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
$70.00 $65.00
Isole e Olena was formed in the 1950’s when the DeMarchi family purchased two vineyards in the heart of the Chianti Classico region and combined them into one. Since the 1970’s, Paolo DeMarchi has become a leading winemaker in the region by experimenting to improve the Chianti blends and by making wines from 100% Sangiovese (which he labels Cepparello). The goal is producing complex wines with good aging potential.
In a very hot 2017 vintage in Tuscany, it seems like no winery did better than Isole e Olena’s small but immaculately run operation. Paolo De Marchi is meticulous about wine, approaching it from a scientific point-of-view and trying to do as much research and experimentation as possible. Their flagship Cepparello racked up huge scores from all the big named critics, but don’t sleep on their Private selection Syrah. It’s an enormous, full-bodied beauty that is as big and expressive as anything you’re going to find in any region. It’s still in its infancy in terms of where it’s heading, but it’s a wine you’re going to want to have a few bottles to visit down the road. The problem is about 350 cases are made of this wine total, and only about 100 of those head to the U.S. With the 96/94 point scores from the two biggest critics and the reputation of producing some of Italy’s best wines, I was only able to get 60 bottles and that’s the only bite of the apple. Everybody who gets this one will be very happy.
Out of stock
96 Points- Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Isole e Olena 2017 Syrah is powerful, dense and savory. Readers should not plan on opening a bottle anytime soon. Black cherry, plum, licorice, espresso, chocolate and leather build as this brooding Tuscan Syrah shows off its considerable character. The 2017 is a real powerhouse. Give it a few years in bottle.
94 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Here’s a hot vintage Syrah from the heart of Tuscany. The Isole e Olena 2017 Syrah Collezione Privata opens to dark fruit aromas with toasted spice and charred earth. The wine hints at the heat and dryness of the vintages, but instead of jammy aromas (because there are none of those here), it produces seared or scorched aromas. Indeed, there is a defined note of barbecue smoked or burnt meat that lingers through to the end. The wine is rather tempered and measured in the mouth, with linearity and fine tannic contours. A mere 4,480 bottles were made.
Winemaker Patrick Brunet’s tiny Domaine Robert estate consists of 50-60 year old vines, deeply rooted in the granitic soils of Fleurie. What I love about him is that every vintage brings something new but it consistently stays excellent. In the newly released 2020 vintage, Patrick produced a concentrated, structured Beaujolais that’s roaring out of the gates but with the bones to improve in the bottle over the next decade. This is a fantastic bottle to have around.
99 Pts, Vinous – 97 Pts (Cellar Selection), Wine Enthusiast– 97 Pts, Spectator – 97 Pts, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni called it, “hands down one of the wines of the vintage.” The Wine Advocate chipped in with “a refreshing, beautifully perfumed and skillfully crafted expression of the vintage.” Here’s what I’ll say: How could you do any better than securing a few bottles of a wine with 30-40 years of life left that is already showing better than giants such as Lafite, Margaux and Le Pin. There aren’t many years in Bordeaux’s history where one of the top 3-5 wines of the vintage was a $105 bottling and not one available at four figures.
92 Points, James Suckling
Double Canyon continues to prove themselves amongst the best producers in Washington State with their third consecutive vintage of at least a 92 point score for their flagship Cabernet. The 2017 Horse Heaven Hills Cab comes roaring right out of the gates with beautiful, clean red fruits. On the attack, the wine offers intricately woven youthful tannins that give the wine a delicious and slightly chewy taste. It’s a crowd pleaser – one of Nicholas Wines’ all-time customer favorites.
The Tonelli family are royalty in this region, with four generations of grape growers leading the way and even establishing the local D.O.C. Their 2020 Ponente is 100% Sangiovese and is an absolutely incredible wine for the price. Less than $20/bottle for fleshed out, high-toned, zipped up Sangiovese? Count me in. It screams for pizza or summer salads, squash or a charcuterie plate. It’s about to be one of your new favorites.
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