Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fascinating aromas of hot stones, lemon rind, green pears and green mangoes. Full body and dried citrus and apple flavors. Tight and focused with a savory finish. Very serious white. Drink now or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
This rich, ripe wine has a tropical-fruit character as well as touches of herbal acidity. It is tangy and strongly mineral, with great fruitiness and structure. This is a wine for aging, so don’t drink before 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Château Olivier Blanc has a lively citrus and lime flower scented bouquet, with pear and almost granitic notes surfacing with aeration. The palate is very well balanced with crisp acidity - green apple, gooseberry and a twist of sour lemon towards the finish. There is something almost Loire-like here, perhaps a little Sancerre-like in style, but irrespective of stylistic semblances, the bottom line is that this constitutes a very fine white Bordeaux that will be delicious from the word go. Barrel Sample: 90-92 Points
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Decanter
Youthful green hue. The gorgeous nose exudes white flower, quince and pineapple notes. The palate balances richness and acidity well, although I sense just a touch of varietal gooseberry from the dominating Sauvignon Blanc in the blend. The finish includes pleasing wet stone aspects and lift. Fine integration of the 33% new oak for aging. For the price, a bargain bottle! Drinking Window 2020 - 2024
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Wine Spectator
A vibrant mix of nectarine, tangerine and white peach flavors are streaked with lemon zest, verbena and chamomile notes in this white, which has weight but maintains good tension through the finish. Drink now through 2020.
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.