New Jersey Wine Restaurant and Shopping Guide - Monmouth County

Pier Village New Jersey- Pier Village is a top destination in Monmouth County for shopping, restaurants and oceanfront condominiums
Red Bank Restaurants - For a directory of all restaurants located in Red bank New Jersey, visit www.brianpasch.com.
Undici Restaurant - Undici Restaurant is located in Rumson New Jersey on River Road, serving Italian food.
Restaurant Nicholas - the best restaurant in New Jersey for five star gourmet dining. Reservations are recommended at Restaurant Nicholas in Red Bank NJ.
Monmouth County Dining - find great restaurants in Monmouth County New Jersey on www.brianpasch.com
Asbury Park Information - restaurants and retail shops in Asbury Park New Jersey.
Hall Winery California - visit the Hall Winery and experience great wines like the Diamond Mountain Cabernet.
Winery Scarecrow Cabernet - read the latest reviews including the 2005 Scarecrow Cabernet; a new California cult wine.
NJ Internet Marketing - the best agency for Internet marketing and search engine optimization in New Jersey.
Infiniti Car Dealer NJ - Circle Infiniti is New Jersey's best Infiniti car dealer, located in Monmouth County NJ.
2004 Dalla Valle Cabernet - read the latest wine review of the 2004 Dalla Valley Winery cabernet by Brian Pasch.
Sickles Wine and Cheese Classic - buy tickets for the 2008 Wine and Cheese Classic to benefit Holiday Express

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06-15-2008 - Restaurant Nicholas Our Top Pick
06-01-2008 - Mollydooker Wine Event - August 23rd
05-10-2008 - 2004 Dalla Valle Cabernet
05-05-2008 - 2005 Scarecrow Cabernet
05-05-2008 - 2004 Maiden Cabernet Review
04-25-2008 - 2005 Ghost Block Cabernet
04-19-2008 - 2005 Meander Cabernet
04-18-2008 - 2005 Maybach Materium
04-07-2008 - 2004 Sage Cabernet
04-05-2008 - 2005 Buccella Cabernet
02-20-2008 - 2004 Modus Operandi Cabernet
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1995 The Maiden - A Great Surprise

In 1998 Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #120 (Dec 1998) ) gave this wine a 90 point score. When I first tasted this wine back in 1998 as part of my mailing list allocation I was also not very impressed. But since I have great respect for the wines produced at Harlan, I put aside my remaining bottles to see how they would age.

Fast forward eight years and tonight I was shocked just how good this wine tasted. I shared this bottle with a few friends and they all agreed that this wine was delicious but still young! The wine had a great nose, concentrated fruit and integrated tannins. The tannins were still slightly present which gave me great hope that this wine will continue to age gracefully.

Robert parker noted that this wine would be an "early maturing" wine with a drinking range of 1998-2013. I believe he got the score and aging potential wrong on both scores because this wine as not enjoyable in its first 7 years from two tasting that I did in 1998 and in 2002. The 1995 The Maiden, which is made by Harlan Estate owner Bill Harlan, could easily last another 10-15 years and I would venture to say that it would be even more delicious than tonight.

This wine is very hard to find and purchase except at auction. Since it is the "second" label of Harlan Estate the price for the wine is often at least half of the price of the Harlan Estate wine. If you have a chance to purchase a bottle at a restaurant or at auction, it would be a fine addition to your collection. I rate the wine 96+ points.

Brian Pasch - September 2, 2006