TN: 1993 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses (France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon)

WINE TALK
1

Took this to dinner at Cakes & Ale last night.

  • 1993 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (4/29/2015)
    The nose I’m looking for in aged Chinon, green pepper, some leathery, earthy notes. Palate is austere at first, the fruit is less rounded and supple than what I got from recent bottles of the '90 or '89. I thought it might come around with air, but it doesn’t really budge. Lean, tart fruit, but otherwise sound. Balanced. Shined best 90mins in alongside the lamb shoulder and flagelots.

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2

Any brett?

3

Sounds good, not epic.

4

Exactly.

Nope. Clean.

5

Dennis–can i ask whether you cellared this or whether it’s around as a library release? I don’t recall seeing any '93 for sale.

Elliot

6

EllIot,
I bought a bunch of back vintage bottles from Envoyer a couple years back. Late 80s and early 90s. Cheers.

7

Thanks. I’ll have to watch my email more closely; I wouldn’t mind trying it, even if it’s not one of the be all and end all vintages.

Elliot

8

I have a mag of the 2007 that I bought a few years ago because I thought I should try some Chinon. I know almost zero about Loire Cab Franc. Any opinion on whether it is safe to take it out of the bottle and drink it?

9

I probably drink more Chinon than any other type of wine. I enjoy it with just a few years of age. It never blows me away but it’s a standard go to wine when I’m having pizza or pasta with red sauce. I think it will be safe, but I’m not quite sure Chinon is going to be enjoyed much by a guy who loves Saxum.

10

You don’t really want me to repeat my speech on feeling sorry for people with narrow palates, do you?

11

Palates so narrow that they know nothing about Chinon? neener

12

BUT are willing to learn. neener

13

I think the '07 Dioterie and the Franc de Pied are both drinking beautifully. Love Joguet when it’s “on”.

Drink it after your SQN for optimal enjoyment. [wow.gif]

14

Definitely safe, but it won’t show much in the way of secondary development. Olga’s 07 is a bit on the lean side; if you can drum up a bottle of the 09 or 10, that might be a better place to start.

Elliot

15

Oops, I thought we were talking about Joguet, not Raffault. I’ve had the '07 Raffault this year, it’s wonderful, but yes, give it more time. The '07 is showing more to me right now than '09 or '10.

16

Agree with Elliot’s assessment here.

17

I just tried a glass of the 2010 in a local store. Very nice with good mouthfeel and depth of flavor.

18

Agree with Robert on this one (to balance out the vote and bc it’s what I happen to believe). 2010 was all about potential for me. I’m not sure there’s ever a bad time to open raffault though.

19

will also echo Robert, having popped 750s of the 07 and 10 in the last month, the 07 is showing much better. The 10 was good, but was more closed at least on the nose compared to the lovely bouquet of the 07. Much more of that violet, gamey, irony nose that I really enjoy from Raffault in the 07. Not having had a massive amount of Raffault, I can’t comment on if this is a vintage variation or something that just develops with time (the latter affecting when to open a mag perhaps).

Always looking to try earlier Raffaults too and had an early 90s at Pearl & Ash a few months ago and it was quite a treat.

20

I will say for the record, after trying all of the '07, '09 and '10s recently, I then loaded up on all of them.