Chateau Olivier Blanc 2016
- Decanter
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Sémillon wines are very rich and aromatic. The Sauvignon Blanc wines are fullbodied and expressive. The wines are altogether complex, rich, and aromatic. 75% Sauvignon, 23% Sémillon, 2% Muscadelle.
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
Clear minerality spirals through this wine. It has a salinity and grip that's just totally seductive. A more subtle and intellectual white than some, it has a fierce sense of energy and is just frankly delicious. A touch of reduction at this stage.
-
Wine Enthusiast
This is a ripe style of wine, rich with white fruits as well as having a more herbal character. Spice from wood aging shows lightly, contrasting with the generous fruitiness and mineral texture.
-
James Suckling
Melon, white peaches and lemons on the nose of this generous, but fresh white. Quite a salty-mineral finish, where there’s a touch of tannin. A good food-wine. Drink or hold.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Olivier 2016 Blanc gives up elderflower, lime juice and fresh Bosc pear scents with touches of honeysuckle, crushed stones and waxy lemons. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers wonderful tension and intensity with loads of honeyed citrus layers and a perfumed finish.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Château Olivier Blanc has a bracing minerality as well as medium-bodied notes of tart peach, crushed rock, and lemon zest. It’s clean, beautifully balanced, and has balancing texture. The whites in 2016 are top notch, with both richness and freshness, and this is a great example.
Other Vintages
2022-
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Spectator
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert
- Decanter
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb
- Decanter
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Spectator
Wine
For years and years, Chateau Olivier has brought together the present and the past by making wines of great art in an estate that is the stuff of legends... Fashioned by the terroir in which they are rooted, shaped by all those who work the vines, the wines of Chateau Olivier are a magnificent expression of their appellation among the six Classified Growths of Graves in red and white. Skillfully perpetuating the history of the estate, the wine-growers of Olivier help give the wines they produce the same charm and authenticity as its surrounding walls which are nearly a thousand years old.
Our ambition to develop quality further can be seen first and foremost in the dynamic, technically modern methods we use to enhance the terroir. The recent geological discoveries in the two gravel mounds of Olivier have confirmed the richness and diversity of an outstanding viticultural heritage. 11 different terroirs have been identified, passed down by those who once contributed to the building of the fine reputation of Bordeaux’s great growths. The new vat-house, re-designed to bring the very best out of each of the estate’s plots, house the year’s harvest. It is a perfect balance between ancient architecture and state-of-the-art equipment.
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.