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
$65.00 $49.99
On Diamond Mountain, in the northwest corner of the Napa Valley, there are no giant estates. The landscape, craggy, volcanic, and incredibly hard to work: the rugged terrain requires hand harvesting, and the volcanic soils and water-stressed vines naturally produce low yields…it’s just too damn expensive to farm the land.
But the wine that can come from Diamond Mountain can be stunningly good, powerful, with a unique intensity, complex aromatics, and concentrated blackberry fruit. Collectors love them as they age gracefully and are extremely limited in supply.
Nichols 2021 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon came from a tiny parcel of old-vine vineyards whose roots have dug deep into the rocky, volcanic soil. The parcel only gave up a meager 60 cases of finished wine, but my, those tiny berries were ultra-concentrated with flavor.
This is rich, powerful Cabernet, just jammed with black-cherry and blackberry fruit, tightly framed by firm tannins. This wine is structured to last but has a fruit quality to it that will make it hard not to drink this holiday season with any type of roasted meat.
The 2021 Napa Valley East side Cuvee is an instant classic. From the first whiff to the moment it hits the lips, its clear that this is a fabulously concentrated, serious wine: black in color, and featuring aromas of cassis, cedar and chocolate-tinged purple fruit. The mouthfeel is plush and voluptuous with a firm, solid finish that speaks to its potential for considerable aging.
99 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – 97-100 Pts, Lisa Perotti-Brown
“The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard explodes with violets, aniseed and cast iron, with a deep core of crushed blueberries and black cherries, evolving continually with each approach to the glass. The palate is stunning with its intensity and lift, pure fruits, pixelated tannins and focused acidity that drives the very long finish. Its exceptional balance and super pure flavors, plus that characteristic streak of iron that appears across the Anakota portfolio, really take the 2019 Helena Dakota to the next level.” -Erin Brooks, Parker’s Wine Advocate
The CJ Cabernet Sauvignon is one that is very close to the heart of superstar winemaker Philippe Melka. It comes from his home vineyard and is actually named after his kids. It explodes right out the glass with dark blackberry and black cherry notes, that play nicely with a hint of vanilla from the oak. It’s wonderfully built, a Cabernet that combines brute force and finesse to get a creamy, velvety expression. It’s got great balance and length to the finish and should be a force for the next 15-20 years, easily.
92 Points, Vinous – 91 Points, Wine Spectator
Feudo Montoni has been one of the best producers in Italy for literally hundreds of years, most notably for their work with Nero D’Avola grape in Sicily. It’s a gorgeous expression at such a good price. The 2020 “Lagnusa” is the perfect pizza or Thanksgiving wine with juicy black fruits, grippy tannins and a wonderful, fresh and herbaceous finish. Vinous Media gave the wine 92 points and raved, calling it “remarkably fresh yet long, leaving the mouth watering while still resonating on hints of blackberry.” You’re going to love this.
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.
99 Points, James Suckling – 96 Points (Cellar Selection), Wine Enthusiast
“The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello is a more Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, and the balance Cabernet Franc, all hitting 13.7% alcohol. As usual, it was aged in new American oak. It shows the higher Cabernet component and is deep purple-hued and tight and closed, with a primordial vibe to its dark blue and black fruit, smoked tobacco, vanilla bean, graphite, and cedarwood aromatics. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has terrific overall balance, building, ripe tannins, a good sense of freshness, and outstanding length. It reminds me slightly of the 2018 with its more elegant, streamlined profile, but I expect this to build with bottle age, and it should have 2-3 decades of overall longevity.” – Jeb Dunnuck
96 Points, Galloni – Vinous – 94 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
“The 2020 Franc-Mayne is an exotic, heady wine. Inky dark fruit, chocolate, licorice and espresso lend an air of dark, sepia-toned beauty throughout. Plush, silky and generous, the 2020 is wonderfully deep and layered. Those qualities continue to emerge effortlessly over time. This ample Saint-Émilion has so much to offer.”