2019 Los Vascos - Sauvignon Blanc

2019 Los Vascos - Sauvignon Blanc

   As I sit down to write this review, America as a country is pretty much Locked-down. As always, I will stay out of politics here on this channel but I will ask that everyone please keep in mind the following....." power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."  Now, onto wine.
   Before I start off into this wine I must thank Dana Bruneau of Cuvee & Co. (http://cuveeco.com/) for sending me this wine. Cuvee & Co. is a digital and social marketing firm specializing in enological and viticultural pursuits of all kinds. Mrs. Bruneau has sent me wines from Barron De Rothschild Lafite (such as this wine is) in the past and for the most part other than for one wine, I have to say that they have all been simply wonderful. When Mrs. Bruneau presented me with the invitation to once again taste some wines from the same Producer I was very excited and couldn't resist, especially to taste a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay under Barron De Rothschild ownership. Let's go ahead now and get into this wine now.

   Today's wine review is on the 2019 Los Vascos - Sauvignon Blanc from Casablanca Chile (http://www.lafite.com/en/the-domaines/vina-los-vascos/the-wines/los-vascos-sauvignon-blanc/). Let's start off here with the following facts concerning this wine. The wine is made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The bottle is Cork sealed and the wine comes in at 13% Alcohol. The vineyard (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gqii4adhxguffxo/AADy2o8XUrln0vIgIC9nmfppa/Los%20Vascos/Press%20Kit?dl=0&preview=Los+Vascos+Sustainability.pdf&subfolder_nav_tracking=1) the grapes come from is very much into sustainability, like to the max. Looking at their website, it really appears as if they take that idea to heart and completely embrace it. The production of this wine is limited to only 25,000 cases and the wine retails for $10.
   Let's go ahead and check out the label on this wine now. Guys, I am really liking what I am seeing right now. I absolutely love classic labeling. I am also getting the impression at least of a super classy and prestigious white wine being held within the bottle but I guess what else would one expect from a wine produced by Barron De Rothschild Lafite, right? I like the back label as well here as it is really informative and provides quite a bit of useful information, thankfully overshadowing the Surgeon Generals warning.

Sauvignon Blanc Grapes Hanging

    So now I want to get to the Bouquet for a bit. Upon bringing the glass to my nose now I get a light yet sufficient Note of Gooseberry. This Note is not as in your face as it can be at times from the New Zealand expression of the varietal but nevertheless is still present in a nice way. I am getting faint yet effective Notes of both semi-ripe Nectaurine & Peach as well here. These Notes are not at what I would consider to be dominating on the Nose but they are appreciated and nice. I am also enjoying a Lemon Note which is at the same presentation level as the other three Notes. Before I move on now I have to tell you that the Bouquet leaves the perception firmly rooted in my mind of a wine possessing the varietally, non-traditional, extreme crispness & boldness Notes of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal. If this wine shows itself off on the Palate as it does on the Nose, I am in for a unique experience.
   Now I am excited to actually look at the wine and tell you what I am seeing. Stunningly, as I look at the wine while it is held over a white background I see a sharply presented silver in color liquid sitting in my glass. The wine exhibits a brilliance or clarity to it that is almost unmatched. Now as I remove the background and look straight at the wine as it sits on the table in my glass I get a wine that switches to a nice light gold in color but still maintains that brilliance/clarity to it. I can't help but think of the words "classy", "clean", "brilliance" & "delightful" as I look at the wine. As I move to the wines Palate presentation now I will see if any of these descriptions continue to hold true.

Cellars at Chateau Lafite Rothschild

   On the Palate now I have to first tell you that my feelings on what the Nose was showing as far as "classy" & "clean" absolutely do translate over onto the Palate. Folks, my Mouth is almost bursting with acidic citrus flavor. The wine is weird in the fact that the first Note I get though is a bit of semi sweetness from that Peach and Nectarine combination but very quickly (almost immediately actually) this seems to reverse itself and is overtaken by the citrus Notes of both lemon along with a hair bit of lime. Wow, this wine is truly throwing out what I would definitely say is quite a lively, fresh & clean Palate guys. A small bit of Honeydew sweetness is present here as well and I think now that this, as well as the Peach & Nectarine, is where that initial bit of sweetness comes from that I previously mentioned. As I sit out back and sip on this wine I can't help but to appreciate the boldness and overall Palate cleanness of this wine. Following these Notes up is one of ripe pear which interjects itself rather nicely at Mid-Palate as it helps the other tropical notes sort of steer the wine away being too acidic or bright due to the Lemon & Lime acidity. I have to address the word of "sweetness" for a moment. These normally sweeter fruits do create a permanent presence in the wine but because they themselves are restrained, they can't even come close to altering the direction of this wine to that of a wine whose grapes were grown in hot weather. Continuing now, Lychee also creates a nice presence here and while on one hand, it is not exactly what I would consider to be subtle, on the other hand, it is not what I would consider to be overwhelming either, it is good though. This Lychee makes no attempt at taking the lead and seems to be very content on being in second or perhaps even third place knowing that it can be just as effective. The wine displays a substantial bit of minerality as well on the Palate and is not in the least bit shy in exposing it. Mixed into the wine is also a bit of an Orange Zest type Note that is present towards the Finish of the wine but is rather low key and well placed nonetheless. As a last Palate Note here I must add that the wine throws in a hint of a slight peppery Note that is dispersed throughout the presentation of the wine and I love it as I feel that it truly completes the package. This is a rather complex Sauvignon Blanc folks and is not the typical offering from the likes of California nor for that matter Marlborough, New Zealand that we all (including myself ) seem to love.  One last thing now, I have to let you know as it is something else of importance, a heads up of sorts I guess you could say. The wine possesses a bit too much of a sharpness at the Mid-Palate as it warms a bit so be vigilant on the ice bucket. I am glad that up until the end I was able to maintain the temperature of the wine. Well, guys, it is indeed time to conclude this review.

Eric Kohler, Technical Director of the Bordeaux Châteaux,

   As we are now at my final thoughts I will straight out tell you, warn you that if your Palate preference is locked into the New Zealand or California expressions of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal then this might not be a wine for you. This wine carries with it a very unique expression of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal and while it does hold to some similar common characteristics of the wine from those mentioned areas, it is unique in its dryness and its Lemony Acidity & minerality. All of those other interpretations are wonderful in my opinion, don't get me wrong and fortunately, I am open to all of them as I believe the varietal itself is amazing. As a reminder, when you buy this wine I highly, (I said highly) recommend that you keep it chilled as the sharpness that the wine normally exhibits really increases as the wine warms up and it is not desirable in my book. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale, I am giving this wine 93 points which means that the wine is "Outstanding: A wine of superior character and style." Thank you once again, Dana, for sending me this super nice wine, I really enjoyed it.
   For those who are interested, here (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gqii4adhxguffxo/AAApzmO-nzien7J3xHaG5INBa/Los%20Vascos/Tech%20Sheets?dl=0&preview=Los+Vascos+Sauvignon+Blanc+2018+Tech+Sheet.pdf&subfolder_nav_tracking=1) is the Tech Sheet on the wine.


                                                                                                                                The Desert Wine Guy

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