Yeah. I had one bottle each from two separate vintages; both drank like liquid 2x4s to me. Didn’t like them at all. Would be willing to give it another chance, but I never see that wine anymore.
Hmmmmm, interesting. I’d say Raffault’s Picasses is most similar to Baudry’s Guillot, although I think that may be more structural than anything else. The Guillot is certainly more polished and elegant, generally speaking.
I agree with your assessment of Guillot as polished and elegant, but for me, that’s the exact opposite of Les Picasses. This wine historically has always been an old-school classic, with a leaner profile, and some good old-fashioned funk. To me, these wines could not be any more different. I have always jokingly called Guillot the Merlot of Chinon.
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Yeah, totally agree that Picasses is not polished or elegant. But I do feel they have similar frame, if not entirely different clothing.
I had the good fortune to taste 2016 at the domaine last week.
It was positively lovely, albeit perhaps a bit atypical for Les Picasses.
Soft (relatively speaking, anyway. Still more structure than the '18 Peuilles or even the '14 Singuliere…), aromatic, floral. Not much in the way of pyrazine relative to other vintages. Not much obvious brett. Surprisingly open for business. And I would call it elegant.
I did not think it was thin or watery. My girlfriend found it one of her very favorite wines across all of our Loire tastings that week.
There were even perhaps some parallels to '16 Baudry Croix Boissee- which I also found surprisingly open and approachable when I tried it some months ago. I wouldn’t have ordered that one off a restaurant list, but someone much wiser than me was dead sure it’d be in a great spot.
'17 Les Picasses, on the other hand, comes across as classic. Hits hard in all the best ways. Can’t wait for that to make its way over here to NY.
One addition here: Across my visits, I had multiple winemakers specifically describe '16 as a “soft” vintage for cab franc. I haven’t tried many serious '16s yet, mostly been cellaring them, but I may start opening some.
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When Alfert comes to NY (I have sworn off Florida for reasons that are required to be omitted from this thread) I will open my magnum of the 2007 Les Picasses and we an see what the old ones are like, but until then I will keep drinking SQN and Saxum. 
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How does 17 compare to 14?
I’ve only opened one bottle of my 2014 stash, and that was enough to confirm I want to age them a while yet. And only had the 17 just this once at the domaine, so sample size is of course limited.
That said, I think they’re both great, somewhat similar to each other (along w/ 05 and 07 IMO, when accounting for the age), very classic, a bit rustic, right up my alley. Certainly more similar to each other than either one is to 16.
I’ll buy 6-12 bottles when 17 makes it to the states. It absolutely carries on the tradition of the wine.
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I’ve told you once before, you pop that wine for me and I’ll bill you for my time at my NYC special rate! I expect Mouton in large formats. Plural.
The 2007 has always drunk atypically well, young. But, in Picasse years, a 17 year old wine is still a baby.
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Bit of an update here: Opened a 375 of the '16 Picasses last night with dinner.
It was much more similar to Brian’s original notes than to the lovely tasting at the domaine. And similar to my disappointing '08 from earlier this year.
Gave it a couple hours of air, at which point there were periodic moments of depth. The nose would get rich and full for ~30-60 seconds and then promptly close up again. Pyrazines only noticeable during those short moments. Rinse / repeat for another hour.
Those quick little moments give me some hope that it’s coming, rather than going. But…yeah. I probably have enough '16 in the cellar, might focus on '14 and '17 to grow the collection going forward.
Another 2016 Picasses tonight. I’ve now gone through 4 since March. I love that vintage. 14 and 16 are my go to for this. I’ve got to find more!
By the way, I brought this to a friend’s house because last year I had seen a mag of old Picasses (90s) on his kitchen counter. He had told me his dad had given it to him to serve at Xmas. Uncommon to say the least!
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05 is fantastic!!
Took me 2 mins with WS Pro to find the 2016 in large quantities for 20€/btl in France (with delivery in Europe).
Idealwine often have older vintages on auction, if you don’t already shop there.
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My prior 6 were from iDealWine and I had gotten 1 from Vinatis to try at 14.62 euros!
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2016 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (4/8/2024)
– decanted approx. 1 hr before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 2 - 3 hrs –
NOSE: medium-light aromatics, with noticeable pyrazine.
BODY: medium-light bodied.
TASTE: a bit medicinal – camphor, and medicinal cherry; noticeable pyrazine; a touch stony; finish is light – not much there. On the whole, I think this is better than the bottle I had last year, so some moderate optimism this is moving in the right direction.
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2016 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (11/14/2024)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 1.5 hrs. –
NOSE: rich plummy aromas mixed with pyrazine; hint of cherry Twizzlers, and some stony mineral tones. Quite expressive, and this has improved since release.
BODY: medium-light bodied.
TASTE: Dark-fruited with noticeable pyrazine; hint of black licorice today. This is a bit hollow on the mid-palate, but my previous pessimism has given way to optimism, as this has gained some weight and filled-in (somewhat) since release. Pleasant to drink at the moment, but it appears there are still better days ahead. Drink or Hold.
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