Jean-Maurice Raffault Chinon 2018

The Jean-Maurice Raffault estate is located in Chinon, in the central Loire Valley, near Tours, and is the northernmost French red wine appellation. The family has been vignerons in Chinon since 1693 and the estate now comprises 40 hectares spread over 6 communes. In 1997, Rodolphe Raffault joined his father Jean-Maurice at the family domaine which had by then grown to 40 hectares. He has been in charge of the vineyards and winemaking since the 2000 vintage. We met him a few years ago, and loved his natural and organic winegrowing and winemaking methods as well as his pride in running the family domaine. He is particularly motivated to continue his late father's innovation of single-site bottling in Chinon, for example with his revival of the historic Clos des Capucins vineyard.

The fruit for Raffault’s Chinon rouge comes from several parcels on sandy, alluvial soil near the Vienne River. This origin gives a supple, fruity Chinon that is perfect for early drinking and versatile with food. The wine’s bright cherry and raspberry flavors are best appreciated at cellar temperature, so put your bottle in the frig for 5-10 minutes if your house temp runs on the warmer side...look for notes of vanilla and herbs with a fresh finish.