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Olga Raffault, Chinon, Les Picasses

Loire Valley, France 2006 (750mL)
$23.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Olga Raffault, Chinon, Les Picasses

Cabernet Franc can express itself in many ways depending on the place in where it is grown. Its most classic expression can be found around the village of Chinon, within the Loire Valley of France.
There are many traditional producers in this area and Olga Raffault has earned her reputation as one of the best in the appellation. You can commonly see 10-year verticals of her Chinon on the wine lists of the best restaurants in the world. Even though Olga passed away a few years back, her grand daughter, Sylvie, is carrying on her winemaking legacy.
Raffault's traditional style and classic approach are what draw many top sommeliers to her wines. The grapes at the estate are farmed with no herbicides or pesticides, then hand picked and fermented in whole clusters with no destemming. The wine is then transferred to large neutral barrels for aging before bottling with little sulfur. These are deep, savory, perfumed wines hailing from top crus like Les Picasses in the subdistrict of Savigny-en-Véron.  In Paris, London, and almost every metropolitan wine mecca, Raffault is a recognized as a top producer of Chinon.

The 2006 we are offering is perfectly mature and delicious. It offers a valuable learning experience for all drinkers, and is a convincing testament to the value of cellaring wine. While this bottle was tight and ungiving upon release, it has blossomed into a deliciously savory and complex treasure. It is medium bodied with crunchy tannins. Aromas of red currants, graphite, gunpowder and white pepper emanate from the glass. Open this wine a half hour before drinking and decant. Serve with a nice grilled herb-crusted lamb from the BBQ this summer.
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Country
France
Region
Loire Valley
Sub-Region
FranceChinon
Soil
Limestone and Clay
Farming
Organic
Blend
Cabernet Franc
Alcohol
12.5
OAK
Neutral

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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