Olga Raffault, Chinon Les Picasses, 2009

Olga Raffault is one of the most famous names in Chinon, one of France's great Cabernet Franc appellations, and Les Picasses is one of the Loire's finest vineyards, a south-facing slope of clay over limestone tuffeau. The family farms organically, ferments with native yeast, and ages long in foudres, producing a Chinon built to age for decades. This is the 2009, a warm, ripe vintage, now a back-vintage bottle from a private cellar that is entering a beautiful drinking window. The riper fruit of the year has melded with developing earthy, savory complexity, giving you the best of both worlds. Mature but still vigorous, with plenty of life ahead.