Drew's Wine List

2015 Linden Hardscrabble Chardonnay Vintage:  2015 Region:  Fauquier County, Virginia Winery:  Linden Vineyards Varieties:  Chardonnay Price:  $35 My Rating:  89 Points The Review: In honor of most Virginia wineries making it through most of harvest (at least of white grapes) and Fall sneaking up on us, I thought it'd be appropriate to cover one of the most recognized and renowned Virginia wines out there- the Linden Hardscrabble Chardonnay. Linden Vineyards was first planted in 1985 with the intention of making single-vineyard expression wines. The first few acres, now making up part of the "Hardscrabble" vineyard, are still included in today's production. Those are some old vines! Typically, vineyards in Virginia will cycle out vines every 10ish years, however, Linden has been able to keep these old vines healthy and continue their production. Currently, Linden has three distinct vineyard sites- Hardscrabble, Avenius, and Boisseau- and the wines that have...

2019 A to Z Wineworks Pinot Gris Vintage:  2019 Region:  Oregon, USA Winery:  A to Z Wineworks Varieties:  Pinot Gris (aka Pinot Grigio) Price:  $9.99 Expert Rating:  90 Points My Rating:  88 Points The Review:  Today we answer the age-old question- are Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio the same thing? The simple answer is yes! Both Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are the exact same grape, but Pinot Gris is from France, and Pinot Grigio is from Italy (Gris and Grigio being French and Italian respectively for "grey"). However, like most things in wine, there's a more complicated answer as well. While the wines are the same grape, winemakers have started to use the different names to refer to the style that the wine is made in. The Italian style, which most people are quite familiar with from every wedding ever, is light, fruity, and pretty straightforward  (what wine people politely call "neutral").  To be a little frank, Pinot Grigio is made to ge...

2019 Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc Vintage:  2019 Region:  California, USA Winery:  Joel Gott Varieties:  Sauvignon Blanc Price:  $9.99 Rating:  92 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review: As I was looking through some of my notes trying to find something to write about, I stumbled upon this wine and was just shocked that I had forgotten to write about it! The 2019 Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc was one of the biggest unexpected hits of 2020, and for good reason. It's gotten unbelievable recognition, can be found just about anywhere, and best of all, it's $9! After a great vintage year for California, famed producer Joel Gott was able to put out a smash hit Sauvignon Blanc that ended up being ranked #21 on Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 of 2020. Now, most of these sorts of wines from respected big-name producers will be consistently solid, but it's pretty exciting when they're able to put out a stunner. It's up there with some of the better Sauvignon Blancs in the w...

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"...

2019 Martín Códax Albariño Vintage:  2019 Region:  Rías Baixas, Spain Winery:  Martín Códax Varieties:  100% Albariño Price:  $12 Critic Rating:  89 Points My Rating:  88 Points The Review:  Happy Monday (for you; it's Sunday for me right now)! I noticed that I hadn't written about that many whites recently, which I'll chalk up to the cold weather. Just as beer drinkers will switch over to heavier/heartier beers in the winter, many wine drinkers tend to drink mostly reds in the cold, so I'm having to rely on some older notes for today's wine because I want to avoid only writing about reds. The Martín Códax Albariño is an example of the most famous Spanish white grape, from said grape's most famous region, by said region's most internationally recognized producer. Year after year, it is one of the most solid examples of Albariño from the Rias Baixas region in Northwestern Spain for a fair price every year. One of the cool things about Albariño...

2015 Seigneurie de Posanges Bourgogne Blanc Vintage:  2015 Region:  Burgundy, France Winery:  Seigneurie de Posanges Varieties:  Chardonnay Price:  $15 (at Wegmans) My Rating:  90 Points The Review:  If you're looking for the world's most famous Chardonnay, Burgundy is the place to go. It offers a little bit of everything- slightly oaked and balanced Chardonnays, as well as crisp and minerally unoaked Chardonnays. Either way, the fruit notes and balance are essential to these wines. What you're not going to find here is super over-the-top buttery Chards like you might occasionally have stumbled upon coming out of California. Burgundian winemakers do everything in their power to not have anything outshine the expressive nature of the grape. Like all French wines (except for wines from Alsace... longish story), Burgundian wines are labeled by region instead of grape. So, unless you want to fight centuries of French snobbery and arrogance, it's your job a...

2017 Alexandre Monmousseau Clos le Vigneau Vouvray Vintage:  2017 Region:  Loire Valley, France (Vouvray AOC) Winery:  Alexandre Monmousseau Varieties:  Chenin Blanc Price:  $13 (at Costco) Rating:  91 Points My Rating:  90 Points The Review:  If you've yet to notice, I try to keep a nice balance of red, white, and sparkling on this blog, but occasionally I'll slip into a rut of red and sparkling because those are my personal preferences. This rut only deepens in the winter because it's rare that I crave a fresh white wine when it's cold out. However, I was lucky enough to stumble upon a bottle of this Vouvray and grabbed it to drink during some of my mom and I's holiday baking, and it certainly did not disappoint. Some of France's most exciting wines these days are coming out of the same region as today's wine- the Loire Valley. This region, located in the Northwest of France, starts at the Atlantic coast and extends well inland, which allows an ...

  2018 Dr. Loosen "Dr. L" Dry Riesling Vintage:  2018 Region:  Mosel, Germany Winery:  Dr. Loosen Varietal:  Riesling Price:  $10 Rating:  88 Points My Rating:  91 Points The Review:  Since I've already written about Riesling from the Alsace region, I figure I should cover the other region that's really renowned for Riesling- the Mosel in Germany. Whereas Alsatian wines are always dry, Riesling from the Mosel will occasionally have a touch of residual sugar to balance the extreme acidity of these wines. This will add a little body and results in a brilliant wine that is amped up to level 100 in all facets. This wine also serves as a great introduction to one of the most recognized producers in Europe- Dr. Loosen.  The acid levels are so high in Mosel Riesling for two main reasons- the Mosel is one of the northernmost wine regions in the world, so the grapes struggle to ripen fully; and these are some of the steepest vineyards in the worl...

  2019 Hugl Weine Grüner Veltliner (1L) Vintage:  2019 Region:  Niederösterreich, Austria Winery:  Hugl Weine Varietal:  Grüner Veltliner Price:  $12 My Rating:  86 Points The Review:  We're venturing into hipster grape territory today, so slap on your skinny jeans and get ready! Grüner Veltliner is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated grapes in the world of wine. It's really only grown in Austria, so that's probably why it doesn't get much press... But I'm out to change that! GV is very similar to Sauvignon Blanc. It's really high in acid, has lots of citrus and green apple notes, and has a hint of something else- usually a touch of a white pepper note or a faint floral note. So if you find yourself loving Sauvignon Blanc, this can be a great way to mix it up some without venturing very far from what you know you like. As an added bonus, it's usually pretty cheap too! The 2019 Hugl Weine GV isn't necessarily the best example of this grape, ...

  2017 Biggio Hamina Biha Andreas Vineyard Gewürztraminer Vintage:  2017 Region:  Willamette Valley AVA, Oregon Winery:  Biggio Hamina Cellars Varietal:  Gewürztraminer Price:  $20.00 from a local wine shop My Rating:  91 Points The Review:  As I was looking through my notes trying to figure out a wine to write about, I stumbled upon this one that I drank a little ways back. Remember how in the last blog post I said that color comes from the skins of the grapes? Well, today's example is what happens when you ferment a white grape with the skins. Normally, white wine isn't ever in contact with the skins, but when it is ("skin contact"), it produces an orange color- thus the wine is known as "orange wine." This skin contact provides some interesting depth in the way of tannins while still presenting classic white wine taste. This method of white winemaking is actually ancient, but disappeared for a while and is just now starting to make a comeback i...

NV Broadbent Vinho Verde Vintage:  NV Region:  Minho, Portugal  Winemaker:  Michael Broadbent Varietal:  50% Loureiro, 40% Trajudura, 10% Arinto Price:  $10 (Kroger) Expert Rating: 88 My Rating:  89 The Review: As you may have noticed, I try to mix up the kinds of wines I write about. However, I absolutely refuse to write about a red wine when it is 99 degrees outside, so here we are with another refreshing white wine. "Grown-up soda" is what people like to refer to Vinho Verde as. Traditionally, it is a super refreshing white wine from Northern Portugal made from grapes native to the area (Alvarinho aka Albariño, Loureiro, etc.). Oftentimes, there is a light fizz too (hence the soda reference). Because this area is pretty chilly, grapes are usually very high in acid and are released very young. This, combined with the fact that people don't really consider Portgual a big wine producer, means that prices are almost always incredibly cheap. You'll be ha...

2016 Trimbach Alsace Riesling Vintage:  2016 Region:  Alsace, France (From vineyards around Ribeauvillé)  Winemaker:  Trimbach Varietal:  Riesling Price:  $17.97 (Wegmans) Expert Rating:  93 My Rating:  91 The Review:  Hope everyone has been good over the last 2 weeks!  After taking a brief unintended sabbatical due to being absurdly busy at work, I am back to once again write about cheap wine. Today's wine is a little more expensive than usual (still only $18), but it is quite delicious and a great example of Alsace Riesling so I wanted to write about it. Like Beaujolais (see last review), America has a tainted idea of Riesling. We seem to think of it as being horrifyingly sweet stuff. And I'm right there with everyone else. I thought this was the case up until I started really studying wine... Turns out, Riesling is widely considered to be "the greatest grape" and is quite versatile and expressive. I'm still trying to figure out the wh...

2018 Groth Sauvignon Blanc Vintage:  2018 Region:  Napa Valley, California Winemakers:  Groth (Cameron Parry) Varietal:  86% Sauvignon Blanc, 14% Sémillon Price:  $16.97 at Costco Expert Rating:  93 My Rating:  92 The Review: What up gang! Hope everyone is still hanging in there. We can do it!!! I'm officially done with Zoom University for the semester, so hopefully I can post more now that I have absolutely no life. Today's review is of a stellar sauv blanc from Groth in Napa. Groth has been making consistently great wine for 40 years now, and the 2018 vintage is certainly no exception. An affordable Napa wine that has got great acclaim is really something special, so definitely hop on this one. Fun fact, Groth's 1985 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was California's first perfect 100, so that's pretty hype. Let's get into the tasting. As soon as you get near this wine, you get smacked by a big robust nose. It's overflowing wi...

2018 Kiwi Gold Sauvignon Blanc Vintage:  2018 Region:  Marlborough, New Zealand Winery:  Kiwi Gold Varietal:  Sauvignon Blanc Price:  $9.99 at Wegmans Expert Rating:  90 My Rating:  92 The Review: Happy spring break if you're in college! If you're not in college, hope you've enjoyed your normal workweek. Sorry for a bit of a delay in posts, I've just gotten through arguably the hardest week of my academic career. But hey, we made it and now it's time to kick back and drink a lil' wine. Today's post is a really solid sauv blanc from the South Island of New Zealand, the motherland of sauv blanc. The cool nights, maritime climate, and minerally soils are the perfect recipe for crisp and refreshing cool-climate wines. This Kiwi Gold Sauvignon Blanc is no exception to that. It's kind of a "posterchild" for sauv blancs. To start out, it's SUPER aromatic on the nose and the fruit just jumps out of the glass. There's a lo...

2018 A to Z Wineworks Chardonnay Vintage:  2018 Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon Winery:  A to Z Wineworks Varietal:  Chardonnay (Unoaked) Price: $12.99 at Wegmans Expert Rating: 90 My Rating:  95 Things to note : Ranked #58 on Wine Spectator's "Top 100 Wines of 2019" The Review: Hope you all had a fantastic Valentine's day. For this week's post, I've got a personal favorite. In case you couldn't tell from my really high rating, this wine is something else. It's an unoaked chardonnay, so it's a lot less buttery than most chardonnays and instead leans a little more acidic and fruity. When you oak a chardonnay (put it in oak barrels), it gains a lot of that buttery characteristic that sometimes will deter people. So if you don't like this, look for these unoaked wines (they'll say it on the bottle if it's unoaked). Anyways, the scent of this wine is citrus to the max. Lots of lime and lemon immediately with a l...