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
$35.00 $29.00
In 2012, Todd Gottula and his wife Erin Brooks decided to start making wine. They didn’t know a ton about winemaking, but they were eager to learn and they knew longtime wine exec Robert Morris. Having contracted for grapes without a winemaker or a facility, they started Grand Cru Custom Crush with Morris (in a hurry) – a place where boutique artisanal wineries could pool their resources and focus on their wine production.
Now, almost a decade later- they have their own superstar winemaker, dozens of boutique wineries that make wines at their facility (including Donald Patz for his Maritana project) and an incredibly devoted following. A lot can change in a decade.
How they did it was simple– hard work. The husband/wife duo spend endless hours at their facility, asking questions, tinkering, networking, you name it. Years and years behind the scenes sharpening their tools, learning new tricks and hiring the very best people is why this winery has seemingly shot out of the gates like a fireball.
Now with 95+ scores from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Vinous, they’re hardly catching anybody by surprise, but as Antonio Galloni notes, “the wines at Ernest get better with each passing vintage.” These days, the couple has given winemaking duties to the former Flowers winemaker, Joseph Ryan. All he did in this latest vintage, was make a fleet of wines that all earned 92-points or more from Vinous Media. These guys are like clockwork!
Out of stock
92 Points, Vinous
The 2019 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast) is another stellar wine in this range. Crushed red berry, mint, cinnamon, spice and orange peel are all beautifully lifted by a touch (33%) of whole clusters that are impeccably balanced in the wine’s frame. Suave and caressing, the Sonoma Coast Pinot is a terrific introduction to the range. Like so many wines at Ernest, it delivers serious bang for the buck.
Erin Brooks and her husband, Todd Gottula, started making wine in 2012. That year, they contracted for grapes with no winemaker and facility in which to make the wines. “I just figured it would all work out,” Brooks told me recently. Well, it has. The wines continue to improve under the stewardship of Joseph Ryan, who has added a bit of textural depth that was at times missing in some early efforts. There two labels; Ernest Vineyards focuses on the Sonoma Coast, while Edaphos is home to a number of experimental wines, including a superb Carignane this year.
-Antonio Galloni
Chad’s 2020 McKinley Springs Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is drop dead gorgeous. Those of you who were lucky to catch our sneak preview when we put it in our Gobbler Case can attest. Dark purple to the rim with aromas of black fruits, violets, creme de cassis and a hint of spice. On the palate, full-bodied, round and juicy with elegance and the gorgeous, pure fruit– red and black currants, blackberries and a touch of sweet tobacco.
100 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 89.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6.5% Cabernet Franc and 4.0% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs of lot of swirling to unlock the most gorgeous perfume of bright black and red cherries, fresh blueberries and blackcurrant pastilles with hints of roses, cinnamon stick and orange peel. Medium-bodied, elegant and tightly wound, the palate shimmers with SO MUCH energy, featuring layer upon layer of floral, savory and crunchy black fruit notes, finishing long and minerally. This is a remarkably poised, seemingly effortless beauty that cannot fail to make your jaw drop. Forget it in the cellar for a good 3-5 years, at least, to allow all those nuances to fully emerge and then savor it over the next 30 years+.” -Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW
Once again dialing up fruit from 1000-1500ft in elevation in the Dundee Hills, Chad’s 2021 is juicy, laser focused and roaring out of the gates. Chad tells me that similar wines (very similar wines) off this vineyard are raising their prices up to $55/bottle from $45 this year due to 2020’s lost year. But where most people are raising prices to recoup last year’s losses, the CHAD Pinot Noir price is somehow lower. A true gift from our favorite winemaker.
99 Points, James Suckling – 96 Points (Cellar Selection), Wine Enthusiast
“The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello is a more Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, and the balance Cabernet Franc, all hitting 13.7% alcohol. As usual, it was aged in new American oak. It shows the higher Cabernet component and is deep purple-hued and tight and closed, with a primordial vibe to its dark blue and black fruit, smoked tobacco, vanilla bean, graphite, and cedarwood aromatics. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has terrific overall balance, building, ripe tannins, a good sense of freshness, and outstanding length. It reminds me slightly of the 2018 with its more elegant, streamlined profile, but I expect this to build with bottle age, and it should have 2-3 decades of overall longevity.” – Jeb Dunnuck
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