Château Olivier, Grand Cru Classé, Pessac Leognan 2019

This superb Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux is one of the best-value wines we have at the minute.

A classic of the Pessac region, this wine is full of blackcurrant, blackberry and cedar flavours, decorated by notes of menthol, liquorice and tobacco. There is a wonderful combination of tannic structure with generosity, facets so important in this wonderful 2019 vintage; the body is supple and round but never out of balance - this really is a wonderful example of a top Château from one of Bordeaux' less-flashy communes.

The vineyards too are classic Pessac: over half of the land is planted on gravel with a large portion of clayey-limestone and a few parcels planted on sand. It is these soils that give so much of the character to the wines (the Château also makes Grand Cru Classé white!) for which it has gained its fine reputation. 

Where there is a Bordeaux tendency to claim association to other great Châteaux in your area, it is interesting to note that Château Olivier doesn't do that: as one of only 6 Grand Cru Classé properties in Pessac-Léognan, it is able to attract people because it is actually in a little enclave all on its own, protected by a large forest and set on its own 230-hecatare nature reserve. This allows for the choice selection of best soils, appropriate clonal and varietal selections and the opportunity to create a stand-out, superb and quality offering from one of Bordeaux' least populous communes.

From the vast estate land area, the Château plants 60 hectares of vineyard with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot. The wine was aged for 12 months in oak barrels, 35% of which were new; all of the vinification and handling is extremely carefully managed and, if traditional, is the best of the traditions carried from the 136-year history of Bethmann family ownership.

They know a thing or two, so. 

I haven't known this property as long (I first tried some in 2022) but I was really struck by the clearly large drinking window that the wine has: excellent young, with what must be decades of life ahead. It's one of the great Cabernet Sauvignon-based regions and I think it is still the best value of the 1855 classified communes. Great value, great ageing potential: great wine.