Find Us
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
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
$20.00 $17.00
If you haven’t heard of Andrea Cortonesi or the wines he makes between his Uccelliera and Voliero brands, then you need to change that immediately. This man is a budding superstar in Tuscany and the world is just starting to take notice. And when that really starts to happen, hidden gems — like the insanely good Voliero Toscana IGT — won’t be in this magical under $20/bottle price range forever.
Cortonesi has it really good. He’s super conveniently located in between Montalcino titans Ciacci Piccolomini and Poggio di Sotto. Even better, a friend of his helped find him the plot for his ‘Voliero’ wines, a crazy vineyard with clay galestro soils sitting over 300 meters above sea level just across the Orcia River. It was meant to aid his restaurant, as Andrea also runs one of those. He’s a man with many talents, and apparently more hours in the day than the rest of us.
While Andrea’s Brunellos di Montalcino are undoubtedly his big-ticket item that continues to drive most of the acclaim, it’s this Tuscan blend that I tasted last week that completely blew me away. And for the price? Stop it. There’s not really anything like it.
It’s a super juicy blend of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Syrah that comes right out of the gate with a medium to full body of jammy red fruits, with some violet and cherry notes and a little bit of spice coming at you on the finish.
In stock
92 Points, James Suckling
“Sweet berry, cherry and grilled-citrus aromas follow through to a medium body with firm tannins and a fresh finish. Linear and lively. Drink or hold.”
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 Points (Bordeaux of the Vintage), Decanter
99 Points, James Suckling – 98 Points (Cellar Selection), Wine Enthusiast – 98 Points, Vinous
Here it is – the perfect 100-point Troplong Mondot. It was one of only 5 wines(!) in the 2020 vintage to receive a perfect score from Decanter – joining the likes of Mouton Rothschild, Petrus, Chateau LC Haut-Brion and Trotanoy as the only 100-pointers. They weren’t alone in their lavish praise for this incredible bottling. Galloni called it “wonderfully exuberant right out the gate” and with “tremendous breadth and power” in his 98-point review. Wine Enthusiast also gave it a 98 with a ‘Cellar Selection’ designate and called the wine, “powerful and dense”.
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.”
94 Points, Decanter – 93 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate – 93 Points, James Suckling
Massolino’s inaugural effort is superb. Typical of the very finest Nebbiolo, floral elements dominate the nose, here violets & rose with a touch of dark candy sweetness. The tannins are obvious but supple and refined, making this wine a much more approachable in its youth than you might expect. The 94 point Decanter review is worth reading below. Like most other Barbarescos from top vineyard sites, I expect these wines to reach firmly into the three figures in no time.
