Olga Raffault, Chinon, ‘Les Picasses’

SommSelect Editorial Director David Lynch marvels at the consistency and value offered by Olga Raffault, a Loire Valley benchmark whose wines are both eminently ‘collectible’ and remarkably accessible.A few nights ago, Ian Cauble and I hosted a SommSelect wine dinner at The Corner Napa, a newish arrival on the Napa Valley dining scene whose chef, Dustin Falcon, put together a stellar four-course menu for us to play with. Our showstopper, paired with a main course of braised short ribs, was the 1990 Chinon “Les Picasses” from Olga Raffault. We had a small stash of this wine in our warehouse, obtained directly from the winery via its US importer, and since there wasn’t enough of it to offer on the site, dinner at The Corner offered the perfect opportunity to share it with some of our customers. I’ve loved the Raffault wines for a long time, and I knew they aged well, but this ’90 still exceeded expectations in a way that had everyone shaking their heads in amazement—including a group of