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Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses 2000

Les Picasses is arguably the most renowned vineyard in the Chinon appellation. There are of course a few other contenders for this title which deserve some mention.

First there is the renowned Clos de l’Echo, a monopole in the hands of Couly-Dutheil since Noah stepped down from the ark (well, since the early 20th century, anyway). This historic vineyard sits just behind the royal fortress and comes complete with its own traditions and mythology, so is surely a contender. My thoughts also turn to La Croix Boissée, a highly regarded south-facing site shared between a number of growers, their number including Bertrand Sourdais of Domaine de Pallus and Pascal Lambert, among many others, but in terms of reputation it seems fair to say they are led by Matthieu Baudry of Bernard Baudry.

Like La Croix Boissée, Les Picasses is also exploited by a number of vignerons, including Rodolphe Raffault of Jean-Maurice Raffault, Jean de Bonnaventure of Château de Coulaine and Martine Budé of Clos la Niverdière. In fact, at the last count, there were 17 vignerons tending vines here, although only a handful bottle the wine as a cuvée parcellaire, many choosing to blend the fruit into another cuvées.

Having said all that, the fact that Les Picasses can be discussed in the same breath as the Clos de l’Echo and La Croix Boissée is arguably down to just one domaine, ran for many years by one widowed vigneron; Olga Raffault.

Having taken over from her husband Pierre Raffault after his passing in 1947, Olga Raffault subsequently gave her name to this domaine which grew out of the Raffault family’s smallholding, which had for many years had been dedicated to asparagus. She stamped her authority on it, aided by Ernest Zeinninger, a German prisoner of war who was released to work on the land under the Raffault family’s supervision. He found his calling in the vineyards of Chinon; the region’s wines became his passion, and he lived out his life tilling these soils, rather than returning to his homeland.

Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses 2000

With time the running of the domaine passed to the next generation, Olga’s son Jean Raffault. It was Jean who cemented in place the reputation both of the domaine, and of the vineyard in question, firstly by putting the name Les Picasses on the label, in 1983, and then with the supremely high levels of quality achieved in the 1989 and 1990 vintages. It is a vineyard and domaine I have followed on and off ever since, right through to my most recent visit to the domaine, which was just a couple of months ago. I tasted with the current proprietor of course; Jean is still active on the vineyard, but he no longer holds the reins, as today the domaine is run by his daughter Sylvie Raffault, husband Eric Cledat de la Vigerie, and their son Arnaud. If you are wondering where my notes from this visit are, they all in my 2025 Chinon report, The Times They Are A-Changin’.

Les Picasses is not that easy to find; the location of the Olga Raffault domaine suggests it might be at the western end of the appellation, in Savigny-en-Véron. In truth it lies north of the town of Chinon, and east of the town of Avoine, sandwiched between La Cave Pelletier and the Rue Cinq Pères. This is the Puys du Chinonais, a landscape of gently undulating hills and slopes home to a number of vineyards but also arable farming, livestock and woodland. Les Picasses sits on a gentle south-facing slope running from 65 down to 50 metres above sea level. At the top of the slope there is the yellow limestone of the Upper Turonian, and on the midslope there is millarges, a calcareous, shell-bearing sand which is very typical of the Chinon appellation. Finally, at the foot of the slope, there is a sliver of white chalk from the Middle Turonian. The arrangement is quite similar to the limestone slopes on the Chinon côte around Cravant-les-Coteaux, or indeed the very upper reaches of the Bourgueil vineyard, which perhaps explains the site’s appeal.

The wines of this lieu-dit from Olga Raffault have a reputation for blossoming late, and in this regard the 2000 Chinon Les Picasses seems true to form; now that it is well into its third decade it has blossomed into a wine both convincing and charming. In the glass it displays an appropriately mature hue, a matt garnet with a mahogany tinge to the rim. The nose is cool and light, undeniably herbaceous and fresh, a little fungal too, with herby notes of peppercorn, mint, asparagus and a touch of green capsicum, a fairly extreme level of methoxypyrazine but it seems to work well with the accompanying notes of mushroom, tobacco and leather. The palate is savoury and light, as herbaceous as the nose suggested, yet also textural and modestly silky, with a delicately sweet edge, and a long finish loaded with umami elements. This is classic old-school Chinon, savoury, peppery, undeniably green yet delightful, focused and long. Drink now, Les Picasses lovers! The alcohol is 12.5% on the label. 92/100 (5/1/26)

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