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
$18.00 $15.00
Fabre Montmayou wines have been a staple of mine since I launched Nicholas Wines. It’s hard to imagine a wine that delivers more bang for your buck and consistency than what Herve Fabre is able to produce from his 100+ year old vines each vintage. His 2018 Reserva Malbec landed on Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Buys of the Year, James Suckling gave it 92 points and our allocation went quickly.
After tasting Herve’s new release, the 2021 Malbec Reserve, I expected big scores were going to attach to the wine. After the recent 92-point review from Vinous hit the web last week, it looks like I was right. It has that vibrant and jammy mix of red and dark fruits with great structure and tannins and a sleek core. It’s a BIG RED that dances in the glass and with a small modest price tag.
92 Points, Vinous
The 2021 Malbec Reserva, from Vistalba, Lujan de Cuyo, was 60% aged in barrels for 12 months. Purple in color. The nose presents notes of fresh plum and violets, white pepper, strawberry, hints of spice and aromas from the aging process. It’s initially indulgent in the mouth, with good fat and volume and a velvety texture. The flavors are bold and full-bodied. This 2021 overdelivers at the price.
91 Points, Wine & Spirits
Hervé Joyaux Fabre, born into a négociant family in Bordeaux, came to Mendoza in search of vineyards in the 1990s. A portion of this wine grows in the vineyard around the winery (the first vineyard Fabre purchased, planted in 1908). It has a persistent core of blueberry and coffee flavors initially obscured by elevated alcohol and sandalwood notes. That core outlasts the interference, though, and a wild decant helps to muscle it open, bringing the fruit flavors forward.
Absolutely everything. The best part might be that is equally good with or without food.
Now some of the best Pinot Noir in the world comes from the Yamhill-Carlton District (this small neck of the woods has earned its own AVA) and specifically from Shea Vineyards. Big name wineries clamor for fruit: Antica Terra, Beaux Freres, Bergstrom, Penner-Ash, & Sine Qua Non, to name a few. This Pinot is lights out and even given the pedigree, drinks several echelons higher. Blueberry, Blackberry, Blue Cheese (?!?), chanterelle mushrooms, lavender, mint – I could go on. It’s literally got it all, but I won’t spoil it for you.
99 Points, James Suckling – 98 Points, Wine Enthusiast – 97 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate
“This is an exceptional vintage of this exceptional wine, its foundation built around 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, with dustings of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Beautiful in berry fruit, textured and refined tannin and hints of lavender, licorice and sage, it has complexity and energy in equal measure, lengthy and beautifully focused, a truly impressive achievement of site, vintage and winemaker.” -Wine Enthusiast
96 Points, Vinous
This is a gorgeous Estate Cabernet blend- richly aromatic with currents, plums, hint of violets and savory notes of cedar. At this young age it is showing all the depth of flavor and textural richness that are hallmarks of Diamond Mountain and Dyer Vineyard. It’s a classic vintage, hitting all the notes that you have come to expect from Dyer and Diamond Mountain. The grapes are grown in our 2.3 acre Diamond Mountain Vineyard in the Napa Valley.
93 Points, James Suckling – 92 Points, Wine Spectator – 92 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate
San Giorgio Ugolforte is the sister winery of Poggio di Sotto. Their 2017 presents a dark core of red and black berry fruit layered with earth, leather, smoke, and herbs. It’s a complex and elegant expression, that presents a full mouthfeel that is firm in tannin structure. The refreshing acidity frames a graceful finish. Just a classic Brunello di Montalcino.
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