Tag Archives: 1990

Wine of the Day: Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses, Loire 1990 6-10-16

chinoOlga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses, Loire 1990 750ML ($69.95) Buy Now: $59 special

Were the Loire Valley to be a house, the ‘Les Picasses’ vineyard would be the attic: full of secrets, haunted if by history, and unscathed by the harsh hand of modernity. Domaine Olga Raffault, now run by Mme. Raffault’s grandaughter Sylvie and Sylvie’s husband Eric, is the perfect guide to the tour of this beautiful – if fictitious – house.

‘Les Picasses’ sits atop the steep slopes along the Vienne River in Savigny-en-Véron, a bucolic little commune east of Saumur and south of Bourgueil. Vines there are roughly fifty years in age, planted in alluvial clay soils with a chalk-limestone base. Chez Raffault winemaking is careful, organic, and traditional. Grapes are hand-harvested and then fermented in stainless steel before resting in larger wood – sometimes chestnut – barrels for up to three years.

In short, the 1990 ‘Les Picasses’ is nothing short of brilliant. Brambly black fruit meld with soft leather notes, stewed tomato, black olive, and tangy cranberry. Would be great with roasted, herb-heavy meat dishes; spend a few hours sifting through the layers and you’ll be surely rewarded. – Tyler

Wine of the Day: JB Becker Martinsthaler Rodchen Spatlese Trocken 1990 5-3-16

Becker 1990JB Becker Martinsthaler Rodchen Spatlese Trocken 1990 750ML ($59.95) Buy Now: $49 special

My, how time flies! Much as I don’t want to make anyone feel old, I’d like to highlight the fact that Milli Vanilli were the biggest thing in the world at the time this wine was made. While the R&B duo from West Germany may have soared –peaked-crashed-and-burned, Hans-Joseph Becker from the Rheingau has only now begun to enjoy the spotlight. At 70!

I drew out Sunday night’s dinner with little tipples from this old bottle – a dark brown, star-stamped bottle from which copper-gold splashed out brilliantly. In the decanter, the wine caught candlelight in so gorgeous a way I literally sighed. Then came drinking! At once, a sense of energy and integration, yet I could easily sift through the layers to reveal essences which had been tucked away across the past quarter-century.  Over time, orange rind and sea mist gave way to lime, rain-soaked stones, and a delicate hint of petrol. I’d describe it as charming, deliberate, and tangible; as fun as it is serious.

Mr. Becker farms organically and prefers native yeast fermentation, but seems to make no fuss of either.  Fermentation takes place in pressurized tanks in order to achieve it quickly and steadily; Becker then racks the wine into barrel for at least two years of aging. Many bottlings are held back for years and years and years. As my comrades at Vom Boden – Becker’s US importer – phrase it, “go as quick as you can; then slam on the brakes and wait out all the others.” Not unlike Milli Vanilli, you could say, except that the voice is entirely Becker’s own.

– Tyler