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
$95.00 $77.50
The last time I saw Philippe Billard, I was lucky. It was the summer of 2015 and I sent him an email at the last minute when another appointment was cancelled. Amazingly, he answered right away confirming our appointment. I had no idea at that point how lucky I was because after returning home, it took another 25 emails and one very awkward phone conversation (as neither of us really speaks the other’s language!) to finally get some wine sent.
He apologized profusely for the delay but he explained that he is a one man show, farming the vines, making the wines, seeing guys like me in the cellar….for a 60-something year old guy, it’s an absolutely insane work ethic.
That dedication was pretty clear at our tasting, a whirlwind exploration of the best vineyards of Pommard. Like that work ethic, Philippe’s wines are old-school, structured wines, built for the long-haul. Needless to say, I left there a huge fan.
His latest library release, direct from the domaine, is the 1er cru Pezerolles The total production was nuts, 3 barrels max, a casualty of hail at flowering. Despite that setback from Mother Nature, what she left on the vine was pretty special. Of all wines I tasted with Philippe that fateful day, this one was most elegant, a high-toned Pommard with great aromatic complexity, fine texture and great length.
Out of stock
98 Pts, Jeb Dunnuck – 96 Pts, Vinous – 95 Pts, Decanter – 95 Pts, Wine Spectator
“The 2016 Poggio al Granchio Brunello di Montalcino is aromatically expressive of perfectly ripe cherry, sweet herbs, dried flowers, and stony earth. There is generous purity of fruit on the palate, with mineral-rich earth, and it had the most balanced and harmonious structure in the lineup on this tasting, with present but fine-grained tannin. I love this wine for its darker mineral edge in counterpoint with crunchy and ripe fruit. It is a super-pleasurable wine right out of the gate and will continue to be so over the next 20 or more years”
Winemaker Marjorie Gallet’s Effet Papillon Rouge is a terrific blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignane, harvested from the iron rich soil just outside of Rivesaltes at the base of Pyrenees. This one is a vibrant wine, with aromas of wild black raspberries and sweet spices. The mid palate is rich and velvety, with a core of sweet black fruit that finishes fresh, long and silky. At the price, it’s one of the easier no-brainer case buys we offer.
94 Points, Wine Spectator
The 2019 is a must have for any fans of cellar-worthy Italian red wines. It’s a structured Chianti Riserva, with a ton of character. The nose is intense with notes of leather surrounding a core of bright red fruits. The flavors are intense and the finish is long with lingering Bing Cherry notes that absolutely sing. Obviously, since we’ve got the first crack at it, not all the ratings are in and it probably wouldn’t matter anyway as these will not stick around for long.
With seemingly infinite access to some of the absolute very best vineyards in the most choice AVAs in the valley, the Wagner’s set out to make Quilt– a Cabernet blend from a patchwork of the top sites in Napa (Oakville, St Helena, Atlas Peak, Coombsville, Calistoga, and Howell Mountain.) The brand new 2019 edition is a beauty – deeply concentrated, rich and a truly show stopping Cabernet. It’s a dark, hedonistic blend that combines elegance with power and pairs the two together effortlessly.
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