2016 Lola Kay Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley 750 ml

The Value of a Perfectionist’s Touch

When 100-point winemakers hold their $20 white wines to the very same exacting standards as their $200+ masterpieces, you don’t blink on the chance to own some. Winemaker Tim Milos earned one of the greatest lines from Robert Parker for one of his Cabernet Sauvignons, which hit perfection. The Wine Advocate founder gushed: “If you want a quintessential example of what perfection is in my business, taste this wine! Absolutely remarkable in every sense.” Tim’s experience at Opus One, Cliff Lede, and Hidden Ridge has honed a mastery that is evident in every project he touches: The 2016 Lola Kay is an aromatic, citrusy, crisp, and awesome example of Napa Sauvignon Blanc that would be a great value at its release price of $20. But at our $14 price tag, it’s like a hush has come over the room, and only two sounds can be heard: the veritable pin-dropping, and the sighs of those who see the words: “sold out.” This offer will be history by the end of the day.

Fifth-generation Bay Area native, Tim Milos has earned just about every accolade a winemaker can achieve: multiple placements on annual Top 100 lists; countless wines rated 95 points and above; and a coveted 100-point perfect score from Robert Parker. And tasting the 2016 Lola Kay Sauvignon Blanc, it is clear that Tim puts the same effort into crafting that crisp white wine as he does into his high-scoring wines that fetch triple-digit prices.

Tim and his team tasted fruit from all over Napa Valley for the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, striking a perfect balance with grapes from two sources: One cool and foggy vineyard in Carneros, and a sun-drenched up-valley parcel that proprietor Peter Rubissow reveals only as a “meticulously farmed splendid private estate — that required an NDA.” This has become the Lola Kay M.O.: Find impeccable fruit from top sources, swear to secrecy, and parlay it all into a wine whose price doesn’t even begin to hint at its quality.

The result speaks for itself. The 2016 Lola Kay is a light, refreshing, and versatile white wine: A gorgeous example of Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc untouched by oak, and showing pure fruit and herbal components as well as Tim Milos’s signature impeccable quality. This is a wine to take home by the case, and to show off.

Jonathan Cristaldi

Editor-in-Chief, Wine Access