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.
Out of stock
Don't worry! Enter your email and we'll notify you when it's available again or if we have very similar products from this producer.
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.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
The secret to Philippe’s tightly wound, complex Pinot Noir is a combo of ancient vines, natural farming techniques, and low yields. The wines are built to age, with incredible tension and length. And the secret to me securing his other-wordly 2017 old-vine Gevry-Chambertin can be chalked up to a great relationship and over a decade supporting superior Burgundian winemaking. The wine is scary good. The nose is wild, filled with spiced dark raspberries, red flowers, and baking spices. The palate is elegant and racy, with a dynamic tension that runs right through its minute-long finish. This is a high-toned, wound-up Pinot, that is starting to hit its prime and is really turning out to be a ‘must-have’ for true Burgundy lovers.
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.
95 Points, James Suckling – 94 Points, Wine Spectator – 93 Points, Wine Enthusiast
The new release is here from outstanding winemaking team of Michel Rolland, Charles Thomas, Andy Erickson and David Jelenik. This one always represents one of the best quality-to-price ratios in all of Napa Cab and in the stellar 2021 vintage, this really stands out as one of the best the Valley has to offer. It’s a racy mix of Coombsville fruit from Atlas Peak that absolutely roars out of the bottle. Always one of Napa’s great bargains and a must have even as the price starts to sneak up here a little bit.
#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.”
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.