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Olga Raffault Les Picasses Chinon Cabernet Franc 2014
The flagship Chinon bottling of “les Picasses” from Domaine Olga Raffault, made from fifty-plus year-old vines in the heart of this excellent vineyard, is outstanding in 2014. This is always a cuvée built for the cellar and the 2014 vintage is no exception. The bouquet is pure and promising, offering up scents of red and dark berries, cigar smoke, a complex base of soil tones, a touch of tree bark, a hint of meatiness and a topnote of menthol. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very transparent in personality, with a rock solid core of fruit, ripe, chewy tannins, good focus and grip and a long, nascently complex and beautifully soil-driven finish. This is outstanding juice in the making! John Gilman, A View from the Cellar
Ratings on Delectable
Peter Sultan 
Broke out one of my cellared Raffaults for my homeboy who graced me with a home cooked Tuscan styled flank steak w rosemary & arugula, as well as Israeli cous cous w chickpeas, charred tomatoes, feta, & herbs. Light Cadmium red hued & strong color though ( good cork- not a guarantee w Raffault!); dense Hibiscus, fresh raspberry & some bramble on nose; on palate very clean & smooth mouthfeel, with the initial flavors repeated but a deeper blend of red fruits & a stronger presence of under brush. Super fresh & integrated. Elegant, & the Burgundy echo was hard to ignore. Not Uber complex but not monolithic either, which this line of Raffault can be in its youth ( or as it ages). Very impressive, & accessible now. Curious how my ‘02 & 07s will fare…
Broke out one of my cellared Raffaults for my homeboy who graced me with a home cooked Tuscan styled flank steak w rosemary & arugula, as well as Israeli cous cous w chickpeas, charred tomatoes, feta, & herbs. Light Cadmium red hued & strong color though ( good cork- not a guarantee w Raffault!); dense Hibiscus, fresh raspberry & some bramble on nose; on palate very clean & smooth mouthfeel, with the initial flavors repeated but a deeper blend of red fruits & a stronger presence of under brush. Super fresh & integrated. Elegant, & the Burgundy echo was hard to ignore. Not Uber complex but not monolithic either, which this line of Raffault can be in its youth ( or as it ages). Very impressive, & accessible now. Curious how my ‘02 & 07s will fare…
9.3
Robert Krupp
Cherry tobacco cedar bacon smoke baking spice
Cherry tobacco cedar bacon smoke baking spice
9.3
Austin Hohnke
Worth a check in at 10 years. Always an outstanding nose. Needed hours of air and still pretty shy, fruit in particular is closed. Paired with NY strip tonight. Have half a case left of this vintage and will check in again in a couple years.
Worth a check in at 10 years. Always an outstanding nose. Needed hours of air and still pretty shy, fruit in particular is closed. Paired with NY strip tonight. Have half a case left of this vintage and will check in again in a couple years.
9.2
Shengli Hu
Bright ruby with a garnet rim of medium minus concentration. Tobacco, pencil shavings, cigar, cedarwood, licorice, fresh pomegranate, raspberry, tart red cherry, stony minerality. Lightly spiced. Elevated acidity, medium soft tannins, medium alcohol. Medium body.
Bright ruby with a garnet rim of medium minus concentration. Tobacco, pencil shavings, cigar, cedarwood, licorice, fresh pomegranate, raspberry, tart red cherry, stony minerality. Lightly spiced. Elevated acidity, medium soft tannins, medium alcohol. Medium body.
9.2
Delectable Wine
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More powerful and full-bodied wine from Le Picasses than 2015. A stunner. Fresh and complex, but a more muscular side of Chinon. Dark ruby in color. Expressive nose full of blackberry, black olive, spice and pepper. On the palate, rich, dark, with more olive and some tobacco on the finish. Amazing value. (Jason Wilson, Vinous, July 2020)
More powerful and full-bodied wine from Le Picasses than 2015. A stunner. Fresh and complex, but a more muscular side of Chinon. Dark ruby in color. Expressive nose full of blackberry, black olive, spice and pepper. On the palate, rich, dark, with more olive and some tobacco on the finish. Amazing value. (Jason Wilson, Vinous, July 2020)
9.4
Josh Morgenthau
Vivid. All sorts of little purple flowers, the type that bloom early in the spring. Also, some just-ripe cherry, leaf litter, a little leather and pencil shavings. But so so floral. All the hallmarks of this bottling in astonishing balance here. Good acid, supple texture with just the silkiest of tannins. Wowing me already at the young age of 6 (for this wine), I think in time it will be a classic. This is not a showy wine and won’t please everyone’s taste. But the class and finesse here speak volumes.
Vivid. All sorts of little purple flowers, the type that bloom early in the spring. Also, some just-ripe cherry, leaf litter, a little leather and pencil shavings. But so so floral. All the hallmarks of this bottling in astonishing balance here. Good acid, supple texture with just the silkiest of tannins. Wowing me already at the young age of 6 (for this wine), I think in time it will be a classic. This is not a showy wine and won’t please everyone’s taste. But the class and finesse here speak volumes.
9.5Peter Sultan
This was a COVID treat given Ive cellared this wine for several years, always buy em young when they are cheap- a great deal if you can tolerate the long aging they can bear . Have several 07’s of our daughters birth year. A humble wine right now (always?), perhaps it is in its “closed” phase. Cranberries & wood shavings nose. Fine red berries, a lovely round palate, that slight pencil lead Chinon thing. A small wine-and that’s meant as a compliment
This was a COVID treat given Ive cellared this wine for several years, always buy em young when they are cheap- a great deal if you can tolerate the long aging they can bear . Have several 07’s of our daughters birth year. A humble wine right now (always?), perhaps it is in its “closed” phase. Cranberries & wood shavings nose. Fine red berries, a lovely round palate, that slight pencil lead Chinon thing. A small wine-and that’s meant as a compliment
9.1
Jae Cho
Prior notes always apply. That texture tho...
Prior notes always apply. That texture tho...
9.1Jae Cho
If you need a change of pace from primary fruit wines, Olga
If you need a change of pace from primary fruit wines, Olga
9.1Austin Hohnke
Capsicum, peppercorns, and cedar. Silky red fruits. A blind taster’s dream Chinon. Always good, but a stunning value in great vintages. Happy to have half a case of this.
Capsicum, peppercorns, and cedar. Silky red fruits. A blind taster’s dream Chinon. Always good, but a stunning value in great vintages. Happy to have half a case of this.
9.2
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