Winemaker Notes
Blend: 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Sémillon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A refined streak of minerality generated from the green stone fruit. Subtle green apples and guava with a touch of cream. Excellent intensity and texture on the voluminous palate, delivering refreshing acidity and a mineral finish with a touch of creaminess. Delicious now. Outstanding!
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Wine Enthusiast
From the secluded Bethmann family estate surrounded by woods and dominated by its medieval castle, this wine is richly textured with spice and full tropical-fruit flavors.
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Decanter
Fragrant white flowers on the nose with sweet lemon scents; this smells lovely. Succulent and just shy of unctuous, it has a nice density and weight on the palate, giving a full mouthfeel and good dose of bitter lemon, sweet pineapple, crisp apple and creamy peach. Round and driving, this has energy and zing and excellent balance from start to finish. Lovely and will be very enjoyable in bottle!
Barrel Sample: 93 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Olivier Blanc exhibits aromas of green apples, Sauvignon botanicals, white flowers and struck match, followed by a medium-bodied, taut and saline palate. Chiseled and incisive, it shows promise.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
Jeb Dunnuck
Tart melon, lemon curd, crushed stone, and some minty herb notes all emerge from the 2021 Château Olivier Blanc, a terrific medium-bodied white based on 80% Sauvignon and 20% Sémillon. It will keep for at least 7-8 years, although I see no need to delay gratification.
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Wine Spectator
Vibrant, with delicious white peach and white apricot notes, laced with chamomile, honeysuckle and salted butter accents. The fun, juicy finish has excellent energy. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.
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.