Everything Olga is new again

Olga Raffault 1995 Chinon Les Picasses (Loire) – Singing. It’s a rustic country tune, but it’s in full-throated voice at the moment. Distilled-down concentrate of old autumns, full of the memory of blackberries passed, with a crackled structure. Or, to employ a similarly stretchy metaphor, like drinking bichromatic stained glass. (2/11)

O. yes

O. Raffault 1990 Chinon Les Picasses (Loire) – Very soft. Large-scaled herbality, espresso, raw musculature, and thick, almost syrupy black fruit. I guess this isn’t ready yet. But if one needs a Chinon to “convince” a dedicated, green-fearing Chinon-skeptic, this might do the job. (5/10)

Jean-Luc Picasses

Olga Raffault 1995 Chinon Les Picasses (Loire) – Peaty earth and chalk dust with a light herbaceousness plus a dense (but not powerful) core of black cherry. Great acidity. Long and complex. While this is showing signs of its eventual maturity, it’s definitely not there yet. (3/05)

Picasses-a

Olga Raffault 1997 Chinon Les Picasses (Loire) – Bludgeoning. All structure and herb-infused soil; thickness and density without any letup. In no way, shape, or form should this be uncorked now. (4/08)