Drew's Wine List

2017 Altos las Hormigas Malbec Classíco Vintage:  2017 Region: Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina Winery:  Altos las Hormigas Varieties:  Malbec Price:  $11 Rating:  92 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review:  Man, it's been a while! And how about this blog make its triumphant return with some hot takes and a real test of my objectivity? See today's review comes with a touch of controversy- I'm a bit of a known Malbec hater... But it is my duty as a hobby wine critic/not-hobby winemaker to try to stifle my opinions as a consumer and look at the wine with as much objectivity as I can. Of all the Malbecs I've had (not many), this is one that I'll put myself behind. Altos Las Hormigas is a collaboration between two legends in the wine industry- Alberto Antonini and Pedro Parra. The winery aims to express the natural characteristics (weather, climate, soil, etc.-- the French use the obnoxious & overused word "Terroir"), so you end up getting a really fres...

Thanksgiving Wine Recommendations + Review of What I Will Probably Serve for My Family That's right people. I'm writing above the picture! Unprecedented. Anyways, before I gave a review of the wine I'm most likely going to serve at my own family's Thanksgiving dinner (spoiler alert mom), I figured I'd talk about pairing wine with everyone's favorite "impossible-to-pair-wine-with" feast (I mean seriously. Whoever picked these dishes clearly did not have sommeliers in mind.). Pairing food and wine is an art. It takes lots of thought and care to complement, and more importantly, not overshadow flavors. Thus, my official Thanksgiving recommendation is- don't overthink it! And that applies to pairing in general. There are no food and wine pairings that are set in stone. Obviously, some wines will work better than others, but if a wine is good enough, it'll work with just about anything. Which is perfect for Thanksgiving because it's pretty much ...

2018 Domaine Gouron Chinon Rouge Vintage:  2018 Region:  Chinon, Loire Valley, France Winery:  Domaine Gouron Varieties:  Cabernet Franc Price: $17 (found at Kroger in Rio Hill for my CVille Peeps) Rating:  90 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review: Happy Fall! With the most recent blast of cold air, I think we can comfortably say the chill is officially here to stay. That being said, it's time to break out some nice reds for the cooler weather! The 2018 Domaine Gouron Chinon Rouge is the perfect Fall wine and is a great wine because it is a very pure expression of Cabernet Franc, a grape many of us in Virginia are familiar with. The Cabernet Franc variety originated in Southwestern France but made its name as a blending grape in Bordeaux (and as the parent grape of Cabernet Sauvignon). It can make up a large percentage of the blends of Right Bank Bordeaux wines, which are Merlot dominant. In the Loire Valley, however, Cabernet Franc takes center stage and...

2019 Cellier des Princes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Sainte Vierge Vintage:  2019 Region:  Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhône, France Winery:  Cellier des Princes (Négociant) Varieties:  90% Grenache, 5% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre Price:  $22 (at Costco) Rating:  91 Points My Rating:  91 Points The Review: Situated in the Southern Rhône Valley of France sits the wine region with one of the weirdest and most fun names- Châteauneuf-du-Pape (pronounced Chateau-noof doo Pop). Translating to "the Pope's new castle," CdP (not typing that whole name anymore) earned its name after the Pope moved temporarily to the region from 1309 to 1378. It is regarded as the most famous Grenache-based wines in the world, and this is another one of those magical regions which has benefited from great marketing. You'll be very hard-pressed to find a bottle for below $30. The Rhône Valley is a fascinating place, because it is geographically divided into North and South, and each part ...

2014 W&J Graham's Late Bottled Vintage Porto Vintage:  2014 Region: Douro, Porto, Portugal Winery:  W&J Graham Varieties:  Blend of Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Barroca, old mixed vines Price:  $24 (I found it for $21 at Trader Joe's) Rating:  92 Points My Rating:  93 Points The Review: As I was sitting at home the other night enjoying a nice glass of Port after dinner (hold the old man jokes), I realized that I've never written about the well-known fortified wine! And I've gotta be honest with you, it's for two main reasons- 1) I really don't drink a ton of it, and 2) it's one of the harder types of wines to explain. But I promise I'll do my best, and hopefully you'll close your browser having learned a little bit about Porto. And maybe you'll drink some instead of just cooking with it. :) Right off the bat, let me clear the air before we get into it. I'll probably alternate between referring to the wine as ...

2018 Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva Vintage:  2018 Region:  Chianti Classico DOCG, Tuscany, Italy Winery:  Kirkland Signature Varieties:  At least 80% Sangiovese with Colorino, Canaiolo Nero, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot making up the rest. Price:  $7.99 Rating:  92 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review: I recently solidified my grownup status with my joining of Costco, and I must admit I've been TEARING through their wine section. One of the wines I was super excited to stumble upon is the 2018 Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva- not just because it's a Tuscan wine for $7.99, but because it's a really really good Tuscan wine for $7.99. I had heard a lot about this wine in the past from writers and magazines, so I was excited to give it a try and find out just how good it is. I've written about Chianti Classico in some previous blogs, so I won't bore you too much with long explanations about the laws and grape growing techniqu...

2019 Kirkland Signature Carneros Pinot Noir Vintage:  2019 Region:  Carneros, Napa Valley, California Winery:  Kirkland Signature (made by Alison Crowe) Varieties:  Pinot Noir Price:  $9.99 My Rating:  88 Points The Review: Howdy folks. Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day! Today's blog covers what I think is one of the all-around best value wines out there. The 2019 Kirkland Carneros Pinot Noir is consistently a really good Pinot for $10! As I think I've mentioned in the past, Pinot Noir is really hard to make well for cheap. It's finicky, very sensitive to the weather, and can easily be screwed up by the winemaker. This one, however, from the very famous Pinot region of Carneros, is typically very good! From the Napa side of Carneros (this subregion is really interesting because part of it is in Sonoma and the other part is in Napa), Alison Crowe puts out a wine that checks all of the boxes for what we want in a wine from this region. One of the really ...

2018 Louis Jadot Bourgogne Pinot Noir Vintage:  2018 Region:  Burgundy, France Winery:  Louis Jadot Varieties:  Pinot Noir Price:  $14 Rating:  89 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review: Some of the most expensive wines in the world are coming out of Burgundy, France at the moment. These wines are historically the most renowned Pinot Noirs, and the famed Domaine de la Romanee Conti regularly puts out new releases that retail at over $1000. While tons of super-rich collectors absolutely eat this kind of stuff up, many wine professionals will tell you that some of the worst values out there are from Burgundy. Even though Pinot Noir is naturally expensive (I feel like I've explained why in a previous blog at some point...), Burgundian wines really decide to ramp up the price a little bit more. For reference, you usually can't find a really good red Burgundy for below $30...  That being said, Burgundian wines got recognition for a reason. They're a b...

2017 Zenato Alanera Rosso Vintage:  2017 Region:  Veneto, Italy Winery:  Zenato Varieties:  55% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, 10% Covinone, 5% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon Price:  $11 Rating:  93 Points My Rating:  93 Points The Review:  Today's wine is a really interesting Costco find that I was reluctant to try, but finally did (I feel like I've seen it elsewhere, but it's always at my Costco). And boy is it good... James Suckling, the critic who gave this a 93, is consistently handing out ratings that are too high for Italian wines (he owns a house there, so he's biased), but I think he nailed this one. The Zenato Alanera (which translates to black wing btw) is unique in a few ways. First, it's made with a really odd blend of grapes. There are a few varieties that are indigenous to Northern Italy, your classic Cab and Merlot, and Corvina, a grape of legend. Corvina is famous for being the main grape in the wines of the Valpolicella region. In this ...

  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 ...

NV Lini 910 "Labrusca" Lambrusco Rosso   Vintage:  NV Region:  Emilia-Romagna, Italy Winery:  Lini Oreste & Figli Varieties:  85% Salamino, 15% Ancellotta Price:  $15 Critic Rating: 88 Points My Rating:  87 Points The Review: Apologies for the slight delay in between blogs! Got caught up in the first week of classes. But now that I'm settled in a bit more, I think it's the perfect time to talk about good ole' Lambrusco. Commonly misconceived as being sweet garbage (at least in America), Lambrusco actually has varying levels of sweetness and presents a unique opportunity to crush a fizzy red wine. In fact, usually, it's dry! And yes, I didn't mistype- it's a fizzy red. It can also be a fizzy white and a fizzy rose, but it's got a surprisingly complicated naming system that I'm quite unfamiliar with. Maybe one day... Usually classified as being "frizzante" as opposed to "spumante" (which would be more like a normal sparkli...

  2016 Chateau les Aubiers Cotes de Bordeaux Vintage:  2016 Region:  Bordeaux (Blaye), France Winery:  Chateau les Aubiers Varieties:  80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec Price:  $6.99 (at Costco) Critic Rating: 91 Points My Rating:  91 Points The Review: I must admit, I've recently been on a bit of a more traditional region wine kick... Burgundies, Tuscans, and of course, Bordeaux. Normally I try to be adventurous in my wine drinking- lesser-known regions, maybe a weird grape, or the occasional "natural wine"- but I'm loving my explorations of these classic regions (they're famous for a reason!). This wine today, however, allowed me to get a little mix of a classic region, but less traditional farming practices and winemaking techniques (it's very cool if you're a nerd that is interested in agricultural practices, but I'll spare you the details). Also, it was $6.99 at Costco and it normally retails for ~$40! As the home of some of the most w...

2017 Tenuta Di Renieri Chianti Classico Vintage:  2017 Region: Tuscany, Italy (Chianti Classico DOCG) Winery:  Renieri Varieties:  Sangiovese Price:  $16 (at Total Wine) Rating:  93 Points My Rating:  91 Points The Review: After two of the most legendary vintages in Tuscan wines ('15 and '16), the renowned region was bound to have a little bit of a slowdown. The 2017 vintage was met with its share of challenges, but many famous producers still managed to put out a great product as they always do. Now while I would totally encourage you to go seek out a 2015 or 2016 Tuscan wine (Castellani, a producer I've already written about has an awesome 2015 Chianti Classico), I drank the 2017 Tenuta di Renieri Chianti Classico for Christmas dinner, so I wanted to write about it. I've also always personally thought that making a good wine during a perfect vintage doesn't really say anything about the winery... If you make bad wine in a perfect vintage, you just suck. I...

2014 Sur de los Andes Malbec-Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage:  2014 Region:  Mendoza, Argentina Winery:  Sur de los Andes Varieties:  50% Malbec, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon Price:  $12 (found it at Wegmans) Rating:  92 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review: Perhaps one of the most interesting wine regions to watch right now is Argentina. Up until the 1800s, Malbec was one of the main grapes of Bordeaux. However, in the mid-1800s an insect known as Phyllorexa swept across America and Europe and destroyed pretty much all the vines that were planted. Since Malbec was so finicky in France, the growers never bothered to replant it. Conveniently at the same time, Argentina began pumping tons of money into viticulture and winemaking in order to compete with their arch-nemesis, Chile, who had experienced success with wine production. The French were more than happy to help Argentina establish their wines (there weren't wine jobs in Europe at this point), and they saw...

  2016 Wente Sandstone Merlot Vintage:  2016 Region: Livermore Valley, California, USA Winery:  Wente Varieties:  78% Merlot, 15% Petite Sirah, 7% Malbec Price:  $13 (Should be able to find everywhere, but I found at Wegmans) Rating:  90 Points My Rating:  92 Points The Review: One of my favorite weird wine stories to tell people is related to Merlot. In the movie "Sideways," Paul Giamatti's character at one point yells, "I am NOT drinking any f****** Merlot!" After the movie came out, market analysts actually found that sales of Merlot in the US notably dropped and have only just recently started to rebound. It got to be so bad, in fact, that many producers would make wines that had a majority Merlot and throw in a touch of something else, then label it as a "red blend." Merlot has always been pretty respected (at least in the wine world). It's one of the major grapes in world-famous Bordeaux wines and has high potential and high versatility. That...

  2016 A to Z Wineworks Pinot Noir   Vintage:  2016 Region:  Oregon, USA Winery:  A to Z Wineworks Varietal:  Pinot Noir Price:  $15.99 (Should be able to find everywhere) Rating:  90 Points My Rating:  91 Points The Review: Everyone give a nice warm "welcome back to the blog" to A to Z Wineworks! As you may have noticed, A to Z produced the first wine I ever wrote about, and today is the day I revisit their wines. While I've been on this drinking adventure, I've got a little side quest going. I'm on the hunt for quality Pinot below $20. Many wine professionals would laugh if I told them that because as I've talked about in the past, Pinot is super finicky and hard to make well, but I'm maintaining hope! So far, this one from A to Z sits on the throne. Oregon is receiving quite the praise around the world for putting out incredible Pinots that are a lot cheaper than Burgundy Pinots. Whereas a $20 Burgundy isn't going to be all that good, you ...