I find myself buying less wine these days for several reasons.
The upside to this is that I have become very specific about producers I buy.
Raffault is solidly in my handful of buy, buy, buy producers.
Lovely, even at this young age:
2010 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses- France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (3/1/2015)
Terrific showing for a youngish Raffault. Pencil lead, green pepper, earth and boiled peanuts on the nose. Initially, the fruit is ripe and lush, almost new-world-ish, but with time, the wine unfolds and takes on a decidedly more earthy character. But…there is a core of sweet, dark fruit here that keeps things interesting. I like it. Really, really terrific for a young Raffault if you like the style. Glad to have more to watch develop.
There was a recent note in the 2010 that had the same comments regarding approachability. I was surprised, too, but did bite on a six-pack. Neal’s comments notwithstanding! . Love this producer.
I don’t read as much about wine as I used to, so I approached this one without preconception.
It was very open. More so than the '07 I opened a couple weeks back.
Worth taking one for a spin if you have a few.
2010 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses- France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (8/28/2016)
– decanted 30 minutes before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 4 hours –
NOSE: initially, moderately expressive, showing lots of bell pepper and gentle campfire smokiness (leafy, maybe?); after 1.5 hours: campfire smokiness comes across as puffed rice cereal; purple berries; plum; floral hints; fairly complex.
BODY: violet-garnet color of medium-deep depth; no sediment, but there is some superfine particulate matter suspended in the wine.
TASTE: medium bodied; flashy, but not quite zesty; hint of brett; leathery purple fruits (mostly plum); crushed rocks; tobacco; long finish of medium intensity; acidity is adequate (medium-low to medium); 12.5% alc. not noticeable; oak is merely light seasoning here; extremely bitter (chewable aspirin) when paired with stuffed bell peppers (rice, beef, cheese) — that was with the first bite — subsequent bites were better, but still not great; this put on a touch of weight with air, and the acidity started to stand-out more, too (now at medium to medium-high); I like this a lot ---- it’s sneaky-excellent, rather than obviously excellent; my first time with this wine, and not the last.
Oh, so we agree!
Nice note, Brian!
I share your enthusiasm.
I am so longing for the return of some cool weather down here so I can start back in on my Raffaults.
Cheers.
Ha!! Here’s my note on the 2011 I drank this week:
September 20, 2016 - Lovely garnet color. Muted black cherry, violet on the nose. Austere tannins and plenty of structure, even on day 2. Some cherry, plum, cola, button mushroom on the palate, but needs to be coaxed out. No VA or greenness detected. Seems a bit shut down and not giving a whole lot of pleasure at the moment, perhaps check back in 5 years.
2010 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses- France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (1/17/2017)
Medium dark ruby, nose of light brambles and cherries. Dry, showing moderate restrained fruit and body. Terrific balance with some vita-c acid notes, light cola, pie cherries and some light mineral tannins to round out the profile. Super good for the AFWE crowd. Need to buy more of these, thanks Berserkers on the exposure. (92 pts.)
Love somewhat young, old and in between Chinon. Bring on the pig pen, mushroom, decaying forest, and dump - yum and throw in that black tar truck bubbling away.
Try to find a few older bottles to toy around with. In a good year, good producer, my experience has been what presents as ‘greenness’ in youth folds into the wine with age and becomes an attractive aspect of its complexity. For example, it can show as a eucalyptus note. I’ve found a similar developmental pathway in some 2006 Burgundy, fwiw.
. Love this producer.![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
