Château Olivier is a

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...

from the

Pessac-Léognan Pessac-Léognan () is a wine growing area and Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, in the northern part of the Graves region of Bordeaux. Unlike most Bordeaux appellations, Pessac-Léognan is equally famous for both red and (dry) white wines, altho ...

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

, ranked among the ''Crus Classés de Graves'' for red and dry white wine in the

Classification of Graves wine The wines of Graves in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux were classified in 1953 by a jury appointed by Institute National des Appellations d'Origine, and approved by the Minister of Agriculture in August of that year. The selection was revised w ...

of 1953 and 1959. The

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

and

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

are located south of the city of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, in the commune of

Léognan Léognan (; oc-gsc, Leunhan) is a commune in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Its inhabitants are called ''Léognanais''. Wine It is located in the Graves area of the Bordeaux county, known for its ...

. In addition to red and dry white ''Grand vin'' the estate also produces the

second wine Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or ev ...

La Seigneurie d'Olivier du Chateau Olivier.

History

Although the estate has a long history dating back to the 14th century when the property was occupied by the d'Olivey family, viticulture first began when it came to Count Charles-Joseph Maurice d'Etchegoyen in 1846. The estate's actual château, today classified as a ''monument historique'', is of such a nature that it was one of only two Léognan estates given the prefix "château" in the first French edition of '' Cocks & Féret''. Olivier passed to the Bousset-Salvat family, and then to Alexandre Watcher, and by the marriage of Agnew Watcher and Jacques de Bethmann in the early 20th century, the present owners De Bethmann family took control. Château Olivier was managed by Jean-Jacques de Bethmann, until his death in July 2012 led to his son Alexandre de Bethmann assuming control.Anson, Jane, ''Decanter.com'' (July 5, 2012)
Chateau Olivier owner dies
/ref>

Production

From a largely forested estate of 220 hectares the vineyard area consists of 50 hectares, 38 of which are planted with grape varieties of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. 12 hectares are cultivated with white varieties of 55%

Sémillon Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in France and Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC. History The Sémill ...

, 40%

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

and 5%

Muscadelle Muscadelle is a white wine grape variety. It has a simple aroma of grape juice and raisins like grapes of the Muscat family of grapes, but it is unrelated. DNA analysis has indicated that Muscadelle is a cross between Gouais blanc and an unid ...

. The ''Grand vin'', Château Olivier, is annually produced in 18,000 cases of the red wine and 6,000 cases of the dry white.

References

External links

Château Olivier official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olivier, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers