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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
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
$25.00 $17.50
The son of a winemaker, Cotarella has accumulated some incredibly impressive titles over the years. He’s won “winemaker of the year” honors from the Italian wine bible, Gambero Rosso as well as being called by Robert Parker Jr., “one of the most influential personalities in the world in the last 20 years.”
And in Italy, he’s affectionately known as both ‘il mago’ (the wizard) and Mr. Merlot, a testament to the extraordinary work he does with the international varietal.
Once upon a time, the Cotarella family was called crazy by the locals and told to stick to indigenous varietals. But as you might’ve guessed by the ‘Mr. Merlot’ nickname, Riccardo did not listen– instead finding that the terroir of the volcanic clay soil of Lazio actually nurtured the precocious Merlot vines making incredible wines. His Falesco Merlots would be the catalyst for his launch into international stardom.
Farmed and produced by Riccardo and his brother Renzo off the family winery in Lazio, the 2015 Sodale Merlot hits you with concentrated waves of blackberries, raspberries, and cherries with slight baking spice and leather aromas. This is tightly woven and super fresh– an absolute gem in the warm 2015 vintage.
Out of stock
90 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Here is a new wine from the Cotarella family. The 2015 Merlot Sodale aspires to a very specific place in the marketplace: impressive quality at a very attractive price point… This wine drinks as you would imagine a warm-vintage Merlot would. It offers soft cherry fruit and ripe blackberry with spice and leather.
100 Points (Bordeaux of the Vintage), Decanter
99 Points, James Suckling – 98 Points (Cellar Selection), Wine Enthusiast – 98 Points, Vinous
Here it is – the perfect 100-point Troplong Mondot. It was one of only 5 wines(!) in the 2020 vintage to receive a perfect score from Decanter – joining the likes of Mouton Rothschild, Petrus, Chateau LC Haut-Brion and Trotanoy as the only 100-pointers. They weren’t alone in their lavish praise for this incredible bottling. Galloni called it “wonderfully exuberant right out the gate” and with “tremendous breadth and power” in his 98-point review. Wine Enthusiast also gave it a 98 with a ‘Cellar Selection’ designate and called the wine, “powerful and dense”.
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.
98 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard opens with provocative ferrous, crushed rocks and tar notes over a core of crème de cassis, redcurrant jelly and raspberry leaves with a hint of wild fungi. The medium to full-bodied palate is taut with tension and jam-packed with pure black and red fruits, supported by firm, grainy tannins, finishing with uplifting mineral sparks. This energetic beauty needs some time. Give it a good 4-5 years in bottle and drink it over the next 25 years+.”
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.
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