaja pumps out tens of thousands of bottles from his 250 acres in Barbaresco and Barolo, with only 12 acres, Giancarlo Rocca bottles each one of his by hand! I have just 60 bottles of these under the radar treasures. You’re definitely going to want this one.
“Ronchi has been on a roll these last few years. The 2016s are the most complete wines I have tasted yet from this small estate in Barbaresco with its core holdings in the Ronchi cru. Both Barbarescos are fermented in steel and aged in a combination of small and large oak. The wines are powerful and rich, but have the structural frames to handle all of that intensity. A few years ago the wines were a bit rustic, but that is less often the case these days. As for the 2016s, they are dazzling, electric wines that deserve a wider audience. Best of all, the Ronchi Barbarescos offer tremendous value.” -Antonio Galloni
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95 Points, Antonio Galloni – Vinous
The 2016 Barbaresco Ronchi, the estate’s top selection, marries elegance with power so well. Freshly cut flowers, mint, sweet red berries, anise and blood orange confer freshness that plays off the wine’s dense, expansive fruit. A rush of sweet raspberry, cherry and rose petal punctuates the exuberant finish. The 2016 is a fabulous wine from a property that has been on the ascent in recent years.
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90-92 Pts, Parker’s Wine Advocate – 91 Pts (Editors’ Choice), Wine Enthusiast – 91 Pts, Decanter
The wines get consistent high praise but 2018 is truly something special. 90-92 from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. 91 points and an Editor’s Choice designation from Wine Enthusiast. 91 more from Decanter who provides “There is so much to enjoy in the smaller appellations this year. Drinking Window 2022 – 2031” and another 90 point score from James Suckling. This is a home run value – especially for the price.
#3 Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2021
96 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate – 95 Points, Wine Spectator
We are one of the very few folks who have Wine Spectator’s #3 Wine of the Year. This is definitely not one to miss. The 2016 vintage showcases this prized vineyard in all its glory; notes of wild black fruit, thyme, mint, eucalyptus, and bay are lifted and enjoyed with the polished tannin and mouthwatering freshness of this wine. Regarded as one of the best vintages in the last few decades, the 2016 Martha’s Vineyard has been aged to perfection for immediate enjoyment at release and will continue to reward for the next 20+ years.
The secret to Philippe’s tightly wound, complex Pinot Noir is a combo of ancient vines, natural farming techniques, and low yields. The wines are built to age, with incredible tension and length. And the secret to me securing his other-wordly 2017 old-vine Gevry-Chambertin can be chalked up to a great relationship and over a decade supporting superior Burgundian winemaking. The wine is scary good. The nose is wild, filled with spiced dark raspberries, red flowers, and baking spices. The palate is elegant and racy, with a dynamic tension that runs right through its minute-long finish. This is a high-toned, wound-up Pinot, that is starting to hit its prime and is really turning out to be a ‘must-have’ for true Burgundy lovers.
Winemaker Pascal Sirat consistently puts out some of the best value Bordeaux in the region but he may have outdone himself in what was a stellar 2019 vintage throughout the region. Just south of Pomerol, the vines at Panchille borrow deep in the soil. The resulting wines are ripe but fresh, with an aromatic complexity and stony finish usually reserved for wine twice the price. Daniel Boulud tells me it’s been the hottest bottle of wine at Bar Boulud for over a month, so I figured I’d better hurry up and secure my allocation! Don’t miss it.
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