Drew's Wine List

NV Lucien Albrecht Cremant d'Alsace Brut  Vintage:  NV Region:  Alsace, France Winery:  Lucien Albrecht Varieties:  Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Auxerrois Price:  $15 Rating:  91 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review:  Hopefully everyone had a nice weekend and was able to properly celebrate "Open that bottle of Virginia wine night." I hosted a small tasting with my roommates, and we had the 2018 Barboursville Cabernet Franc as well as the 2017 White Hall Viognier- both were great! Now it's back to your regularly scheduled programming. A couple of weeks ago, my mom opened this bottle for me at dinner at the suggestion of one of the people at a store we shop at. I was intrigued because Cremant d'Alsace is always a great option (it's a great way to get Champagne quality sparklers, made in the Champagne method, for a fraction of the price), but it's not usually something a whole lot of people will suggest! Just as a quick refresher- "Cremant"...

  2018 Barboursville Barbera Reserve  Vintage:  2018 Region:  Virginia, USA Winery:  Barboursville Varieties:  Barbera Price:  $20 My Rating:  88 Points The Review: Saturday, March 27 is Open that Bottle of Virginia Wine Day! Now, I don't know if that's an internationally celebrated holiday, but those of us from the Commonwealth can certainly indulge and #buylocal- something I admittedly don't do enough. To honor this upcoming "holiday," I'm gonna take a gander at the first Virginia wine on the blog! Virginia has really been on the up and up and has been receiving quite a bit of international recognition in recent years. From wineries like Breaux and King Family, to bigger names like Barboursville and RdV, to some incredibly successful newcomers with hot-shot interns, Virginia wine is starting to finally catch the eyes of the wine world. In fact, the legendary wine critic responsible for the Judgement of Paris, Steven Spurrier (recently passed, Go...

2019 Alfredo Maestro "El Rey del Glam"  Vintage:  2019 Region:  V.T. Castilla y León, Spain Winery:  Alfredo Maestro Varieties:  Garnacha (aka Grenache) Price:  $23.99 My Rating:  94 Points The Review: This week's wine is a little bit of a splurge, but it doesn't fall too high above my $20 threshold, so I'm gonna allow it. I also just quite frankly think it's good enough to warrant the extra 4 bucks! I picked up Alfredo Maestro's "El Rey del Glam" at the suggestion of a friend and after scouring the Earth in search of it, I finally found it at Ellwood Thompson (in Richmond). I'm hoping that y'all will be able to find it at a specialty store (either wine or grocery), but these sorts of small production wines that overproduce oftentimes get snatched up very very quickly. So to be upfront, there is a non-zero chance that you won't be able to find this. Nevertheless, I hope you'll still keep your eyes peeled for it, and it's made ...

  2020 Kirkland K Vine Rosé  Vintage:  2020 Region: Washington, USA (Buckshot Vineyard) Winery:  Charles Smith in collaboration with Kirkland Signature Varieties:  Syrah Price:  $9.99 (at Costco) My Rating:  89 Points The Review: I came up with my New Year's Resolution about 5 minutes ago, and it's to drink more rosé once it gets warmer out. It's the perfect summer bevvie, and I just feel like people don't drink enough of it. Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to tell you that it can be super underwhelming at times, but there are also times where it just works perfectly. Think about a cookout... burgers, mac and cheese, and rosé? Dang, I'm hungry. As you all probably know by now, this is an unofficial Charles Smith and Kirkland fan page. So, when I heard about this collab between two of my favorite things, I just had to have it. I'm also proud to say that I've taught my mom well enough that she spotted the label and immediately knew that Charles S...