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
$135.00
Aubert de Villaine of DRC fame once told a crazy story at a dinner I was at when asked about his 2016 Montrachet (his only white). In 2016, 80% of this tiny Grand Cru vineyard was lost to hail. In what was an unprecedented move in the history of Burgundy, all the domaines that own vines in Montrachet joined together to blend all their fruit into a single wine.
Someone asked Aubert, “If all of you put your fruit together, who made the wine?” Without any hesitation, he responded, “Domaine Leflaive, of course.” Pretty telling. When the winemaker of arguably the best red wine in the world tells you who makes the best white wine in the world without any hesitation, you listen!
And while I can’t offer up the long, long gone 2016 Montrachet, today, my inside access has earned us exclusive access at an unbeatable price on a secret declassified Leflaive project from 2018 that features fruit exclusively from Puligny Montrachet. But because the land is owned by relatives and long time friends the wines say, Leflaive & Associes instead of Domaine Leflaive.
Same farmers, winegrowers and vineyard managers, just not the estate fruit. Made in the Leflaive winery with the same barrels. Still the same unrivaled class in a bottle. The same essential calcareous clay soil, the same team behind the best white wines in the whole world.
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The sandy soil of north Piemonte is home to the appellation Roero and the indigenous variety, Arneis. Stefano Almondo is a master of the rare variety, crafting aromatic and mineral wines that rival any of the best white wines in Italy. The newly released 2021 Vigne Sparse dazzles right out of the bottle; floral and fruity with juicy peaches and apricots yet with a chalky mineral streak as well. As always, it’s such a complex white and the kicker is its finish which goes on for a minute of pure joy.
This is a super elegant Meursault from the family-run estate located in the village of Monthelie, between Volnay and Meursault in the heart of Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune. It leads with nutty aromas of brioche, fresh butter and delicate citrus and is extremely well structured, long and stylish with great purity of fruit.
This is about as special as it gets for white wine. My other Leflaive is declassified P-M but this is the real thing from the best White Burgundy producer by far. The Leflaive family’s roots in the region date back to 1717, but the wines rose to prominence under the stewardship of Joseph Leflaive. For decades and decades, they’ve been the top dog in the region – even DRC will tell you who makes the best whites! Their 2020 Puligny-Montrachet is a gorgeous, effortless bottling with a fantastic mineral streak that cuts through the abundant pure citrus fruit.
It’s hard to beat a great value white wine and this one is a at least a cut above the rest. One prominant industry insider called the 2020 edition, “the best white wine by any within $20/cs of this price.” It’s super crisp with a great mineral streak, and was carefully picked by hand when the temperature is coolest and is kept cool all the way into the press. From there, the effect of the mineral soil takes over, providing great finesse and freshness in every bottle. This white blend has great backbone and a lot of juicy fruit coming through behind aromas of flowers and stone fruits. At this price, it’s a no brainer.
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