Please join us this week at Bar Boulud, as we celebrate the wines of one of our favorite appellations of the Loire Valley: Chinon.
Located on the banks of the Vienne River before it joins the Loire, Chinon is a beautiful town (in fact, it has been registered as a World UNESCO site since 2000) of pastoral vineyards and medieval castles. If you were to find yourself in the Castle of Chinon, and walked to the top of the old clocktower to survey the land, you would see the Vienne River below, and the beautiful vineyards out on the rolling green hills of Chinon. There you would find the beautiful vineyards of two of the great domaines: Olga Raffault, and Domaine Couly-Dutheil. We are very excited to pour beautifully-aged wines from these two iconic producers this week.
Join us Monday, when we open up Olga Raffault Chinon ‘Les Picasses’ 1990. Having had this vintage from a regular-sized bottle a few years ago, I can attest to the ‘lights out’ quality of this wine. It is truly a remarkable wine, one of regal carriage and stunning depth. Notes of black olive tapenade give way to dried rose petal, with an underpinning of forest and balsamic notes one associates with the age of the wine. However, while the aromatics have gained a character of umami with the age, the wine is absolutely singing with freshness. From a Double-Magnum, this promises to be remarkable. The vineyard site, ‘Les Picasses’ takes its name from the axes used to break up the stony soil in order to plant the vines long ago. I can only think that this ‘Picasses’ is where we derive the English word ‘pick-axe.’ Whatever the case linguistically, this wine is not be missed.
Later in the week, we will pour on back-to-back nights, Chinon 1976 and 1978 from Couly-Dutheil, their famous single-vineyard cuvée, Clos de L’Echo. Clos de L’Echo sits mid-slope on the hill of Chinon with a southern exposure, and beautiful combination of clay and limestone in the vineyard, making this a prime spot for Cabernet Franc. With the long, slow, graceful aging in Double-Magnum, this promises to be a real treat, as well as a study in two older vintages of Chinon.
Please join us this week at Bar Boulud, as we celebrate the wines of one of our favorite appellations of the Loire Valley: Chinon.
Located on the banks of the Vienne River before it joins the Loire, Chinon is a beautiful town (in fact, it has been registered as a World UNESCO site since 2000) of pastoral vineyards and medieval castles. If you were to find yourself in the Castle of Chinon, and walked to the top of the old clocktower to survey the land, you would see the Vienne River below, and the beautiful vineyards out on the rolling green hills of Chinon. There you would find the beautiful vineyards of two of the great domaines: Olga Raffault, and Domaine Couly-Dutheil. We are very excited to pour beautifully-aged wines from these two iconic producers this week.
Join us Monday, when we open up Olga Raffault Chinon ‘Les Picasses’ 1990. Having had this vintage from a regular-sized bottle a few years ago, I can attest to the ‘lights out’ quality of this wine. It is truly a remarkable wine, one of regal carriage and stunning depth. Notes of black olive tapenade give way to dried rose petal, with an underpinning of forest and balsamic notes one associates with the age of the wine. However, while the aromatics have gained a character of umami with the age, the wine is absolutely singing with freshness. From a Double-Magnum, this promises to be remarkable. The vineyard site, ‘Les Picasses’ takes its name from the axes used to break up the stony soil in order to plant the vines long ago. I can only think that this ‘Picasses’ is where we derive the English word ‘pick-axe.’ Whatever the case linguistically, this wine is not be missed.
Later in the week, we will pour on back-to-back nights, Chinon 1976 and 1978 from Couly-Dutheil, their famous single-vineyard cuvée, Clos de L’Echo. Clos de L’Echo sits mid-slope on the hill of Chinon with a southern exposure, and beautiful combination of clay and limestone in the vineyard, making this a prime spot for Cabernet Franc. With the long, slow, graceful aging in Double-Magnum, this promises to be a real treat, as well as a study in two older vintages of Chinon.
MONDAY
Olga Raffault,
Chinon ‘Les Picasses’ 1990
Poured from a 3-Liter Double-Magnum
TUESDAY
Olga Raffault,
Chinon ‘Les Picasses’ 2014
Poured from a 3-Liter Double-Magnum
WEDNESDAY
Heitz Cellar,
Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Trailside Vineyard’ 2009
THURSDAY
Charles Joguet,
Chinon Rosé 2017
FRIDAY
Couly-Dutheil,
Chinon ‘Clos de L’Echo’ 1978
Poured from a 3-Liter Double-Magnum
SATURDAY
Couly-Dutheil,
Chinon ‘Clos de L’Echo’ 1976
Poured from a 3-Liter Double-Magnum
SUNDAY
Charles Joguet,
Chinon Rosé 2017
MONDAY
Olga Raffault,
Chinon ‘Les Picasses’ 1990
Poured from a 3-Liter Double-Magnum
TUESDAY
Olga Raffault,
Chinon ‘Les Picasses’ 2014
Poured from a 3-Liter Double-Magnum
WEDNESDAY
Heitz Cellar,
Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Trailside Vineyard’ 2009
THURSDAY
Charles Joguet,
Chinon Rosé 2017
FRIDAY
Couly-Dutheil,
Chinon ‘Clos de L’Echo’ 1978
Poured from a 3-Liter Double-Magnum
SATURDAY
Couly-Dutheil,
Chinon ‘Clos de L’Echo’ 1976
Poured from a 3-Liter Double-Magnum
SUNDAY
Charles Joguet,
Chinon Rosé 2017