Olga Raffault Le Fraiche 2024

Grape: Cabernet Franc

Region: Chinon, France

Farming: Organic

For refined, classically-styled Loire Valley Cabernet Franc, look no further than Domaine Olga Raffault's Chinon. Established by Pierre and Olga Raffault in 1931, the domaine survived Pierre's sudden death in 1947 thanks to the work of estate employee Ernest Zeinninger, who introduced minimal intervention farming at a time when chemical use was widespread in the Loire. Taking over in 2000 without previous winemaking experience, Olga's granddaughter Sylvie and her husband Eric de la Vigerie quickly achieved organic certification and critical acclaim. With their son Arnaud, they farm 23ha of Cabernet Franc and 1ha of Chenin Blanc in Chinon's prime sites, the pinnacle of which is 'Les Picasses'. The estate has terrific plots of land in the Savigny-en-Véron district, right by the Vienne riverbanks. The "Les Picasses" vineyard stands out from the rest: old vines of 50-ish years on a fairly steep slope from the riverbank that is alluvial clay with a chalk limestone base. The winemaking is most traditional. The grapes are, of course, handpicked and fermented in stainless-steel. The wines are then aged in larger, neutral oak and sometimes chestnut - a traditional wood barrel in the region. The fruit for the Le Fraiche comes from very young vines in sandy, flat parcels near the winery not far from the the Vienne River.  This vin de soif is red-fruity and bright, showing the "Fraiche"er side of Loire Valley Cabernet Franc.