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
$900.00 $725.00
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The term ‘Cult Winery’ definitely gets thrown a lot unnecessarily but that truly is the best way to describe the Hundred Acre Vineyard project. No one is sure exactly how long the waitlist is, but the access to Ark, Kayli Morgan and Few Vineyards automatically propels this project into rare air. Put that together with Jayson Woodbridge and Philippe Melka the winemakers behind it, and this is one of the all-time Napa Cab Cult Collectors.
Woodbridge recently purchased a tiny, well-situated hillside parcel above the Eisele Vineyard, southeast of Calistoga. All things considered, this is an extraordinary group of wines. They are not easy to secure unless you are on Hundred Acre’s mailing list, but they are truly profound offerings that showcase a variety of Napa Valley terroirs as well as different harvesting and barrel aging techniques.
Dark Ark comes from the legendary Ark Vineyard, the 11-acre vineyard located on Glass Mountain above St. Helena at the base of Howell Mountain. It’s a darker, more minerally version of the regular Ark Vineyard bottling. It’s simply breathtaking especially in Napa’s outstanding 2018 vintage which is probably how it wound up with double 99+ point reviews from two separate expert reviewers. Because it’s Woodbridge and everything he makes is gold, I think there’s a reluctancy to give it a 100-point score, but double 99+ points says this one is still undoubtedly one of the greatest wines made anywhere in the 2018 vintage.
“Dark Ark is a selection of barrels from the Ark vineyard that were bottled separately. It comes from a pre-blending selection of barrels that were notably denser and more powerful than the others this vintage. Some of these were blended into the single-vineyard Ark label, but when their contribution to the blend began to detract from the essence of that wine, the remaining barrels were bottled separately. Jayson Woodbridge dubbed the wine “Dark Ark” and the name stuck.” -Lisa Perroti-Brown, The Wine Advocate
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99+ Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Dark Ark offers up gregarious notes of stewed plums, Christmas pudding, Chinese five spice and scorched earth, followed by suggestions of molten rocks, smoked meats, tilled soil and truffles. Full-bodied, the palate reveals tightly packed layers of black fruit preserves and earthy nuances, supported by ripe, fine-grained tannins and a lively backbone, finishing long and enticingly restrained.”
99+ Points, Jeb Dunnuck
“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Dark Ark is unquestionably cut from the same cloth as the base Ark Vineyard, although, as the name suggests, it is slightly darker and more mineral-laced. Dense purple-hued, with powerful notes of blue fruits, smoked tobacco, violets, and damp earth, it has perfectly integrated background oak, ripe, building, flawless tannins, and a great, great finish, and I love its purity of fruit. This is going to benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and keep through 2045.”
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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.
The secret to Philippe’s tightly wound, complex Pinot Noir is a combo of ancient vines, natural farming techniques, and low yields. The wines are built to age, with incredible tension and length. And the secret to me securing his other-wordly 2017 old-vine Gevry-Chambertin can be chalked up to a great relationship and over a decade supporting superior Burgundian winemaking. The wine is scary good. The nose is wild, filled with spiced dark raspberries, red flowers, and baking spices. The palate is elegant and racy, with a dynamic tension that runs right through its minute-long finish. This is a high-toned, wound-up Pinot, that is starting to hit its prime and is really turning out to be a ‘must-have’ for true Burgundy lovers.
#24 Wine of the Year (2022), Wine Spectator
92 Points, Wine Spectator – 91 Points, James Suckling
“This supple red shows a core of cherry and plum fruit allied to olive, juniper and tobacco notes. Delivers well-integrated tannins and acidic structure, lingering nicely on the finish.”
95 Points, James Suckling – 94 Points, Wine Spectator – 93 Points, Wine Enthusiast
The new release is here from outstanding winemaking team of Michel Rolland, Charles Thomas, Andy Erickson and David Jelenik. This one always represents one of the best quality-to-price ratios in all of Napa Cab and in the stellar 2021 vintage, this really stands out as one of the best the Valley has to offer. It’s a racy mix of Coombsville fruit from Atlas Peak that absolutely roars out of the bottle. Always one of Napa’s great bargains and a must have even as the price starts to sneak up here a little bit.
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