2019 Lawson's Dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough New Zealand 750 ml

The 2019 Lawson’s Dry Hills was our top-rated Sauvignon Blanc of 2020 and remains in the top spot, clocking in with a member rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars. That puts this $18.99 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in the same category as $80 icons like Louis Latour’s Grand Cru Puligny-Montrachet, TOR’s Napa Chardonnay, and E. Guigal’s dual-97-point Condrieu.

Lawson’s unparalleled value is a blessing and a curse for American wine lovers: After South Island locals and Southern Hemisphere critics have their fill, there’s seldom a case left for anyone else. When there is, we jump on it—as should you.

This wine is for fans of bright, ultra-aromatic white wines, and especially New World Sauvignon Blanc lovers. It’s pure, classic New Zealand, bursting with ripe guava, lemongrass, tarragon, and citrus. No matter where we have the pleasure of tasting it, we always find ourselves lingering way too long over this wine, whose fruit and fresh, crisp acidity will seduce you into taking a second sip, then a third. The next thing you know, this cool Kiwi stunner has become your plan for the afternoon.

While not a household name in the US, Lawson’s Dry Hills is in the Family of Twelve, a consortium of top-tier family-owned New Zealand estates like Craggy Range, Villa Maria, and Nautilus. Their winemaker is the worldly Marcus Wright, who’s made wine on three continents: He went to Chile before sharpening his Sauvignon Blanc skills in the Loire under the watchful eye of legendary Bordeaux (and now global) vintner Jacques Lurton. Marcus has been with Lawson’s Dry Hills since 2000, right around when they first snuck into the US market and started earning their stellar reputation. 

We’re thrilled to have another allocation of this shimmering Lawson release: 2019 was a fantastic year, with a warm, dry summer and lower yields of ripe grapes bursting with that prized Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc character. Marcus and his team picked at optimal ripeness, imbuing the wine with a gorgeous lemon and lime citrus purity, and buzzing acid levels that will keep your palate clean, and keep you reaching for sip after sip. Wright even fermented some of the juice with wild yeasts in old French oak barriques to add extra complexity and a hint of creamy texture to the wine.