2017 Casas del Bosque Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 750 ml

“Best Chilean Wine Producer”

The International Wine & Spirits Competition in London has named Casas del Bosque “Best Chilean Wine Producer,” not once, but twice. So when the opportunity arose to lock in an allocation of the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc Gran Reserva, we jumped. Pound for pound, and dollar for dollar, few wines from Chile are more generous than the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc Gran Reserva. Made from 100% estate-grown fruit in the country’s burgeoning Casablanca region, the 2017 Gran Reserva offers an ethereal blend of ripe tropical fruit—grapefruit, fresh cut guava, and kiwi—accented by sea spray, crushed stone, and smoke. At $12.99, we call it a bona fide steal.          

If you were to compare Chile’s Casablanca to another New World growing region, the best analogy would be the Santa Barbara coastline. Both spots are magnificent, with the chilly ocean waters on one side and mountains on the other. Daytime highs rarely exceed 80 degrees. In the starlit maritime nights, the mercury plummets, often creeping into the low 40s. While that dramatic diurnal temperature shift stretches out growing seasons interminably, bringing high-acid, small-berry clusters to superb natural ripeness, yields are small—rarely topping 3 tons per acre.

Where Casablanca departs from the Central Coast is in the soil. Casas del Bosque’s hillsides are planted on 120-million-year-old granitic clay, layered with limestone and alluvial gravel. The vines spider down through the porous sediment, tapping into rich deposits and lending the Sauvignon Blanc a superb wet-stone minerality.

All told, this makes for one of the most luscious bargain whites of the last few years—California wineries wouldn’t think twice before charging double the price for this bottle. As such, our recommendation is to buy it by the case.