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
$18.00
To secure this future Tuesday night Hall of Famer, we had to get way way off the Rue Nationale Finding value takes work and knowledge of the back roads of wine country because it’s never right in front of you. This time, we had to go south and west of Sancerre on the winding roads that lead to the village of Reuilly.
Climate change has been kinder to growers of Pinot here, certainly way more than those in Oregon, again, just ask Chad. In a place where a generation ago red grapes didn’t fully ripen every year, Valéry Renaudat is now producing knocked-out, vibrant Pinot that put to the shame most simple Bourgognes that are double the P’tit Renaudat price.
Valéry represents the third generation of his family’s wine growing. His grandad must have been some kind of visionary as he was the first to plant Pinot Noir in the limestone laden vineyards of Reuilly. That limestone is key as it isn’t just sunny days that makes Pinot great. Limestone, like we find all over Burgundy, lends freshness and tension to Pinot that make it great with food and better with air, giving that all that generous fruit a real sense of crunch.
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The 2020 Savigny-les-Beaunes Rouge, is the product of ancient vines, upwards of 75 years old in the lieux-dits of Planchots and Connardises. It’s a blockbuster red Burg, blasting out of the glass with an aromatic profile of spiced red berries with just a touch of savory anise.
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.
The 2022 Juliana Layla has finally made it in. Named after our now 13-year old daughter, her latest in a line of worthy Pinot Noirs leads with cherry cola notes, blackberry juice, and violet notes with a hint of baking spice. It’s a pure-fruited, high-toned Pinot Noir with a great mid-palate, silky tannins, and a lot of focus. Only 56 cases (two barrels) of this wine were made. This is truly one to get your hands on in abundance.
Labet fully destems the fruit and then ages it, two-thirds in stainless steel and one-third in French oak, before bottling. That helps it become highly well-balanced and approachable in its youth, with some spice and blue and red fruits as well as earthy and rocky notes. On top of the ripe core of fruit, there’s some Mediterranean herbs and a hint of anise and French oak spice. The bright, clean finish reflects the wine’s rocky, high-country terroir with juicy, silky tannins and a snap of tangy acidity that packs a punch.
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.
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.
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.
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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