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
$135.00 $115.00
This list of inhabitants of the area of very special vineyards, tucked on the hill overlooking the town of Beaune (which lends its name to this entire half of Burgundy) has been steadily decreasing. The majority of the vines are now owned by the larger négotiants: Bouchard, Chanson, Drouhin, Jadot, Latour…
But just north of town lies the 1er cru vineyard, Clos du Roi, where the small family operation of Ampeau has been farming since the 1950s. Since the beginning, the Ampeaus have farmed their vines with a high leaf canopy, magnifying ripening through enhanced photosynthesis, thus harvesting earlier than his neighbors, picking ripe, but with vivid and striking acidity.
They’ve always held back substantial portions of the wine they’ve made going back decades. I was told, it had something to do with French tax loophole that I didn’t completely understand.
The result is that throughout their property is a treasure trove of catacombs, each housing a dozen or so wines from an amazing array of vineyards (Meursault, Perrieres, Charmes, La Piece sous le Bois, Sous la Velle, in Puligny, Combettes, Volnay, Santenots, Savigny, Lavieres, Pommard Vaumuriens, Auxey Ecusseaux and Beaune Clos du Roi) in vintages going back 40+ years.
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Today, Michel Ampeau takes appointments during day. In 2014, Michel suffered a stroke. He could no longer drive a tractor or perform cellar work. For over five years, not a single bottle from some of the coldest and deepest cellars in Burgundy was shipped stateside. Michel progressed slowly, but surely. Finally, in late 2018, he called to tell us that he could finally prepare and ship again, just a little bit at a time, and no more than 3 appellations/vintages per order. I traveled to Burgundy in January of 2019 with two others. We spent two days tasting dozens of perfectly aged Meursaults, Pulignys, Volnays, Savignys and Pommards, beginning in 1976 (!), in the cellar 26 stone steps beneath the family’s home. The wines at Ampeau are in a kind of suspended animation, always seeming to be 20 years younger than what the label reads. After the tasting, I took the remainder of each wine back ton my room at Le Montrachet, just up the road in Puligny. Then I continued my evaluation. In the end, I settled on a few selections, the one of which I am happy to offer today.
The color of the Savigny-les-Beaunes 1999 defies its age. It is a dark purple shade all the way to the rim. The nose is awesome, showing off a bouquet of dark fruits laced with baking spices and a hint of mint. The earth-tinged fruit is deep and concentrated; the 99s have always had incredible fruit. Yet the wine is light on its feet, dancing across the palate, very fresh and quite long. This is wine to experience over a few hours, it’s got many layers, take your time with it.
What you shouldn’t take your time with is clicking the buy button. This amazing red Burgundy, with 21 year of bottle age, is perfectly aged, stored, shipped and can delivered to directly your front door. Don’t miss it
Anne Sery describes her Trousse Chemise Cabernets as an ode to the Left Bank and her winemaking roots. It’s a beautiful and fresh Cabernet with aromas that leap from the glass with of black raspberry, violets, and creme de liquor notes. The mouth gives generous amounts of juicy black fruits at the core with hints of baking spice and a smooth, savory finish. This is a terrific partner for just about anything from hard cheese, to poultry, summer salads, you name it!
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.
It’s no surprise the Wine Advocate has called the Ventoux a “screaming bargain.” Carved off the left bank of the Rhone River, the 2020 Delas Ventoux is a gorgeous medium-bodied wine with wonderful crushed red fruits, a silky mouthfeel, tremendous structure and that signature Rhone spice on the finish. I haven’t had this wine available for a few vintages, but I figure it’s the perfect springtime Red to bring back in the fold!
The newly released Fiancetto Howell Mt. Cabernet is a dream – a gorgeous, elegant dark-fruited Cabernet Sauvignon that is it picks up time in the glass, unfurls its full signature of cedar laced cassis nose and mid palate of chocolate-covered cherries and savory spices. Only four palates of this (224 cases) were made off a gorgeous, sprawling high elevation spot 1500 feet above sea level. It’s full and plush and finishes fresh and oh so long. The price is crazy for Howell Mountain Cabernet but that’s what Ry Richards and Fiancetto is all about.
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