That '77 was flat out fantastic
here are regular releases of older vintages from the domaine that come into the U.S. The '79 and '89 and others have popped up again on store shelves here in the last year. The 79 is under $100, the '89 can be had for $85 and the '08 for as little as $31. Really great values.
Brilliant! The prices for older vintages are mad. It’s odd - apart from the Clos Rougeard phenomenon, Loire reds seem to get cheaper as they get older. I didn’t like the look of the bottles so I passed, but there were Clos de L’Echo 1947 and 1961 which were sold at auction recently for around 60€ and 100€ respectively.
As for a 1977 Raffault - that’s extraordinary…I would never have guessed it was even drinkable, such is my Bordeaux mindset.
A certain employee at Woodland Hills Wine Company has, at least for the time being, lost all of my trust as a result of this wine. I specifically asked him, before buying the wine, if he had tasted this vintage of this wine. I asked him if it was a lighter vintage, mid-weight, or on the heavier side. He said heavier. I pressed him, and asked if he could compare to '10 or '07, but I seem to recall that he couldn’t. I pressed on, and he made the '12 sound like a bruiser; my bottle was anything but. Now, to be fair, CT notes do seem to reflect some potential bottle variation for this wine, but – for the most part – it sounds like my experience was typical.
{check your PM}
I have a box of 375mls of the 2012. I have had only one and my comment to myself was I wish I didn’t have 11 more. I figured just too young but really questioned if this had any potential for material improvement. I’ll try another with some extended air on it and report back and hopefully chalk it up to bottle variation. I’ll agree a light wine, not mid or heavy by any means and a 180 from most of my experiences with Picasses. Disappointing.
Nice notes. The last ‘11 I popped a couple years ago seemed completely shut down, so maybe it’s time to try another. I also found the ‘02 to be super elegant and balanced, with a hint of Brett but not obtrusive. Mich better than the ‘02 Couly Duthiel crescendo which was a green miser & what one would expect from ‘02. Haven’t had the ‘89 Rauffault but all the other ‘89 Chinon and Bourgueils I’ve had have been quite memorable.
Opened a 2012 375ml Picasses tonight. Not a pretty sight. I am going to reserve judgement and try it tomorrow after 24 hours open. There is a wine in there. I am just uncertain it will materialize.
Ok, this is improving after 24 hours open and recorked. Actually enjoyable. A lighter side of Chinon. My suggestion is a 24 hour or more decant in a wide decanter will blow off the gremlins.
• There was surprisingly little difference between the young ones and the older ones (with the exception of the 1979, which was passed it for my tastes)
I remember having a sip of a delicious old bottle of Raffault Chinon les Picasses at one of Joe Dressner’s early grower tastings at Chambers St. Joe said something to the effect that Olga Raffault had lots of barrels of old wine in the cellar but had no idea what vintage was in them, and that they pretty much randomly affixed a vintage label to each bottle.*
He also mentioned that a lot of people don’t realize that the wine is 3.7% petit verdot.**
*I’m (pretty?) sure he was joking about this.
**I’m sure he was joking about this.
Having met Joe once and having heard many stories about him, it sounds entirely plausible that he would have said both those things.
He most certainly said both of those things. The Raffault’s do have a good amount of wine, which is why you see so many library release wines. When someone asks about which grape varieties were in a wine, Joe would always include some amount of petite verdot (and the percentages would never add up to 100%).
Anyway, 2002 is considered by most Loire watchers to be a great vintage. More so than 2005, for example. It’s considered to be better balanced. The wines have retained their freshness and liveliness over the years.
Sounds like a really cool evening.
I’ve now had four or five bottles of the '02 over the past three or four years and they’ve each shown differently-- from utterly elegant and Burgundian, to green-tannined, to this bottle, which was someplace in the middle, leaning toward the Burgundian.
What are your favorite vintages since 2000?
Loved the 02, but only had it once from 375ml. My short comment was “wonderful. Rebuy” I guess I liked it.
What do other people feel about 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013?
I like 07 very much, to the tune of 2 cases, but that was at $20 per just a couple years ago. I also like 2009. Have not tried the other vintages.
God I miss him.
Would be interested as well to hear anyone else’s thoughts on 2007 to the present.
After posting that query, I came on some notes from a tasting a few years ago where I brought the '07 and served it blindly … and very much enjoyed it.
But it’s hard to find. Anyone have an opinion on the '09, which is more readily available?
Outside the range of 1979-2011, but just picked up the 14 from Envoyer.
Going to have to crack some 05 and 90.
I don’t have as much experience with this wine but if we could buy them for Robert’s $20/per I would think about any vintage would be worth it. . .
By coincidence, I opened a beautiful 1990 last night. All earthy mushroomy cherry goodness, with a little green pepper thrown in to remind me it’s Loire Valley Cab Franc rather than a mature Bdx.
Cheers,
Warren
This may be my palate, but i generally think the Olga Picasses needs 15-20 years from vintage. The 02 really has just started coming around in the last couple of years. The 07 has been an exception in that it does have pleasures to offer now, but it is still a young wine. Think how great all those 85s, 89s and 90s taste now and do the math. Unless, of course, the wine making changed recently.