Olga Raffault: Vineyards
As already noted in my introduction, the estate is located in Savigny-en-Véron. The vines in Savigny used to be the only vineyards in the appellation to the west of the town itself, although since the appellation boundaries were (quite sensibly) expanded in 2016 there are other ‘western’ vineyards in Chinon, albeit on the south bank of the Vienne. The location of the Olga Raffault domaine remains significant though, as Savigny-en-Véron is located on the narrowing triangle of land between the Vienne, to the south, which is working its way towards the Loire, to the north.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, being sandwiched between two ancient rivers, the superficial soils here are alluvial, mostly sand, although unlike the alluvial gravel-and-sand soils that lie in the river valley of the Vienne, in Savigny-en-Véron the sand is merely superficial, covering deeper seams of limestone. For this reason the wines of this corner of the Chinon appellation do not necessarily display the same early-drinking style which many of the region’s alluvial styles possess.
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