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 $15.00
There’s no cheating going on at Xavier’s Vignon’s winery in Châteauneuf. There’s no need when you have access to hundred year old vines at dizzying elevations all over the Rhone valley. Xavier makes knocked-out wines in every price point, huge Parker scores and really sharp pricing easily makes him one of NW most requested and commented upon producer. His latest release, a juicy, Châteauneuf-styled blend coming from 80-100 year old vines found at some of the highest elevations in the appellation of Ventoux. The 2016 vintage was an almost perfect one in the Rhône Valley, with grapes enjoying a long, even growing season.
The resulting wines are terrific across the board, from the high end Saturday nighters to the Tuesday nighters; this Ventoux is a killer bottle of wine. It’s loaded with black fruit, touched with baking spices, rosemary and thyme. It’s a generous, full bodied wine but mineral and fresh. For the restaurant, it’s the perfect wine by the glass, open bottles last for days, just getting more complex, finer as we go on. It will act the same on your kitchen counter although my bet is that the wine won’t last that long…the fruit is just crazy good.
Out of stock
91 Points, James Suckling
A ripe and rich Ventoux, offering aromas of blood oranges and wild raspberries that lead to a vibrant and gently grainy palate with fresh red plums and berries. Drink or hold.
For the first time, we have the 2021 Abbona Dolcetto Langhe in house. This is a fantastic and fun bottle to enjoy on it’s own, but it is also a showstopper with pizza. Made for those who love their wines with inky dark fruit, this boasts a jet black color with aromas of black cherry, blackberries and baked cake spice. The Langhe Dolcetto is the product of extremely low-yielding but highly concentrated juice that comes from the younger vines of her Estate. Incredibly fun to drink and to smell — it’s also what some would argue is the best compliment to a good pizza pie with some meat on it!
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
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.”
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.
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