Olga Raffault: Tasting & Drinking
Tasting through a few vintages of Les Picasses quickly reveals the quality of the wine, with several examples I have tasted over the years showing well despite not being from particularly fashionable years. Tasting this cuvée in maturity is what really allows it to shine though. In youth I have tended to find – in the past anyway – this and the other Olga Raffault wines to have a rather awkward composition. The domaine’s philosophies tended to produce a more angular and old-school style of Chinon than some other leading vignerons favour. This does not mean, however, that they were not widely appreciated at this stage in their lives by the domaine’s fans, who are many.
Having said that, in recent years I have seen Les Picasses and the other cuvées become a little more approachable and ready to give pleasure in their youth than they were a decade or two ago. When it comes to vintages such as 2017 and 2019, for example, this wines are increasingly quite delicious when young. That is not to say I advise drinking them now, just that you can if you wish. My recommendation remains as it has always been; put this cuvée away in the cellar for a decade or two and forget about it. Good experiences with the 1990 vintage at 17 years of age, and the 2000 vintage (which was not a resounding success for the red wines of the Loire Valley, unlike Bordeaux) at 20 years of age, are the evidence we need in this matter.
As for the other cuvées, these obviously tend to drink younger, but as you might expect they all benefit from some time in bottle and cellar. The exceptions included the more oak-influenced cuvées L’Or d’Olga and La Singulière d’Olga Raffault, which really demand time to absorb that oak. At the opposite end of the spectrum, La Fraîch should be drunk as soon as you get your hands on it. As for Les 2 Roches, introduced as recently as 2021, the jury remains out.
Listing my favourite vintages at Olga Raffault is arguably a curious practice, as Les Picasses can show well in lesser years, but I would point at historical vintages such as 1989 and 1990 as being particulary successful, and then in more recent years the changing climate has done much to bolster the character within the wine, with increasingly smart wines being made in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. That is not to say prior vintage should be avoided though; I have had plenty of good experiences with older vintages such as 2002 and 2003. Once they hit their 20th birthdays, anyway. (25/9/07, updated 3/9/08, 1/4/21, 10/4/26)
