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Olga Raffault, Chinon, Les Picasses

Loire Valley, France 1989 (750mL)
$69.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Olga Raffault, Chinon, Les Picasses


Though Olga Raffault passed away a few years ago, her granddaughter, Sylvie, is carrying on the family’s impressive winemaking legacy. Sylvie stays faithful to the traditional style and classic approach that has historically drawn top sommeliers to the family’s wines. Grapes at the estate are farmed without herbicides or pesticides, then are hand picked and fermented in whole clusters with no destemming. The wine is then transferred to large neutral oak barrels for aging before bottling with minimal sulfur. These are deep, savory, perfumed wines hailing from top crus like Les Picasses in the subdistrict of Savigny-en-Véron. The pedigree and consistency of the estate goes back decades, so it is unsurprising that in Paris, London, and almost every metropolitan wine mecca, Raffault is a recognized as a top producer of Chinon.

The 1989 “Les Picasses” is perfectly mature and still has a decade or more of life. The color is a dark garnet with a lot of oranging extending to the rim, displaying its maturity. Aromas of dried red currants, preserved red plums, dried green tobacco, graphite, violets, pencil lead, dried mushrooms, white pepper and wet clay are on an incredibly balanced display of power and elegance that only a perfectly mature wine will exhibit. On the palate it feels like velvet with perfectly integrated tannins, along with an impressive depth of flavor which mirrors that of the nose. The finish seems to be endless. I recommend decanting first to avoid sediment, and then serving in a large Bordeaux stem at about 65 degrees over the next 2 hours. The wine opens up quickly, so don’t forget about it in the decanter as most of its greatness will occur in its first few hours with air contact. For food pairings, stay simple and let the wine shine. This French stew is classic and will create a perfect evening.
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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 French

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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