Age-Worthy Loire Valley Cabernet Franc and the Myth of the “Great” Vintage
Regional Commentary
In a recent video, I mentioned a phrase that I say from time to time, but I didn’t take the time to elaborate on it: “vigneron and vineyard trump vintage.”
That is to say, when an exceptional vigneron is working with a high quality site/vineyard for Cabernet Franc, vintage is not something I concern myself with as it relates to the inherent quality of the finished wine. In my opinion, a wine of very good quality will be produced from these top sites in the hands of a top vigneron in ANY vintage, and vintage is a tool for understanding how and when we should be enjoying that wine.
A Case Study: Olga Raffault's Les Picasses
A perfect example would be Olga Raffault’s bottling from the great Les Picasses lieu-dit in Chinon. This is likely the Loire Cabernet Franc that I’ve had the most experience with in terms of diversity of vintages and stages of evolution. I’ve had this wine from cooler vintages, “classic” vintages, warm vintages; I’ve had it very young and with decades of age. This wine …