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
$55.00 $30.00
As Goethe once said – “To understand Italy, Sicily is the clue to everything.” And perhaps, no region better expresses the passion that the country brings to its wines more so than the island at the tip of Italy’s boot.
And that passion is most pronounced in the small region that is now attracting winemakers world wide to its tiny boundaries – Mt Etna. Where winegrowers literally feel the ground rumble below them and where active massive eruptions are still a distinct reality (there was one just last year).
So why are these winemakers literally taking their life in their hands just to work a few hectares of land? Because there are no vineyards like it in the world.
The soil here is mineral rich, but nutrient poor, composed of ash, decomposed lava and sand. The wines crafted off these soils are complex– deeply concentrated with dark rich fruit, featuring a silky weave of soft tannins and a great backbone for aging. As Jancis Robinson once famously opined “Is Etna the Burgundy of the Mediterranean?”
With super hot and dry summers and cool, mountainous nights along the volcano, the grapes ripen later than almost all others throughout the world, coming into its own in mid-late October when most of the rest of Italy has long since picked.
In their rave 93-point review of the wine, Vinous called it, “Lovely stuff” calling it, “Ripe and expansive but also very pure and clean on the palate.” Of the very few wines that make it stateside from this tiny volcano rim, my favorite by far is from Tenuta di Fessina. If you have time to sit and drink it– it will marvel. It takes time to unwind in the glass, constantly pealing back new layers of intricacy. Red and black currants with smooth tannins and a hint of bramble and baking spice on the finish. This is an impeccably balanced wine.
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93 Points, Vinous Media
Deep red-ruby. Flamboyant aromas of plum, chestnut and violet with high-pitched notes of spicy plum sauce. Sweet, ripe and expansive but also very pure and clean on the palate, this medium-bodied wine is tangy and penetrating today. Closes long and suave with lively acids but avoids coming off as hard. Lovely stuff.
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Winemaker Kian Tavakoli (Opus One, Clos du Val) continues to excel even while others struggle. In 2017, he still managed to deliver a beautiful and opulent Napa Valley Cabernet that’s both dark and juicy. The wine hails from both Coombsville and Rutherford, giving it distinct characteristics and a lot of drive. Deep ruby to the rim with excellent concentration, notes of Bing cherries, raspberry pie and hints of vanilla. On the palate, big wonderfully jammy fruit with young but impressive tannins and great length. The finish leaves notes of black cherry, and baked blueberry pie. Fantastic Napa value.
100 Pts, International Wine Report – 98 Pts, Parker’s Wine Advocate – 98 Pts, James Suckling
“The 2020 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is truly sensational. It begins with striking aromas of fresh blackberries, blueberries and dark plums that are laced with fresh spring florals, mocha, sweet exotic spices, graphite and gravel nuances all taking shape. The palate is full-bodied and displays a remarkable combination of power and elegance throughout. This is beautifully structured and extremely expressive, as it possesses outstanding depth and concentration all they way through the long, finessed finish. Year after year, the Columbia Valley Cabernet is one of the most impressive wines, and there is no exception here, as it combines all the wonderful qualities of the 2020 vintage from Quilceda Creek into one expression. This is fantastic already and readers will be in for a real treat, as this simply marvelous wine will continue to deliver the goods for years to come.”
It’s no surprise the Wine Advocate has called the Ventoux a “screaming bargain.” Carved off the left bank of the Rhone River, the 2020 Delas Ventoux is a gorgeous medium-bodied wine with wonderful crushed red fruits, a silky mouthfeel, tremendous structure and that signature Rhone spice on the finish. I haven’t had this wine available for a few vintages, but I figure it’s the perfect springtime Red to bring back in the fold!
#24 Wine of the Year (2022), Wine Spectator
92 Points, Wine Spectator – 91 Points, James Suckling
“This supple red shows a core of cherry and plum fruit allied to olive, juniper and tobacco notes. Delivers well-integrated tannins and acidic structure, lingering nicely on the finish.”
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