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More wines available from Olga Raffault
750ml
Bottle:
$17.93
$19.20
100% Cabernet Franc. 2022 is the first vintage for the new entry-level Chinon from Raffault. The fruit comes from...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.25
$22.00
100% Cabernet Franc. Les Barnabés stands apart from Raffault's other main sites, Les Picasses and Les Peuilles,...
750ml
Bottle:
$24.94
100% Cabernet Franc. Les Barnabés stands apart from Raffault's other main sites, Les Picasses and Les Peuilles,...
750ml
Bottle:
$22.94
$25.20
100% Cabernet Franc. Like the more renowned Les Picasses, Les Peuilles is a lieu-dit close to the village of...
375ml
Bottle:
$18.00
100% Cabernet Franc. Les Picasses is the most famous Chinon lieu-dit, close to the village of Beaumont-En-Véron on...
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Winery
Olga Raffault
Vintage: 2008
2008 saw very high yields across wineries in much of the southern hemisphere, as a result of highly favorable climatic conditions. Although in many areas, these high yields brought with them something of a drop in overall quality, this could not be said for South Australia's wines, which were reportedly excellent. Indeed, the 2008 Shiraz harvest in South Australia is said to be one of the most successful in recent decades, and western Australia's Chardonnays are set to be ones to watch out for. New Zealand's Pinot Noir harvest was also very good, with wineries in Martinborough reportedly very excited about this particular grape and the characteristics it revealed this year.
Pinot Noir also grew very well in the United States, and was probably the most successful grape varietal to come out of California in 2008, with Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley delivering fantastic results from this grape. Elsewhere in United States, Washington State and Oregon had highly successful harvests in 2008 despite some early worries about frost.
However, it was France who had the best of the weather and growing conditions in 2008, and this year was one of the great vintages for Champagne, the Médoc in Bordeaux, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence, with Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay grapes leading the way. Italy, too, shared many of these ideal conditions, with the wineries in Tuscany claiming that their Chianti Classicos of 2008 will be ones to collect, and Piedmont's Barberesco and Barolo wines will be recognized as amongst the finest of the past decade.
Varietal: Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc varietal grapes are a key ingredient in many of the finest wines in the world. For centuries they have been used in their native France for balancing out and adding their unique flavor and aroma to the finest wines of the Bordeaux region, and in more recent decades, they have been used all over the New World in attempts to emulate this most illustrious of wine styles. Alone, Cabernet Franc is an exciting, rich and elegant wine grape, producing wines packed full of interesting and highly aromatic characteristics. Violets, tobacco, bell pepper, blackcurrant and several other notes are regularly found within wines made from this grape, and the rich, pale garnet red color they offer makes them a favorite for both vintners and wine drinkers around the world.
Region: Loire Valley
In France, the region most closely associated with the production of fine white wines is the Loire Valley, a particularly fertile and temperate region near the Atlantic coast. This reputation is certainly justified, and the Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc vines which flourish in this region produce both dry and dessert wines of exquisite character and flavor However, the region is also responsible for some seriously high quality Cabernet Franc based wines, such as those found in the sub-region of Chenin, and plenty of elegant bubbly crémant wines, which are often fruitier and more lively than those found in Champagne, and with a character all of their own. The Loire Valley is an ancient wine region, with archaeological evidence dating wine production in this area back to the first century.
Country: France
France is renowned across the globe for its quality wines and the careful expertise which goes into making them, but what is truly remarkable about this relatively small country is the vast range of wines it produces in such huge amounts each year. Not only are the finest red wines in the world said to come from the beautiful regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy, but elsewhere in the country we find the Champagne region, and areas such as the Rhone Valley and the Loire, whose white wines consistently receive awards and accolades by the plenty. This range is a result of the great variety of climatic conditions and terrain found in France, coupled with generations of wine makers working within single appellations. Their knowledge of specific terroirs and grape varieties has, over time, perfected the production of wines within their region, and the end results continue to impress the world to this day.