VIK 2021 is led by Cabernet Franc, like Château Cheval Blanc 2021. James Suckling scored them in bottle: VIK 100, Cheval Blanc 98. One costs $179. The other starts at $450.
VIK 2021 is No. 6 in James Suckling's Top 100 World Wines 2024.
Lafite Rothschild, Margaux, Mouton Rothschild and Haut-Brion 2021, in bottle with James Suckling, from $430 a bottle. VIK 2021: 100 points, $179.
| Wine | JS | Price, to scale | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
VIK 2021 Millahue, Chile | 100 | $179 | |
Château Lafite Rothschild 2021 Pauillac · First Growth | 97 | from$560 | |
Château Margaux 2021 Margaux · First Growth | 98 | from$525 | |
Château Mouton Rothschild 2021 Pauillac · First Growth | 98 | from$495 | |
Château Cheval Blanc 2021 Saint-Émilion | 98 | from$450 | |
Château Haut-Brion 2021 Pessac-Léognan · First Growth | 97 | from$430 | |
Château Palmer 2021 Margaux · Third Growth | 95 | from$270 | |
Château Léoville Las Cases 2021 Saint-Julien · Second Growth | 97 | $180 to $260 |
Comparison scores: James Suckling, in-bottle, vintage as shown. Bordeaux prices: lowest current US retail listing found for a 750ml bottle, October 2026. Prices vary by merchant and availability. Each bar is drawn to scale from zero to the wine's lowest listed price. The Las Cases bar shows its range. VIK prices are US suggested retail.
Carménère was once a major red grape of Bordeaux. After phylloxera it all but vanished there. It survived in Chile, where it was mistaken for Merlot until 1994.
La Piu Belle Red 2022 is 81% Carménère, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, aged 20 months in French oak. Black fruit and fresh spice, violet and lavender, a layered structure and vibrant acidity. The label is a painting by the Chilean artist Gonzalo Cienfuegos.
La Piu Belle Red 2022 Millahue, Chile · 81% Carménère | 96 | $99 |
Alter Ego de Palmer 2019 Margaux | 96 | about $100 to $140 |
Le Clarence de Haut-Brion 2019 Pessac-Léognan | 96 | about $180 to $200 |
Carruades de Lafite 2019 Pauillac | 96 | from$250 |
Comparison scores: James Suckling, in-bottle, vintage as shown. Bordeaux prices: lowest current US retail listings found for a 750ml bottle, October 2026. Prices vary by merchant and availability. VIK prices are US suggested retail.
Milla Cala is our affordable luxury: 66% Cabernet Sauvignon with Carménère, Syrah and Merlot, aged 18 months in French oak. Red fruit and velvety tannins, blackberry and plum, a lift of lavender and violet.
Milla Cala 2022 Cachapoal Valley, Chile | 95 | $55 |
Château Cantemerle 2019 Haut-Médoc · Fifth Growth | 95 | about $40 to $50 |
Château Chasse-Spleen 2020 Moulis-en-Médoc | 94 | about $40 |
Comparison scores: James Suckling, in-bottle, vintage as shown. Bordeaux prices: lowest current US retail listings found for a 750ml bottle, October 2026. Prices vary by merchant and availability. VIK prices are US suggested retail.
Choose a Bordeaux from your list. I'll bring VIK 2021, La Piu Belle Red and Milla Cala, and we'll taste them blind beside it with you and your team.
The idea for VIK began in Bordeaux. In 1997 Alexander and Carrie Vik stayed at one of its great châteaux, and the vineyard rows there started Alex on terroir.
In 2004 they set out to find the ideal terroir in South America, and their team searched Uruguay, Argentina and Chile for close to two years. They chose Millahue, "the place of gold", two hours south of Santiago, where decomposed granite soils are cooled by the Pacific and the Andes.
Winemaker Cristián Vallejo worked at Château Margaux and Château Léoville Poyferré before VIK. The Drinks Business has named him one of its Top 100 Master Winemakers three years running.
