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.
95 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
“The 2018 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard marks the beginning of winemaker Joe Nielsen’s tenure at the winery. Pouring a medium yellow with a light golden hue, it’s most reserved of the flight aromatically at the moment, with yellow chamomile flowers, ripe peach, beeswax, and white flowers. Full-bodied, it retains excellent tension and focus on the palate, with apricot, orange zest, and a savory finish with a bit of spice. I suspect this will come around and open with time. Drink 2024-2030.” -Jeb Dunnuck
Just in time, we got back Vincent Ricard’s all-time great white wine bargain. This is a crisp, clean and flat out delicious Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc. The protege to the Silex-style of Dagueneau – who over the last 15 years has produced flawless and beloved white wines that at last count were on the wine lists of over 36 Michelin-starred restaurants. This is a great house white and one that can surely hold its own with just about everything on the table.
92 Points (Best Buy), Wine Enthusiast – 90 Points, James Suckling
The winery could never expected their Tuscan Vermentino would become as integral as it has – even 25 years later, it’s still a key piece of the puzzle for Campo Maccione. It’s an unassuming wine with great viscosity and bright, savory flavors that way overdelivers for the price. James Suckling agreed, as did Wine Enthusiast. Suckling gave it a 90 and deemed it “an interesting take on Tuscan Vermentino.” Wine Enthusiast took it up a few notches, attaching a coveted ‘Best Buy’ designate to the wine along with a 92-point review for the wine “with a sophisticated restraint.”
We’re nearing the end of what was a flawlessly crafted, high energy coastal Chardonnay release from one of California’s hottest spots. It’s still every bit as bright and refreshing as you could want and it hits with clean, pristine green apple fruits, pears and citrus notes with a hint of that limestone-influenced minerality. It’s a fantastic wine for all seasons, the perfect pair with mixed seafood, summer tomatoes, corn and freshly caught fish.
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