It’s not really a 94-point wine, but I have to get your attention. This wine shows the deficiency of using points to rate a wine. It’s spectacular in the context of a $10 bottle Sauvignon Blanc. If there’s a more enjoyable one out there at the price, please let me know. On its own merits, it deserves 89 points. But given its value, it’s worth a lot more. Consumers should not be surprised that when one of the greatest winemaking companies of the world — Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) — undertakes a project, the wines will sing. And this one does. Graceful and refined, the attractive bite of Sauvignon Blanc is still present. Absent is the lapel-shaking electricity or the herbaceous intrusion found in many other Sauvignon Blanc. It finishes with a palate-cleansing lime-like accent. Graceful — it’s exactly what you’d expect from Lafite. Ten dollars a bottle — that’s a surprise.
Los Vascos, Casablanca Valley (Chile) Sauvignon Blanc 2019
By Michael Apstein