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
$30.00 $25.00
Ffter 17 years helping build Joseph Phelps into what it’s become, Bruce Neyers and wife Barbara (Chef & Manager at Chez Panisse) began Neyers Vineyards on a rocky north slope of Pritchard Hill, alongside Sage Creek.
Of course, a winery is no way to make a living so Bruce also began a gig as national sales manager for Kermit Lynch – where he had a 26-year run that left an undeniable mark on his approach to winemaking.
In those last Kermit Lynch years – it was impossible to miss the phenomenon that was coming from the Southern Rhone especially from Chateauneuf, Gigondas, & Vacqueyras. The wines were delicious and with several bountiful crops, plentiful – I dare say even affordable. Robert Parker even called them the most exciting wines of the era.
Bruce became obsessed. At the urging of several of the top winegrowers in France, Bruce and Neyers Winemaker Tadeo Borchardt began an experiment that would take nearly 25 years to perfect.
In the late 90’s, they two scoured California seeking out the top sites working with these under appreciated grape varieties. It took a few years, but eventually they had an inroad with almost everyone. Their strategy was simple. Make each vintage better than the last.
As Bruce told me – he was increasingly receiving more refined advice from a number of the French producers he worked with at his ‘day job’. Over time this led to more traditional winemaking processes, like 100% stem retention, whole cluster fermentation, oak-aging for one year in small, used barrels, and bottling with neither fining nor filtration.
For their first 20 years, each variety was bottled separately until finally in 2008, all the component parts met Bruce’s lofty vision. He began blending these slowly perfected, separate lots into a single Chateauneuf-du-Pape look-a-like. He called it Sage Canyon Red, after the location of the winery.
Out of stock
91 Points, Wine Spectator
Loaded with personality yet balanced and well-knit, offering lively, floral pomegranate and cherry flavors accented by savory bay leaf and white pepper notes, finishing with snappy tannins. Carignane, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah. Drink now through 2024.
The second year of this elegant, silky smooth Willamette Valley Pinot Noir crafted by Bertrand de Villane of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti fame. Again it comes from the gorgeous Winter’s Hill Estate about 700 feet above sea level in the Dundee Hills. All indications are that the 2019 is going to be one of the best for Pinot Noir since 1991. A flawless summer that benefited from very little rain mixed with cool, breezy summer nights. With a round, supple mouthfeel and a sturdy backbone this will age gracefully for a decade plus. Bertrand’s wines just have a signature stamp that is unmistakably his. This is phenomenal.
91 Points, Vinous
“The 2018 Carema is a terrific introduction to these wines. Bright and airy in feel, the 2018 is laced with the essence of sweet candied cherry, game, licorice, tobacco, dried flowers and incense. In a nutshell, this is what Carema is all about. The 2018 is just a bit rustic and gamy, but it makes up for that with its personality and overall expression of the appellation.” -Antonio Galloni
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.
100 Pts, Lisa Perotti-Brown (Wine Independent) – 98 Pts, James Suckling – 98 Pts, Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Deep garnet-purple colored, the nose slowly unfurls to unveil beguiling floral notes of candied violets and rose oil over a core of creme de cassis, blackberry pie, and plum preserves, giving way to notions of licorice, Indian spices, iron ore, and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with taut, muscular black fruit layers, intertwined with gorgeous floral and exotic spice accents, and framed by firm, finely grained tannins with seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral-laced. Tightly coiled with so much latent energy waiting to explode, this is a spectacular expression of the vintage and Napanook vineyard. Still tightly coiled, give it a good 6-7 years in the cellar before broaching, and allow it a few hours in a decanter if consumed before 2032.”
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