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 $15.00
The Zenato family has always been at the forefront of innovation in Valpolicella and often at odds with both tradition and the authorities – pushing boundaries to make the best wines possible regardless of what they’re forced to put on the label.
But this passion project doesn’t make any financial sense whatsoever. It’s drawn from one of the most precious and expensive vineyards in the entire region – the Costalunga Estate – the same vineyard (and grapes) from which Zenato crafts their seventy dollar Amarone.
The vineyard is a special place – perfectly positioned above Lake Garda – basking in the reflections off the lake allowing generally late-harvested Corvina to reach perfection year in and year out.
But the Zenato’s decided something was missing from the wines they were crafting off the vineyard that had to adhere to rigid and arcane wine laws. So they began to test breaking those rules. The effort took decades of experimentation but finally found perfection in a bottle made much like Amarone and from the same hillsides but cannot even bear the name Valpolicella.
Zenato Alanera combines three traditional Valpolicella grapes (55% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, 10% Corvinone) with the remainder an even split of Merlot and Cabernet. Half of the grapes undergo partial drying – including the Cabernet & Merlot – which is something I’ve never tasted before.
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93 Points, James Suckling
Loads of peppery and spicy, ripe cherry and berry character on the nose and palate. Hints of coffee and chocolate, too. Full to medium palate, where the spicy tannins push the fruit into a long finish. I like the full-throttle drive to this red. Will improve in the bottle. Drink or hold.
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95 Points, Jeb Dunnuck – 95 Points, Lisa Perotti-Brown
The oft 100-point winemaker, Jayson Woodbridge had this to say when tasting his 2021 ‘Stargazing’ Sonoma Pinot: “The wine is vibrant and complex with subtle dark fruits and berries, grandmother’s cherry pie, minerals, and a slight touch of rain-soaked earth, intertwined with a balance and very pleasing easy-going luxury. Should have been priced higher but what the hell.” I have no doubt this clerical error will be addressed in the vintages moving forward. But for now, this is a cult Pinot for under $100/bottle.
90 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Xavier Vignon’s brand spanking new CDR 100% is a thing of beauty. It’s already got a blessing from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate who described this wine as, “Full-bodied, concentrated and supple”. This is a gorgeous and intricate blend that features all of the Southern Rhone appellations. This year, the blend was 40% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, 15% Syrah, 7% Cinsault, 7% Marselan, 6% Terret Noir. Nobody can do it like the mad scientist, Xavier Vignon.
In the 2020 vintage in Gevrey-Chambertin, yields were super low and temperatures were hotter than most Burgundian winemakers are accustomed. Many picked too late when the sugars were high and the fruit really ripe, but that was not the play. Still, Ann remained as cool in those hot temps as she did so many years ago in Napa, concentrating more on acid levels than sugars and picking at just the right time. This wine is absolutely singing – it’s an age-worthy beauty that should be even better in 4-7 years.
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!
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