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
$35.00
You probably already know Richard Luftig whose tenure on the New York wine scene left an indelible mark. Felidia won Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award” every single year, he drove Jonathan Waxman’s Washington Park wine program to universal renown, before taking on the Bowery Group’s Cookshop.
His extremely high standards for wine were intense and now that he’s got his own Sonoma winery, the standards have never been higher. And if things aren’t up to his standards, he’s willing to put his money where his mouth is like in 2011 and 2020 when he just flat out refused to make any wine those years.
Lucky for us 2016 was a miracle vintage – the best in almost 30 years (since 1999) and Richard did not let the opportunity slip by. The key to Richard’s success is not just his palate but what he decided to do. Somehow, he was able to taste the inherent quality in three varying vineyards sources but remarkably knew how that puzzle all fits together.
He tasted years ago and locked into long term contracts with vigorous quality controls. The first two vineyards are in the Dry Creek. The first is on the valley floor where it sucks up heat and provides immense concentration and crunchy fruits to the blend. Vineyard number 2 (Nimble Vineyard) is one of the highest in the county and contributes the framework and acidity that form the backbone of the blend.
97 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship from Xavier is the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvee Anonyme, and in 2019 it’s 60% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, and the balance a mix of permitted varieties. Partially destemmed and brought up in a mix of demi-muids and tank, it offers a beautifully pure, vibrant bouquet of black raspberries, white and black pepper, candied orange, and violets. Complex, layered, and nuanced, this beauty is medium to full-bodied, has a seamless texture, and a great finish. It has both elegance and richness, and will keep for 15+ years.
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.
Marie Jacqueson’s best red is a 1er cru from the vineyard Préaux. The vines are old here, averaging almost 50 years in age. The soil is a classic mix of clay and limestone providing for soaring aromatics of strawberry, black cherry, cinnamon and roses. The fruit is almost crunchy; incredibly fresh, juicy, really flat-out delicious. Those limestone soils gives the wine great length, with a mineral finish that goes a mile. Great now, great in 10 years, and qualitatively worth double the price. There are only 78 bottles available this year. Then we wait again!
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.
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