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
$24.00 $21.25
As much as you hear me complain about how hard it is to find great under twenty dollar Cabernet, you almost never hear me say the same of Pinot. The reason is it pretty much doesn’t exist.
Pinot is way too finicky, thin skinned, and late ripening. By its very nature, it takes way more time, labor, and is prone to reduced production. Throw in the fact that most good Pinot is now grown in just a few pockets of the world – and suddenly you have to also add in additional costs for vineyard rent.
And outside of Burgundy – there’s nowhere in the world consistently producing better Pinot (and Chardonnay) than California’s Russian River Valley. The big names of all bought in by now – sending land prices racing; Paul Hobbs, Phelps, Kistler, Kosta Browne.
So how do you keep prices down today in the Russian River Valley? You have to be there first. Kenwood is a mini-vineyard empire built entirely by pioneering each of their new vineyards over the years – setting up shop in hitherto undiscovered territories.
Out of stock
95 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Once again, Fabio Motta knocks it out of the ballpark. The 2016 Bolgheri Superiore Le Gonnare is another super rich and densely concentrated Tuscan blended wine from this classic vintage. This blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Syrah is soft and velvety. In fact, the wine plays its best cards in terms of the supple and soft nature of the mouthfeel and tannins. The wine is partially aged (only 20%) in new oak. Only 6,600 bottles were made total.”
Soon to be Rated
With Herve and Fabre Montmayou wracking up NYT features, huge scores, gold medals and lifetime achievement awards, I’m left with one choice: get in now or be left in the cold. Waiting for the scores to roll in is a luxury that we know longer have with Fabre Montmayou. Good for the winery, but not so good for us. Rest assured though, the 2020 Cabernet Franc Herve sent me is fantastic, and will surely be minted with the same kind of high-flying praise as the vintage before it. But by that time, you’ll only have a bottle or two left in the cellar.
94 Points, Wine Spectator – 92 Points, Wine & Spirits
This one is an absolute gem from one of Burgundy’s great all-time winemakers, Jacques Lardiere in his new Louis Jadot Oregon project. It also happens to be one of Wine Spectator’s highest scoring Pinots of the year. The 2019 vintage in the Willamette Valley was picture perfect making this one extra special. This one is cut from a similar Burgundian cloth as the Composition. The nose is very fresh and fruity, with a symphony of strawberries and raspberries, wild cherry and blackberry. It’s expressive all the way through the finish which boasts a nice little baking spice component.
The Adaptation Cabernet allows superstar winemaker Jeff Owens to make a Cabernet with other Bordeaux varietals from a collection of the top vineyards from across the valley. This is PlumpJack’s “Quilt” so to speak. It features Cabernet along the Silverado Trail in Stag’s Leap from their own Odette Vineyards as well as Heitz’s Trailside Vineyard, to go with fruit from St. Helena, Chaix’s vineyard in Rutherford, Merlot form mountainous terrain of Howell Mountain, along with fruit from Oak Knoll, and Carneros. Together, this blend comes together effortlessly Owens, who has woven a particularly juicy, dark-fruited Cab that will knock peoples’ socks off.
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