Cab Franc Chronicles - Your source for all things Cabernet Franc!

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Analysis and commentary of the Olga Raffault, 2018 Les Barnabés, Chinon, Loire Valley, France

Fifth-generation producer Domaine Olga Raffault is unquestionably one of the Chinon appellations benchmark producers. They are organically farming 23ha of vineyards in the communes of Savigny-en-Véron and Beaumont-en-Véron.

They make 3 single lieu-dit wines of which Les Barnabés is one of them. The other two are Les Peuilles and Les Picasses, both of which are in the commune of Beaumont-en-Véron.

The lieu-dit Les Barnabés is located in Savigny-en-Véron, right next door to the domaine and tasting room. This wine is coming from a selection of 4ha and the vines are on average around 35 years of age.

The terroir of the Véron Peninsula, specifically Savigny-en-Véron and Avoine, is quite unique. We are in the far northwestern part of the appellation, bordered to the north by the Loire River to the southwest by the Vienne River, which begins at this very point. The proximity of these two rivers moderates the climate, making this area slightly warmer than other parts of Chinon.

In the video, I talk about the different alluvial soils of Chinon. Here in the Véron Peninsula, we are dealing with ancient alluvial soils, which are alluvial deposits from the Loire River. Whereas downstream in Cravant-Les-Côteaux, the soils hugging the bank of the Vienne River are recent alluvial soils, which are alluvial deposits from the Vienne. These soils do have slightly different compositions and structures. The bedrock of Savigny-en-Véron and Avoine is also different from the rest of the appellation because there is a fault at Avoine, which has created a exposed a bedrock that dates to the Cenomanian era and has a different composition from the Turonian tuffeau chalk found in the rest of the appellation.

This wine was made in a slightly more "early-drinking" style with the goal to highlight the fruit character in its youth. Fermentation was in stainless steel with indigenous yeast. The berries were 100% destemmed. There was 30 days maceration through infusion. Aging was in tank for 12 months.

0:00 Intro/Background
0:36 Savigny-en-Véron overview
1:23 SOILS!
2:26 Les Barnabés parcels
2:32 Winemaking
2:58 Tasting notes

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Website in progress with a full write up and tons more content.
Originally posted to Instagram September 19, 2021.

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Key wine facts below:

Producer: Olga Raffault
Appellation: Chinon
Commune: Savigny-en-Véron
Lieu-Dit: Les Barnabés
Soil: Predominantly ancient alluvial sands atop a Cenomanian era limestone-marl-sandstone bedrock
Alcohol: 12.5%

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