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
$28.00 $25.00
This past week, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate covered Spanish wines. This is what expert, Luis Gutierrez had to say: “Let me start with a bang: I haven’t been so excited about Rioja in many, many years! And what has happened?
Why is their Spanish wine expert so excited? Because of all the new blood and new boutique projects that are launching.
He then highlighted Exopto, the newish project from Frenchman Tom Puyaubert and his group of friends who have been transforming the entire region with their use of biodynamics – even teaching their neighbors how to transform their vineyards.
Exopto has become a force throughout Spain in a short amount of time. Pyaubert has several vineyards that he’s been improving in the region focused on Tempranillo and Garnacha. Each year it seems like he adds a new element to his winemaking, consistently tinkering to find the freshest, purest version of Rioja he can, expertly slicing and dicing the vineyards for his blends.
His ‘Horizonte de Expoto’ is probably the most exciting in the lineup in terms of both exceptional quality and price. The wine is a combination of grapes from Abalos and San Vicente de la Sonsierra and is a traditional blend of 80% Tempranillo with 10% each of Garnacha and Graciano. The wine is made in concrete vats with indeigenous yeasts and then matured in 600-liter demi-muids and 225-liter barriques for a year. Needless to say, when the wine comes out, it is rich with nuance and incredible depth.
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93 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
A traditional red blend of 80% Tempranillo with 10% each Garnacha and Graciano, the 2020 Horizonte de Exopto combines grapes from Ábalos and, since 2016, also San Vicente de la Sonsierra, as he cannot produce village wines from there as his winery is in Laguardia! This year he also added the new plots from Baños de Ebro that represent 15% of the blend and which he feels add fresh red fruit notes and silky tannins. It showcases the Sonsierra zone with fresher Tempranillo with balance, length and the chalky sensation from the limestone soils. It fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts and matured 50/50 in 600-liter demi-muids and 225-liter barriques for 12 months. It follows the path of 2019 but with a little more freshness.
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Winemaker Kian Tavakoli (Opus One, Clos du Val) continues to excel even while others struggle. In 2017, he still managed to deliver a beautiful and opulent Napa Valley Cabernet that’s both dark and juicy. The wine hails from both Coombsville and Rutherford, giving it distinct characteristics and a lot of drive. Deep ruby to the rim with excellent concentration, notes of Bing cherries, raspberry pie and hints of vanilla. On the palate, big wonderfully jammy fruit with young but impressive tannins and great length. The finish leaves notes of black cherry, and baked blueberry pie. Fantastic Napa value.
93 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – 93 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
“Vignon’s 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape delivers even more than I hoped for based on a previous sample. Hints of garrigue, roses, cherries and raspberries appear on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied, silky and long, with an intense, almost briny finish. The assemblage is 50% Grenache, 10% each Mourvèdre and Syrah, plus smaller proportions of seven other permitted varieties, while the élevage includes foudres, demi-muids, concrete and wooden tanks, plus terracotta amphorae.”
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 2021 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.
The 2021 Napa Valley East side Cuvee is an instant classic. From the first whiff to the moment it hits the lips, its clear that this is a fabulously concentrated, serious wine: black in color, and featuring aromas of cassis, cedar and chocolate-tinged purple fruit. The mouthfeel is plush and voluptuous with a firm, solid finish that speaks to its potential for considerable aging.
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