Drew's Wine List

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 Paula Kornell Brut Vintage:  NV Region:  California, USA Winery:  Paula Kornell Varieties:  80% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir Price:  $18 Critic Rating: 94 Points My Rating:  93 Points The Review: Ladies and gentlemen, I've done it! My endless quest for cheap sparkling wine that could pass for good Champagne has come to a (temporary) pause with the discovery of Paula Kornell's California Brut. I've been reading about this wine for a couple of months now, and it's been on my radar, but I hadn't been able to find it until a few days ago. I found it at a Kroger, and I'd be shocked if other stores (especially Wegmans) don't start carrying it soon. This wine is the first effort of Paula Kornell, a descendant of a Champagne family turned California winemakers, and boy has it gotten some good press. It's received several high scores and was listed as Wine Enthusiast's #5 best wine of 2020, thus marking the inaugural release quite the success. It's major...

  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...

  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...