2018 ex-cellar bottle. Intense nose of very dank earth, cherry pit, carob, herbs, wet leaves with a hint of baking spice. Evolves nicely over 2 hours, with lengthy plum, earth, raspberry, pepper flavors and quite smooth tannins. Drinking beautifully on the second day with very little discernible oxidation, excellent overall.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Two bottles from a restaurant wine list - the first was very good but clearly on the downward slope. The second was imbalanced. The acidity was overt and it just seemed tired.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Just perfect now! Singing the right notes now as this lighter bodied Version of the 1990 unfolds a more sophisticated mouth feel and integration of flavors than the wonderful 1989. But it also lacks the greater complexity and richness of the 1989. Darker garnet with an unfolding franc nose, it requires no decant but can use slo ox for an hour to let free the bretty aromas. Held its own well, with some typical barnyard, but juicy soft acids holding dark and tart cherry, lots offP moist soil, woody oak scents and a hint of smoke. Drink now as the fruit will subside soon.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The cork on this was bottle was stained most of the way up with mold on the top. Regardless, the durand easily removed the cork. An initial overpowering funk blew off in a few minutes to reveal a nicely mature Loire CF. Funky barnyard with tertiary elements. Not a perfect wine, but exactly what this wine should be. Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This was great today, doesn’t need much time to show dried red berries, earthy minerals, tomatoe, dried green pepper, tobacco on the nose, palate is silky smooth with nice acidity, fine smooth tannins and a long complex finish
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Brought to wine tasting group - given new world focus of tasters, others did not enjoy - I thought it was excellent. Did not take notes but the wine was alive and fruit was still there with great structure. 91-92 range.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium tannins. The tannins are silky and fairly resolved with the acidity showing a lively side. The feel is refined and deep with red cherries, violets, leather, root vegetables, herbs, and raspberries.
Overall: This was from a library release and it was wonderful. The nose was extremely aromatic once it got going and the feel showed a ton of depth. This is what Olga Raffault and mature Chinon is all about.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened at the end of a night of fantastic wines. Remarkably light in color. Fantastic nose, pepper, spice leather. Fresh acidity on the palate, still very much alive. Great stuff.
Served blind, light garnet, and unclear if this was age or a thinner skinned variety. But on the palate this was herbal, green pepper and clearly a Loire Red. Absolutely gorgeous drinking right now. Amazing how well these age
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pnp and followed over 3hrs. Nose and palate upfront showed a strong tobacco note almost like walking through a humidor, muddled green peppers minus the acidity or sharpness that come with them, gentle and perfumed red fruits, and a creamy mineralite helped by the MLF. With time this really comes out of its shell in the most feminine of ways showing caressingly soft spice and cherry, old worn leather and musty old cigar box, streaky white pepper, and a distinct and lovely soft herbaceous note that finishes with crushed chalk. Midpalate is impeccably balanced with perfect integration yet with seemingly good structure left. This is light on its feet and finishes long and complex. Gorgeous wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Original label. Decanted and served. Wow - this was super green and vegetal tonight. Think this would have clearly benefited from a much longer decant. On the nose - way beyond green bell pepper - this is canned green beans. On the palate - there is some red fruit lurking under all that green - but it only peaks it's head out sporadically. Quite honestly, I would have been fine with one glass - splitting a bottle was just way too much. This one really needed air and food - none of which were on offer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Loved the Olga, pure and classic green peppers, veg, hints of stone and rustic stone fruit. Still kicking and well balanced. Very pure representation and easily drinkable.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wow, this is killer. Classic pencil shavings and green pepper, medium in body. This bottle easily would have gone 10 more years. Still looks like a 5 yr old wine. Perfect integration and a fine combination of aged Bordeaux on the nose and Burgundy purity and finesse. 94-95. A superb complement to a beautiful steak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine keep delivering the goods. Still in that optimal zone that it's been in for the past few years. It does a lot of pronounced green pepper and damp earthy nose. You have to like the greens! Cab Franc without a doubt. But the fruit is still still lively and the wine is really supple. Great texture. Perfectly balanced. A joy to drink still for fans of the style.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Really solid. Needed 2hrs air at it was angular and tart upon opening. But gained depth and smoothed out with a couple hours air. Nice tobacco and herbal character. A little angular acidity and so should probably be drunk rather than held.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is textbook Chinon, for better or worse. Very pronounced green bell pepper flavors and herbs de provence. Nice texture with a few sharp angles. Aging gracefully. Not for everyone but a nice wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Holy Chinon. After decanting for sediment, this was drunk over a 2.5 hour period.
Nose: Full of fire roasted tomatoes, wet tobacco, ash, wet twigs, soggy mushrooms, and a forest after a day of rain, with a faint spice at the end.
Palate: Very savory at first with bell pepper, green herbs, more tobacco that later opened up wonderfully into wild brambly strawberries with a long smooth finish.
Fully mature and no tannins to speak of, but the wine still has the fresh fruit to last at least 5 more years if well stored. Amazing.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pig pen forest floor all over the nose. Inhale pepper spice. Slight sweet fruits remain. Stunning cab franc delivery. Chalky, chewy, subtle. This is chinon at its best. Excellent. This has at least five years (2022+) of lovely drinking, probably more. Wow.
I hope this producer never changes their style of winemaking. How refreshing that a winery doesn't shy away from a style that incorporates great, pleasant herbaceous and mineral notes. Impeccably balanced. Drinks extremely well now and should for another 5+ years
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Open a couple hours, this was light and elegant with a red fruited profile and great energy comprising green leaf tobacco and spices. Not a long finish but so good, great balance of acid/tannin.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Recent library release. Gently decanted for sediment then consumed over the course of a few hours. Tobacco, tomato leaf, cherry, gentle spice. Tannins fully resolved. Lively and energetic, if a bit austere. Went better with food than by itself.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Olga Raffault Les Picasses - Past & Present Tasting (New York, NY): Library release bottle. Stood up for 24 hours prior to serving. Fill level was midway up the neck. Cork was intact with minimal seepage. Black charcoal looking substance (assume dried wine) under foil on top of cork. Slow ox'd for 1 hour prior to tasting. Color was brownish red. Heavy sediment at bottom of bottle. On the nose smelled strongly of bell pepper. On the palate there was some fruit left, but bell pepper notes were strongly in evidence. Finish was of average length. Think this is a bit past peak, drink up soon. A couple of the group had this as their favorite of the flight, for me it was second.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Straight out of the gate, this bottle was ready to go. So amazingly vibrant and alive. Nose was teeming with tobacco and a bit of ash. Palate was more of the same... just a touch of tannins remaining and nice acidity.
We enjoyed this over a couple of hours... as towards the end the nose shifted from primarily tobacco to ash. How wonderful!!!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted delicious with clear and vibrant fruit that is complicated by earthy and herbal tones, and with lovely underlying acidity.But the nose is so green that it distracts from whatever else might be happening aromatically, and the wine suffers from this.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Just wonderful and hats off to Picasses for holding the release of these wines for 20 years before anybody believed in their longevity and quality. Whereas the initially released bottles had a redolent " wrong side of the barnyard" scent, this wine has now softened and integrated the more rustic Cabernet franc notes with tar, dark cherry, smokey twigs, and a hint of Moroccan spice, and delivers it in a now mellifluous medium bodied, soft, full length wine. Shows the kind of care that has catapulted Allemande, Barral and others who pull terroir so nicely into the bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms. The earth coming out of this wine is just marvelous. The fruit is gentle. The tannins left long ago. Just a beautiful wine, bricking, light on its feet, easy, mature, lovely with chinon as the delivery. This is drinking well now. I don't think it is improving or declining at this point, but I'd drink the remainder over the next five years so by 2021 or so. Cork came out in a clean gentle and steady pull. Enjoy.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dinner at Pearl & Ash, NYC. Never tasted a wine like this before. Red pepper on the nose. Intense grilled red bell pepper and grilled tomato, savory herbs. Leather and rare meat juices on the finish. Total stunner. How could this have come from grapes?
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
A warm, toasty evening in a French farm restaurant--New World_ brick, fireplace, elegant cuisine with flavor: - a perfect setting in December for this incredibly a point wine.With the strong "wrong side of the barn" flavors now past, one can enjoy the risk that Raffault alone took in releasing these ex-cellars 20+ years after the hqarvest. Cabernet franc it is, but with enough age and texture to evoke a Bordeaux,missing, of course the complexity or cassis elements of the sauvignon. But mellow this did, with slightly burnt fall leaves, a smokey mid cherry and mushroom flavors,all of the woods. Color was bricked, with enough interest to garner comments. The finish was complete. Yes, there is bottle variation. But when on, this is a fascinating older wine that proves what proper wine making can produce.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Felt slightly musty/off on the nose, and palate finished with an odd bitterness; but in between there was a wine that had a story to tell. Unclear how representative this was at this stage, but probably was better years ago.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Showed really well last night. I'd put it above the '83. Pronounced green pepper and earthy nose. Cab Franc without a doubt. The fruit is more supple, better texture, rounder, a bit more balanced. Richer. Lively. Brilliant wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Brick red with lots of sediment. Amazing to see such well forming legs with the age of this wine. The nose was somewhat muted of dried strawberries and earth with some mustiness. On the palate, mild tastes of fruit overpowered by earth and dirt. The finish was long but somewhat sharp. This wasn't a corked bottle. Just old and way beyond its prime. Don't see how this could have garnered the higher scores on this forum.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very dark ruby color; medium bodied. Served at cellar temperature, on a hot day, set against lamb off the grill. Dark berries and some green notes. Savory, refined palate. Tannins completely integrated. I thought it was wonderful.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Beautiful nose, dark, gritty tobacco and green pepper notes that carry into the palate and pair perfectly with the deep, dark fruit. This is mature, but not tired and is ever so smooth from entry through the finish. Excellent – Drink Now
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pizza and wines @ Salil's (Vernon, CT): Beautiful, expressive, aromatic and just drinking great right now. The first few whiffs had a pronounced green pepper note, but this settled in when the earth, leather and minerals notes joined the party. Nicely resolved structure, yet still lively and fresh. What a joy to drink with pizza; I need to try this combination more often.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pizza night with Austrians and random reds: I have had a ton of bottle variation with the '85 Raffault, but this was definitely one of the best bottles I've come across. No brett in this one, it's all fresh dark berried fruit, green forestal, herbal and faintly leafy notes, and more developed earthy - almost gravelly - notes all coming together very seamlessly on the nose and palate. The tannin seems fully integrated, and most of the structure remaining comes from the acidity, which keeps it remarkably fresh and lively on the palate. Remarkably good match with the pizza.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Did not take notes - purchased 1 year ago in Atlanta, GA. Paired well with smoked salmon. Very earthy but some fruit still there & nice balance. Tobacco / herbal overtones dominated the palate but enough fruit to keep provide balance. Hard to rate given not notes but I'm glad I bought 2 bottles. Might have had a slight cork taint so won't rate now - older Loire's tend to be pretty herbal / green so will try other bottle soon to compare.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cherry, red raspberry, pepper, and dry earth on the nose. A lighter style than other vintages with a much lower tannin profile, even when adjusted for age, and a much brighter series of flavors. An attractive remaining balance of fruit and spice that paired well with lamb cavatelli. Smooth on the palate, the fruit to earthiness to spice on the front and mid palate is pleasing, although it all fades a little too soon the backpalate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
When I uncorked this there was a whiff of VA and pruniness, but to me (but not everyone) that blew off. A bit of horsiness, but on the Olga scale it’s well in check. Red fruit and pepper, a little bit of tannin remaining, pretty enough. B+/B
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Agree with Dale's note from the same evening - this was solid, but a bit disappointing relative to other bottles of '85 Picasses I've had in the past. A touch foursquare on the palate, with the fruit rather ripe and a faint VA element sticking out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
beautiful wine! aged wonderfully and resembles many old barolos and riojas I've had. just enough dry cherry fruit up front followed by earth and mushrooms. very long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine and I did not get along. I just couldn't get past the nose of herbed cottage cheese and Band-Aids. Some VA for sure that didn't blow off. Little joy here for my palate - others may like this profile more. (80)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Just like the last bottle I had. Savoury, herbaceous and complex with layers of mature developed and green flavours around a core of fresh dark berried fruit. Very polished and elegant, drinking wonderfully right now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very bright, youthful red fruit alongside green, stemmy, and herbal. Still youthful with plenty of aging potential, well-balanced, and quite pretty.
Raffault wines always seem like a mixture of a fairly-ripe dare-I-say-Cali Cab Franc and a more traditional, green style, as it shows an implausible combination of Cab Franc's ripe and less-ripe characteristics. I usually find myself pondering Raffault's wines on a logical level, trying to figure out their unique expression, allowing for little time to actually enjoy them.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Not quite as leathery or funky as the last bottle I had, but this is still really good. It starts out quite green and high toned, still seeming rather youthful with very fresh red and dark fruited flavours beneath, and over a couple of hours becomes more complex, nuanced and integrated. There's great balance here, a sense of lightness on the palate and it still seems as if it could go quite a few more years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Leafy, vegetal nose, lots of green peppers, but not disagreeable. Light body, melted tannins, a little hollow in the mid palate. A traditional, cold weather cabernet, good with food, pleasurable without being anything special. Last two bottles were quite better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
taste: well balanced with very nice medium+ acidity and sturdy tannins. Medium bodied and elegant with tones of red cherries, dark red fruits, herbs and a lot of spice tones.
overall: This was gorgeous. Very well balanced on both the nose and palate. There is a very elegant quality to this and it certainly has the stuffing to last even longer. I wish I had been able to spend more time with it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Mostly 1985 horizontal (Locanda Verde, NYC): Starts out with a lovely scent of forestal green/herbal elements, pure dark berried fruit and a touch of leathery funk, and the fragrance just builds over a few hours, gaining in intensity and developing more smoky, cedary and other savoury nuances. This is drinking superbly, conveying flavour with remarkable purity and barely any sense of weight, beautifully balanced and polished in the mouth and a compelling wine to sit down with and follow over a few hours.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is an acquired taste fror most. I loved this at Veritas and bought 2 bottles. Released ex cellars recently. A Chinon that ages is itself a marvel; this one is pure cabinet franc. Which means not as complex as cab sauvignon or merlot but packing real power and depth. It is the definition of barnyard flavor and it turns off many. Rich, mildly complex, with blueberry hints on the nose, strong thorny taste with dark dark red fruit, leather, slight smoke and damp wood tones. Drink now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
La robe est jeune pour un vin de cet âge (26 ans!). Nez de feuilles mortes, de sous bois, légumes d'hiver en tout genre... soupe de légume si l'on veut! Un peu de champignons et un côté viandé. Il n'y a plus tellement de fruit au nez. Les arômes tertiaires dominent. Les tanins sont complètement fondus, c'est un régal, et la finale est longue et nette. Prix : 26 euros. 17/20
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The Embodiment of Memory (Bob's House - Alexandria, VA): Exotic nose of peppers, dirt, olive and cranberry. This was medium-bodied, incredibly herbal and earthy with an underlying core of cranberry and kirsch. I was impressed by its structure and wager that it's still drinking close to its peak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
incredible find at Veritas in NYC. A perfect evocation of Cabernet franc--with all of its barnyard odors--soft, medium ruby color, some cherry and exotic berrie sonthe nose, smooth, deep light plum center, wonderful fiinsh. and no tannin Just surprising as I have never thought highly of Chinon wines before.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Good color. Tasted much younger than 25 years old. A silky and captivating wine not for its great power or complexity but rather just for its charm and suppleness. Lighter-bodied and ethereal with lovely smoky red fruit notes. An excellent accompaniment to food and a delicious, subtle wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Vraiment beaucoup aimé. Quelle finesse, quelle jeunesse aussi! Pas de signes d'évolution en observant sa robe, qui dévoile un vin pas trop extrait. Au nez, nous sommes toutefois clairement sur les arômes tertiaires de sous bois, de champignons ... le vin a toutefois gardé du fruit, et ça se remarque d'autant + en bouche.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
4/7/2023 - andtheodor wrote: flawed
Some ullage and a rotten, semi-petrified cork. The wine itself has collapsed into a compost heap.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/26/2020 - SoundinBetween Likes this wine:
2018 ex-cellar bottle. Intense nose of very dank earth, cherry pit, carob, herbs, wet leaves with a hint of baking spice. Evolves nicely over 2 hours, with lengthy plum, earth, raspberry, pepper flavors and quite smooth tannins. Drinking beautifully on the second day with very little discernible oxidation, excellent overall.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/5/2020 - VDLT Wine wrote:
Two bottles from a restaurant wine list - the first was very good but clearly on the downward slope. The second was imbalanced. The acidity was overt and it just seemed tired.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/23/2020 - Sotto325 wrote: 92 Points
Just perfect now! Singing the right notes now as this lighter bodied Version of the 1990 unfolds a more sophisticated mouth feel and integration of flavors than the wonderful 1989. But it also lacks the greater complexity and richness of the 1989. Darker garnet with an unfolding franc nose, it requires no decant but can use slo ox for an hour to let free the bretty aromas. Held its own well, with some typical barnyard, but juicy soft acids holding dark and tart cherry, lots offP moist soil, woody oak scents and a hint of smoke. Drink now as the fruit will subside soon.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/18/2020 - prof b wrote: 93 Points
The cork on this was bottle was stained most of the way up with mold on the top. Regardless, the durand easily removed the cork. An initial overpowering funk blew off in a few minutes to reveal a nicely mature Loire CF. Funky barnyard with tertiary elements. Not a perfect wine, but exactly what this wine should be. Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/12/2020 - eoinhharkins wrote: 94 Points
This was great today, doesn’t need much time to show dried red berries, earthy minerals, tomatoe, dried green pepper, tobacco on the nose, palate is silky smooth with nice acidity, fine smooth tannins and a long complex finish
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/29/2019 - CWilliam wrote:
Brought to wine tasting group - given new world focus of tasters, others did not enjoy - I thought it was excellent. Did not take notes but the wine was alive and fruit was still there with great structure. 91-92 range.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/20/2019 - BillBell73 Likes this wine:
Wow. Just fantastic.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/9/2019 - KeithAkers wrote: 94 Points
Cab Francs that are ready for a Bar-Mitvah (and older) (Chez Simo Bistro, Chicago IL): Nose: With a little air, the nose soared and filled the glass with red cherries, violets, leather notes, raspberries, tobacco, herbs, root vegetables, and funk notes.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity and medium tannins. The tannins are silky and fairly resolved with the acidity showing a lively side. The feel is refined and deep with red cherries, violets, leather, root vegetables, herbs, and raspberries.
Overall: This was from a library release and it was wonderful. The nose was extremely aromatic once it got going and the feel showed a ton of depth. This is what Olga Raffault and mature Chinon is all about.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/23/2018 - cardsandwine Likes this wine:
2 hour slo-o. Earthy bouquet and palate with terrific balance and depth and a lengthy finish. No signs of shutting down.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/13/2018 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opened at the end of a night of fantastic wines. Remarkably light in color. Fantastic nose, pepper, spice leather. Fresh acidity on the palate, still very much alive. Great stuff.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
9/12/2018 - cos65 Likes this wine:
Served blind, light garnet, and unclear if this was age or a thinner skinned variety.
But on the palate this was herbal, green pepper and clearly a Loire Red.
Absolutely gorgeous drinking right now.
Amazing how well these age
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/2/2018 - ESTEELE90 Likes this wine:
Pnp and followed over 3hrs. Nose and palate upfront showed a strong tobacco note almost like walking through a humidor, muddled green peppers minus the acidity or sharpness that come with them, gentle and perfumed red fruits, and a creamy mineralite helped by the MLF. With time this really comes out of its shell in the most feminine of ways showing caressingly soft spice and cherry, old worn leather and musty old cigar box, streaky white pepper, and a distinct and lovely soft herbaceous note that finishes with crushed chalk. Midpalate is impeccably balanced with perfect integration yet with seemingly good structure left. This is light on its feet and finishes long and complex. Gorgeous wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/21/2018 - retired_and_roving wrote:
Original label. Decanted and served. Wow - this was super green and vegetal tonight. Think this would have clearly benefited from a much longer decant. On the nose - way beyond green bell pepper - this is canned green beans. On the palate - there is some red fruit lurking under all that green - but it only peaks it's head out sporadically. Quite honestly, I would have been fine with one glass - splitting a bottle was just way too much. This one really needed air and food - none of which were on offer.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/9/2017 - T.E.D. wrote: 93 Points
Loved the Olga, pure and classic green peppers, veg, hints of stone and rustic stone fruit. Still kicking and well balanced. Very pure representation and easily drinkable.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/4/2017 - Mrp2008 wrote: 94 Points
Wow, this is killer. Classic pencil shavings and green pepper, medium in body. This bottle easily would have gone 10 more years. Still looks like a 5 yr old wine. Perfect integration and a fine combination of aged Bordeaux on the nose and Burgundy purity and finesse. 94-95. A superb complement to a beautiful steak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/15/2017 - decaturwinedude wrote: 93 Points
This wine keep delivering the goods. Still in that optimal zone that it's been in for the past few years. It does a lot of pronounced green pepper and damp earthy nose. You have to like the greens! Cab Franc without a doubt. But the fruit is still still lively and the wine is really supple. Great texture. Perfectly balanced. A joy to drink still for fans of the style.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/8/2017 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really solid. Needed 2hrs air at it was angular and tart upon opening. But gained depth and smoothed out with a couple hours air. Nice tobacco and herbal character. A little angular acidity and so should probably be drunk rather than held.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/21/2017 - rc@ughey wrote: 90 Points
This is textbook Chinon, for better or worse. Very pronounced green bell pepper flavors and herbs de provence. Nice texture with a few sharp angles. Aging gracefully. Not for everyone but a nice wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/20/2017 - J3r0me H@n Likes this wine: 95 Points
Holy Chinon. After decanting for sediment, this was drunk over a 2.5 hour period.
Nose: Full of fire roasted tomatoes, wet tobacco, ash, wet twigs, soggy mushrooms, and a forest after a day of rain, with a faint spice at the end.
Palate: Very savory at first with bell pepper, green herbs, more tobacco that later opened up wonderfully into wild brambly strawberries with a long smooth finish.
Fully mature and no tannins to speak of, but the wine still has the fresh fruit to last at least 5 more years if well stored. Amazing.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/11/2017 - Steve Brickley Likes this wine: 95 Points
Pig pen forest floor all over the nose. Inhale pepper spice. Slight sweet fruits remain. Stunning cab franc delivery. Chalky, chewy, subtle. This is chinon at its best. Excellent. This has at least five years (2022+) of lovely drinking, probably more. Wow.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (4)
1/28/2017 - vagrantone Likes this wine: 92 Points
I hope this producer never changes their style of winemaking. How refreshing that a winery doesn't shy away from a style that incorporates great, pleasant herbaceous and mineral notes. Impeccably balanced. Drinks extremely well now and should for another 5+ years
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/4/2017 - Levinsb wrote: 94 Points
Soft delicious and lithe
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/24/2016 - Louvin Likes this wine: 93 Points
Open a couple hours, this was light and elegant with a red fruited profile and great energy comprising green leaf tobacco and spices. Not a long finish but so good, great balance of acid/tannin.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/18/2016 - gotfunk wrote:
Recent library release. Gently decanted for sediment then consumed over the course of a few hours. Tobacco, tomato leaf, cherry, gentle spice. Tannins fully resolved. Lively and energetic, if a bit austere. Went better with food than by itself.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/13/2016 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine:
Olga Raffault Les Picasses - Past & Present Tasting (New York, NY): Library release bottle. Stood up for 24 hours prior to serving. Fill level was midway up the neck. Cork was intact with minimal seepage. Black charcoal looking substance (assume dried wine) under foil on top of cork. Slow ox'd for 1 hour prior to tasting. Color was brownish red. Heavy sediment at bottom of bottle. On the nose smelled strongly of bell pepper. On the palate there was some fruit left, but bell pepper notes were strongly in evidence. Finish was of average length. Think this is a bit past peak, drink up soon. A couple of the group had this as their favorite of the flight, for me it was second.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/29/2016 - Jason T Likes this wine:
Straight out of the gate, this bottle was ready to go. So amazingly vibrant and alive. Nose was teeming with tobacco and a bit of ash. Palate was more of the same... just a touch of tannins remaining and nice acidity.
We enjoyed this over a couple of hours... as towards the end the nose shifted from primarily tobacco to ash. How wonderful!!!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/28/2016 - brooklynguy wrote:
Tasted delicious with clear and vibrant fruit that is complicated by earthy and herbal tones, and with lovely underlying acidity.But the nose is so green that it distracts from whatever else might be happening aromatically, and the wine suffers from this.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/3/2016 - Sotto325 wrote: 92 Points
Just wonderful and hats off to Picasses for holding the release of these wines for 20 years before anybody believed in their longevity and quality. Whereas the initially released bottles had a redolent " wrong side of the barnyard" scent, this wine has now softened and integrated the more rustic Cabernet franc notes with tar, dark cherry, smokey twigs, and a hint of Moroccan spice, and delivers it in a now mellifluous medium bodied, soft, full length wine. Shows the kind of care that has catapulted Allemande, Barral and others who pull terroir so nicely into the bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/21/2016 - decaturwinedude wrote: flawed
corked!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/31/2016 - Steve Brickley Likes this wine: 94 Points
Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms. The earth coming out of this wine is just marvelous. The fruit is gentle. The tannins left long ago. Just a beautiful wine, bricking, light on its feet, easy, mature, lovely with chinon as the delivery. This is drinking well now. I don't think it is improving or declining at this point, but I'd drink the remainder over the next five years so by 2021 or so. Cork came out in a clean gentle and steady pull. Enjoy.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/2/2016 - pryby wrote: 94 Points
2nd bottle of this. Just as good as the first. Mind blowing. Leather, roasted red pepper, stewed tomato, tobacco. Amazing.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/20/2015 - pryby Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dinner at Pearl & Ash, NYC. Never tasted a wine like this before. Red pepper on the nose. Intense grilled red bell pepper and grilled tomato, savory herbs. Leather and rare meat juices on the finish.
Total stunner. How could this have come from grapes?
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/10/2015 - Sotto325 wrote: 92 Points
A warm, toasty evening in a French farm restaurant--New World_ brick, fireplace, elegant cuisine with flavor: - a perfect setting in December for this incredibly a point wine.With the strong "wrong side of the barn" flavors now past, one can enjoy the risk that Raffault alone took in releasing these ex-cellars 20+ years after the hqarvest. Cabernet franc it is, but with enough age and texture to evoke a Bordeaux,missing, of course the complexity or cassis elements of the sauvignon. But mellow this did, with slightly burnt fall leaves, a smokey mid cherry and mushroom flavors,all of the woods. Color was bricked, with enough interest to garner comments. The finish was complete. Yes, there is bottle variation. But when on, this is a fascinating older wine that proves what proper wine making can produce.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/31/2015 - Gargantua wrote:
Felt slightly musty/off on the nose, and palate finished with an odd bitterness; but in between there was a wine that had a story to tell. Unclear how representative this was at this stage, but probably was better years ago.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/28/2015 - decaturwinedude wrote: 94 Points
Showed really well last night. I'd put it above the '83. Pronounced green pepper and earthy nose. Cab Franc without a doubt. The fruit is more supple, better texture, rounder, a bit more balanced. Richer. Lively. Brilliant wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/24/2015 - Bodyfxr wrote: 88 Points
Brick red with lots of sediment. Amazing to see such well forming legs with the age of this wine. The nose was somewhat muted of dried strawberries and earth with some mustiness. On the palate, mild tastes of fruit overpowered by earth and dirt. The finish was long but somewhat sharp. This wasn't a corked bottle. Just old and way beyond its prime. Don't see how this could have garnered the higher scores on this forum.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/7/2015 - M.Batard wrote: 92 Points
Very dark ruby color; medium bodied. Served at cellar temperature, on a hot day, set against lamb off the grill. Dark berries and some green notes. Savory, refined palate. Tannins completely integrated. I thought it was wonderful.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/3/2015 - rebs1 wrote: 93 Points
A little more acidity than my last bottle a year ago but still a fantastic wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/24/2015 - WMWG Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautiful nose, dark, gritty tobacco and green pepper notes that carry into the palate and pair perfectly with the deep, dark fruit. This is mature, but not tired and is ever so smooth from entry through the finish.
Excellent – Drink Now
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/24/2015 - mdefreitas wrote: 93 Points
Pizza and wines @ Salil's (Vernon, CT): Beautiful, expressive, aromatic and just drinking great right now. The first few whiffs had a pronounced green pepper note, but this settled in when the earth, leather and minerals notes joined the party. Nicely resolved structure, yet still lively and fresh. What a joy to drink with pizza; I need to try this combination more often.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/24/2015 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Pizza night with Austrians and random reds: I have had a ton of bottle variation with the '85 Raffault, but this was definitely one of the best bottles I've come across. No brett in this one, it's all fresh dark berried fruit, green forestal, herbal and faintly leafy notes, and more developed earthy - almost gravelly - notes all coming together very seamlessly on the nose and palate. The tannin seems fully integrated, and most of the structure remaining comes from the acidity, which keeps it remarkably fresh and lively on the palate. Remarkably good match with the pizza.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/1/2015 - CWilliam wrote:
Did not take notes - purchased 1 year ago in Atlanta, GA. Paired well with smoked salmon. Very earthy but some fruit still there & nice balance. Tobacco / herbal overtones dominated the palate but enough fruit to keep provide balance. Hard to rate given not notes but I'm glad I bought 2 bottles. Might have had a slight cork taint so won't rate now - older Loire's tend to be pretty herbal / green so will try other bottle soon to compare.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/25/2015 - cardsandwine Likes this wine:
A stunning Cab Franc. Deep earthy bouquet with great length and purity on the palate and on the finish. Round and delicious. A wine with soul.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/17/2015 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cherry, red raspberry, pepper, and dry earth on the nose. A lighter style than other vintages with a much lower tannin profile, even when adjusted for age, and a much brighter series of flavors. An attractive remaining balance of fruit and spice that paired well with lamb cavatelli. Smooth on the palate, the fruit to earthiness to spice on the front and mid palate is pleasing, although it all fades a little too soon the backpalate.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/16/2015 - Janstan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cedar, forest floor, cherry, went excellently with fennel and onion stiuffed pork roast.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/6/2015 - DaleW wrote:
When I uncorked this there was a whiff of VA and pruniness, but to me (but not everyone) that blew off. A bit of horsiness, but on the Olga scale it’s well in check. Red fruit and pepper, a little bit of tannin remaining, pretty enough. B+/B
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/5/2015 - salil wrote: 88 Points
Agree with Dale's note from the same evening - this was solid, but a bit disappointing relative to other bottles of '85 Picasses I've had in the past. A touch foursquare on the palate, with the fruit rather ripe and a faint VA element sticking out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/14/2014 - JeremyQ Does not like this wine:
Not a good bottle, shame
Not corked but a little stewed. :(
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/24/2014 - LFCHALA Likes this wine: 94 Points
Excellent. This producer is really spectacular. Ages exquisite way. Olives. Dust. Stable. Fantadtic freshness. Round Tanins. Great acidity. Seems immortal.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/13/2014 - rebs1 wrote: 94 Points
beautiful wine! aged wonderfully and resembles many old barolos and riojas I've had. just enough dry cherry fruit up front followed by earth and mushrooms. very long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/14/2014 - dbkitc wrote: 80 Points
This wine and I did not get along. I just couldn't get past the nose of herbed cottage cheese and Band-Aids. Some VA for sure that didn't blow off. Little joy here for my palate - others may like this profile more. (80)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/10/2014 - JOsgood wrote:
In a good place right now. Earthy and raw tasting.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/9/2014 - cartime Likes this wine: 93 Points
Great balance. Drinking at peak now, I would imagine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/6/2013 - Flavito wrote: 91 Points
Way better than last bottle, spicy, elegant and well balanced, fairly long finish. Excellent with lamb.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/14/2013 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Just like the last bottle I had. Savoury, herbaceous and complex with layers of mature developed and green flavours around a core of fresh dark berried fruit. Very polished and elegant, drinking wonderfully right now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/13/2013 - WST wrote:
Bellingham Grand Crew Dinner (Lars' & Carolyn's): Definite old cab qualities but more restrained; some bell pepper, metallic celery seed, 5 spice. Loved it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/13/2013 - Chaz Bham wrote:
Lars and Carolyn's evening of great wine and food (Bellingham, WA): Servi à l’aveugle. Belle pureté de fruit. Notes harmonieuses de feuilles de tabac vertes, des herbes écrasées, de poivre vert. Bien fait.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/24/2013 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 92 Points
Very bright, youthful red fruit alongside green, stemmy, and herbal. Still youthful with plenty of aging potential, well-balanced, and quite pretty.
Raffault wines always seem like a mixture of a fairly-ripe dare-I-say-Cali Cab Franc and a more traditional, green style, as it shows an implausible combination of Cab Franc's ripe and less-ripe characteristics. I usually find myself pondering Raffault's wines on a logical level, trying to figure out their unique expression, allowing for little time to actually enjoy them.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/24/2013 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Not quite as leathery or funky as the last bottle I had, but this is still really good. It starts out quite green and high toned, still seeming rather youthful with very fresh red and dark fruited flavours beneath, and over a couple of hours becomes more complex, nuanced and integrated. There's great balance here, a sense of lightness on the palate and it still seems as if it could go quite a few more years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/5/2013 - Janstan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Vegetal, cedar, leather, dark fruits. Evolved as we drank continuing to get better. Had with grill roasted pork
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/29/2013 - Flavito wrote: 88 Points
Leafy, vegetal nose, lots of green peppers, but not disagreeable. Light body, melted tannins, a little hollow in the mid palate. A traditional, cold weather cabernet, good with food, pleasurable without being anything special. Last two bottles were quite better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/27/2013 - djarcara wrote: 84 Points
The fruit is faded. Past it's prime. Some nice spice, but just no power at all, yet no elegance either.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/2/2012 - KeithAkers wrote: 92 Points
Second Annual Butcher&Larder dinner (Butcher&Larder, Chicago IL): nose: very pretty and elegant nose with perfumed tones of dark red fruits, red cherries, herbs, spice tones and some root vegetables. Nice depth to this as well.
taste: well balanced with very nice medium+ acidity and sturdy tannins. Medium bodied and elegant with tones of red cherries, dark red fruits, herbs and a lot of spice tones.
overall: This was gorgeous. Very well balanced on both the nose and palate. There is a very elegant quality to this and it certainly has the stuffing to last even longer. I wish I had been able to spend more time with it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/29/2012 - salil wrote: 94 Points
Mostly 1985 horizontal (Locanda Verde, NYC): Starts out with a lovely scent of forestal green/herbal elements, pure dark berried fruit and a touch of leathery funk, and the fragrance just builds over a few hours, gaining in intensity and developing more smoky, cedary and other savoury nuances. This is drinking superbly, conveying flavour with remarkable purity and barely any sense of weight, beautifully balanced and polished in the mouth and a compelling wine to sit down with and follow over a few hours.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/22/2012 - Sotto325 wrote: 91 Points
This is an acquired taste fror most. I loved this at Veritas and bought 2 bottles. Released ex cellars recently. A Chinon that ages is itself a marvel; this one is pure cabinet franc. Which means not as complex as cab sauvignon or merlot but packing real power and depth. It is the definition of barnyard flavor and it turns off many. Rich, mildly complex, with blueberry hints on the nose, strong thorny taste with dark dark red fruit, leather, slight smoke and damp wood tones. Drink now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/6/2012 - sebastienjm wrote: 92 Points
La robe est jeune pour un vin de cet âge (26 ans!).
Nez de feuilles mortes, de sous bois, légumes d'hiver en tout genre... soupe de légume si l'on veut! Un peu de champignons et un côté viandé. Il n'y a plus tellement de fruit au nez. Les arômes tertiaires dominent.
Les tanins sont complètement fondus, c'est un régal, et la finale est longue et nette. Prix : 26 euros.
17/20
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/12/2011 - tooch wrote:
The Embodiment of Memory (Bob's House - Alexandria, VA): Exotic nose of peppers, dirt, olive and cranberry. This was medium-bodied, incredibly herbal and earthy with an underlying core of cranberry and kirsch. I was impressed by its structure and wager that it's still drinking close to its peak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/26/2011 - Sotto325 wrote: 92 Points
incredible find at Veritas in NYC. A perfect evocation of Cabernet franc--with all of its barnyard odors--soft, medium ruby color, some cherry and exotic berrie sonthe nose, smooth, deep light plum center, wonderful fiinsh. and no tannin Just surprising as I have never thought highly of Chinon wines before.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/14/2011 - bvilleguy wrote: 90 Points
Surprising light and uncomplicated.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/6/2011 - cgstocks wrote: 92 Points
Excellent, light. Low tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/20/2010 - dream wrote: 90 Points
Good color. Tasted much younger than 25 years old. A silky and captivating wine not for its great power or complexity but rather just for its charm and suppleness. Lighter-bodied and ethereal with lovely smoky red fruit notes. An excellent accompaniment to food and a delicious, subtle wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/14/2010 - sebastienjm wrote: 92 Points
Vraiment beaucoup aimé. Quelle finesse, quelle jeunesse aussi! Pas de signes d'évolution en observant sa robe, qui dévoile un vin pas trop extrait. Au nez, nous sommes toutefois clairement sur les arômes tertiaires de sous bois, de champignons ... le vin a toutefois gardé du fruit, et ça se remarque d'autant + en bouche.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment