Today we share one of the great wines of Washington that isn’t a red wine. The Avennia ‘Oliane’ was born to push the envelope for white wines made in Washington, crafting a world-class Sauvignon Blanc wine. The idea was focusing more on Sauvignon Blanc as winemaker Chris Peterson explained “Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. . . I feel like I had done that at DeLille Cellars. But aging in the oak and less gives you that texture and you don’t really need the Semillon. This was going to focus on Boushey Vineyard and then in 2012 there was not much there and I had to look into other sites. We had an acre at Red Willow from 2006 and we got that. Since the 2012 it has been this blend which changes depending on the vintage.”
Sauvignon Blanc from Red Willow and Boushey are very different according to Peterson as he stated “Red Willow is higher acid than Boushey. By itself Boushey can be bigger and more dense and more ripe than you might want. Red Willow has years where it can get tart and lean so by having the blend we don’t have to adjust anything. The minerality and kind of diatom character comes from Red Willow.” Today he has found that both sites beautifully compliment each other.
I tasted through the vintages of ‘Oliane’ and was massively impressed with how stable the wines were even in tough vintages for white wines. There is little doubt that 2015 was a massively difficult vintage for white wines. The grapes were picked on August 19th to start. Peterson explained “We picked at lower sugar and higher acid than 2014. I took a spreadsheet from the previous year and sorted it by pick date and we are looking at the order that things come in and I was kind of new then. We picked at lower brix in 2015 than in 2014. It seemed like it was ready.”
This program began with a small portion of new French oak and by 2016 they moved to just a tiny amount of new wood. 2016 was the first year when they did a concrete egg ferment and then they kept adding concrete eggs to the program. The best wine I tasted was the dazzling 2018 ‘Oliane’ (OB, 95) which is dense, viscous and full of life. Learn more about this program at avennia.com and here are my reviews of the brilliant ‘Oliane’ vertical tasting.
2014 Avennia ‘Oliane’ Sauvignon Blanc- The beautiful 2014 Avennia ‘Oliane’ Sauvignon Blanc is a dense and delicious wine that is showing brilliantly at the ten year mark. Honeydew melon and marzipan collide with smoky minerals and suggestions of kiwi on the nose. This is shockingly fresh with salty minerality. Drink 2024-2029- 93
2015 Avennia ‘Oliane’ Sauvignon Blanc- Soft and delicious, the 2015 ‘Oliane’ is a delicious wine that shows beautiful freshness and mouth-watering acidity from this tough vintage. Green apple, lemon rind and copious minerals on the palate. The diatom nuances really impress. Drink 2024-2029- 92
2016 Avennia ‘Oliane’ Sauvignon Blanc- The 2016 Avennia ‘Oliane’ Sauvignon Blanc is a stellar showing in this warm vintage. On the nose this takes on wet stone with kumquat blossom, green apple and pear notes. The palate is fresh with serious tension and verve, with plenty of stony minerals. Drink 2024-2030- 92
2017 Avennia ‘Oliane’ Sauvignon Blanc- The 2017 ‘Oliane’ was stored in a tiny amount of new French oak prior to bottling. Nutmeg dusted pie crust, almond paste and shades of cantaloupe fill the nose. The palate is fresh and vibrant with serious tension — tasting essentially like a new release wine. A total knockout, enjoy over the next eight plus years. Drink 2024-2032- 94
2018 Avennia ‘Oliane’ Sauvignon Blanc- The 2018 ‘Oliane’ offers honey, marzipan, Japanese pear and shades of peach on the palate, with serious tension and richness. Full-bodied, with plenty of nerve, this is a benchmark example of Washington Sauvignon Blanc. Enjoy now and over the next five to seven years. Drink 2024-2031- 95
2019 Avennia ‘Oliane’ Sauvignon Blanc- The 2019 ‘Oliane’ is a brilliant bottling made in a tough vintage that was considerably cooler than 2018. Cantaloupe, pear and shades of macadamia nut combine on the nose. This is salty and delicious stuff, with copious minerals and good length. No reason to cellar this beauty. Drink 2024-2030- 93