Description
100% Cabernet Franc
Domaine J-M Raffault is the largest single owner in the 15-hectare Les Picasses vineyard, with six hectares. His 15-to-60-year-old vines are spread over ten parcels. Rodolphe Raffault converted the first parcels of Les Picasses to organic viticulture in 2009 and completed the effort in 2015; certification is expected in 2019. The Les Picasses lieu dit is situated on a plateau at the summit of the hills overlooking the Vienne. The site is the highest point between the Vienne and Loire Rivers and is very well exposed. It was home to many windmills in the 19th century. Vines were already planted here by the 15th century. The name Picasses derives from a vineyard tool with two points (pics) used to work on vines planted on stony soil. The soil in the Les Picasses vineyard is a blend of limestone and clay with small stones over a subsoil of pure limestone, imparting intensity and structure to the wine.
The grapes for Les Picasses are destemmed, and fermentation happens spontaneously with indigenous yeasts. Malolactic fermentation takes place in casks. The wine is aged in 3-to-10-year-old barriques for 18 months on its fine lees, racked, fined with egg white and bottled. It is a wine of great intensity of flavor – minerally-tinged black cherry and kirsch – and can be aged for many years. 2000 cases produced.
Jancis Robinson 16+ Pts
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