Winemaker Notes
Blend: 78% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Semillon, 2% Muscadelle
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
A bright and linear white with sliced apples and pears. Medium body, crisp acidity and a flavorful finish. Shows excellent tension and focus. Drink now.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Olivier Blanc has retained that attractive mineral-drenched bouquet that I enjoyed so much out of barrel: fine delineation and a sense of energy bursting from the glass. The palate is very fresh on the entry with lime cordial, kiwi fruit and a touch of lemongrass, less shrill than it showed at primeur but with an engaging, lip-smacking salinité on the persistent finish. Excellent white Pessac-Léognan.
-
Wine Spectator
Very engaging, with shortbread, lemon curd, white peach and gooseberry notes that have a vibrant interplay, showing richness and zip. A quinine echo adds range on the finish. Drink now through 2019.
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.