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 $21.00
I’ve seen 95-point scores from Decanter. But you don’t see them for $20 Cabernet. Then again, you don’t see many artisanal, small production wines like Jean-Pierre’s in the market. When you do, you have to snatch them up when you can. You never know when our secrets may become the wine world’s news.
As many of you know, Jean-Pierre Chavallier is a magician in the Loire Valley, and his whites and reds at Château de Villeneuve continue to dazzle new readers every year. If you haven’t tried a Cabernet Franc or a Chenin Blanc, I can think of no better place to start. As I’ve observed on several occasions, the man is a perfectionist, meticulous in every last detail in the cellar. And he’s incredibly humble. Really, it’s the perfect mix.
He only releases his top cuvées when they’re ready – not when others release theirs. If the vintage isn’t good, he doesn’t even make his signature cuvees. But in what turned out to be a glorious 2020 growing season in the Loire Valley, Chevallier found a new gear, and he did something he never does, let someone take a crack at reviewing his Saumur-Champigny Cabernet.
But when Europe’s stingiest and most respected wine critics got their hands on Villeneuve’s S-C, something unusual happened. Decanter met their match!! Chevallier blew them away, as I’ve seen so many times when I put these wines in front of someone new. They awarded his Saumur-Champigny 2020 a 95(!) and waxed poetically about the Cabernet Franc made off 40+ year old vines grown on sloping limestone hills.
95 Points, Decanter
In what turned out to be a glorious 2020 growing season in the Loire Valley, Chevallier found a new gear, and he did something he never does, let someone take a crack at reviewing his Saumur-Champigny Cabernet. But when Europe’s stingiest and most respected wine critics got their hands on Villeneuve’s S-C, something unusual happened. Decanter met their match!! Chevallier blew them away, as I’ve seen so many times when I put these wines in front of someone new. They awarded his Saumur-Champigny 2020 a 95(!) and waxed poetically about the Cabernet Franc made off 40+ year old vines grown on sloping limestone hills.
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95 Points, Decanter
Dense and powerfully black fruited, this has some wood notes, good ripe tannins and a long finish. This is a lovely wine and is only the straight domaine cuvée. Given the consistent quality of his wines – both white Saumur and Saumur-Champigny – Jean-Pierre Chevallier is remarkably modest as well as being highly principled. His top cuvées are only released when they hit the required quality. In difficult vintages everything goes into the ‘domaine’ wine. The now organically certified Château de Villeneuve is based in Souzay-Champigny by the Loire river in the northern part of the Saumur-Champigny appellation. The Cabernet Franc for this ‘domaine’ wine is between 40-50 years old and planted on clay-limestone. The grapes are handpicked. After fermentation, 60% is matured in 40-hectolitre wooden vats and the rest in concrete and stainless steel.
A ridiculously good, chalky Chenin Blanc at a price point that can’t be beat.
Weight | 2 lbs |
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Vegetable dishes or salads or a good, old-fashioned cream based dish.
91 Points, Wine Enthusiast
Always the one with the most personality of the bunch, this is what Wine Enthusiast had to say about the 2021 release: “This extremely ripe and bold style of Pinot Noir will please those seeking such lushness. Dark in the glass, it begins with black cherry, toasty caramel and cola milk shake aromas.” The cool, coastal days and abundance of sunshine lines up perfectly for a wine that has a good natural acidic backbone, with bold fruit-forward flavors. In an easy 2021 vintage, Joe Wagner had a field day with this single-vineyard beauty.
#24 Wine of the Year (2022), Wine Spectator
92 Points, Wine Spectator – 91 Points, James Suckling
“This supple red shows a core of cherry and plum fruit allied to olive, juniper and tobacco notes. Delivers well-integrated tannins and acidic structure, lingering nicely on the finish.”
100 Pts, International Wine Report – 98 Pts, Parker’s Wine Advocate – 98 Pts, James Suckling
“The 2020 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is truly sensational. It begins with striking aromas of fresh blackberries, blueberries and dark plums that are laced with fresh spring florals, mocha, sweet exotic spices, graphite and gravel nuances all taking shape. The palate is full-bodied and displays a remarkable combination of power and elegance throughout. This is beautifully structured and extremely expressive, as it possesses outstanding depth and concentration all they way through the long, finessed finish. Year after year, the Columbia Valley Cabernet is one of the most impressive wines, and there is no exception here, as it combines all the wonderful qualities of the 2020 vintage from Quilceda Creek into one expression. This is fantastic already and readers will be in for a real treat, as this simply marvelous wine will continue to deliver the goods for years to come.”
In the 2020 vintage in Gevrey-Chambertin, yields were super low and temperatures were hotter than most Burgundian winemakers are accustomed. Many picked too late when the sugars were high and the fruit really ripe, but that was not the play. Still, Ann remained as cool in those hot temps as she did so many years ago in Napa, concentrating more on acid levels than sugars and picking at just the right time. This wine is absolutely singing – it’s an age-worthy beauty that should be even better in 4-7 years.
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