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
$25.00 $20.50
Benoni is one of those great, fly-under-the-radar producers who I was introduced to out West and managed to secure a small allocation each vintage. The wine is killer– the perfect combination of green apple, hazelnuts and minerality that tastes like it should cost me a lot more than it does. If there’s one problem with Benoni though, it’s that their total production each year is as tiny as the “petit grains” — the small, low-yielding clusters of grapes that pack a juicy burst of flavor and freshness.
Most of their few hundred cases each year wind up in some of California’s best wine restaurants from Santa Barbara up to Mendocino. A few make it across the country and into Jersey. But with restaurants no longer taking their allocations, the opportunity presented itself for me to get more of this and at a price I know I probably won’t get ever again. As Benoni prepares for the next vintage, they reached out asking if I would take any more wine. I jumped at the opportunity.
Aided by an extremely temperate climate, the growing season in San Luis Obispo is as long and consistent as any AVA in the states. It provides the perfect conditions for full-bodied, complex Chardonnay at a level few can achieve. The 2018 Benoni Petit Grains Chardonnay is bright, juicy and fresh with a high-toned Côte de Beaune-like finish. Delicious on its own, with appetizers or with pretty much anything you put on the dinner table. Regularly $25/btl, today’s opportunity allows us to go under $20 a bottle on case purchases. At that price, there’s probably not another American Chardonnay that holds a candle to this one. Not to be missed!
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The 2018 vintage was superb in San Luis Obispo one of California’ emerging sources for world-class Chardonnay. The Benoni vineyards produce tiny berries, packed with flavor, their thick skins allowing for aromatic complexity and length generally only found in wine twice the price.
Weight | 2 lbs |
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Great with creamy or slightly rich dishes. A good match for seafood, poultry or pork.
From just west of Sancerre, Vincent’s vines are tended organically in flint-laden, calcareous soil which lends a great brightness to the wine. The wine is crisp and aromatic Sauvignon, and is a superb choice for a “cocktail” wine, as an aperitif or to accompany just about anything from sea.
94 Points, James Suckling – 93 Points, Decanter
“Soaring lemon cream aromatics accented by notes of sea spray, lemongrass and beeswax mark this coastal Chardonnay from Flowers on the Sonoma Coast. The palate is fresh and linear. Oyster shell salinity, bee pollen and grilled lemon make for a savoury balance with delicate crushed chalk minerality.”
Gold Medal (Best in Show), 2023 Mundus Vini International Tasting
The area has also been isolated from the rest of Spain for generations, which has kept the wine prices far lower than wines of this quality would be anywhere else in the world. That’s why, despite having the Torres family name on the bottle and the consistent huge press (including the Gold Medal & Best in Show at the 2023 Mundus Vini International Wine Awards in Germany), these wines can still be scooped up for under $20/bottle. It’s like the Sancerre pricing of yesteryear.
Elena Walch’s newly released 2022 Pinot Bianco continues to be the best example of Pinot Blanc anywhere. She’s the undisputed queen. There’s so much energy in this new release. Super light in color, with a busy nose that boasts ripe aromas of citrus, granny smith apple with a hint of freshly mowed grass. Made entirely in stainless steel, the wine is expressive, fresh and finishes as clean and tight as can be. Definitely will continue the run of 90+ scores once this one is reviewed.
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