And now for something completely different!  How about Cabernet Franc from centenarian vines grown in one of the Loire Valley’s most iconic monopole vineyards!?   Thanks to our exciting (but all too rare) dalliances with mature vintages of producer Olga Raffault’s incredible wines, we’ve been enjoying a long-term love affair with mature Chinon.  The Cab Franc grape, so fun and primary when young, takes on a wholly new, totally beguiling personality with time, and the Raffaults’ wines, at 10 or 12 years past the vintage, are simply ravishing.  But Raffault is not the only cult producer in Chinon who values the time, old vines, labor-intensive agriculture and gentle approach in the cellar required to allow their wines to age gracefully.  There’s Domaine Couly-Dutheil.  Calling this Chinon estate ‘venerable’ would be an understatement. Their first vintage was in 1921, and this tiny domaine was blessed with two of the most famous vineyards in the entire Loire Valley, the Clos de Echo, right across from the Chinon fortress, and the hillside Clos de L’Olive.  Both these sites have many of their original vines and have produced, over the decades, some of the best wines ever seen in this appellation.  The more recent history of Couly Dutheil began in 2005 when Arnaud Couly took over.  He brought a more modern, enlightened view towards the vineyards and cellar and completely changed the direction of the domaine.  He converted to sustainable farming and cleaned up their approach to achieve riper fruit, removed all the old oak barrels from the cellar and began to focus on the letting these two sites, and the other vineyards they farm, better express themselves rather than their winemaking.  The Cab Franc now starts fermentation spontaneously, on its own yeast, and vats only a month under temperature control yielding a wine with greater finesse, riper but more developed flavors and great natural acidity.  We’ve just received a precious few cases of the 2019 Clos de Olive and, boy, is it ever good!  This vineyard is known for producing a more elegant, restrained version of Cab Franc (compared with the brawnier but broader L’Echo) that captures the haunting, subtler end of the grape’s aromatic and textural spectrum.  Our decanted bottle this morning yielded dried blueberry, violet pastilles, Earl Grey tea, woodsy spice, white pepper, tar, graphite….on and on. There is no oak on the wine, but there is a lovely, quite supple texture, and you’d be forgiven if you thought it was a bit wooded.  Middle weight, it exudes gravitas without any heaviness and elegance without seeming at all light.  And, even though these wines can age for-nearly-ever, this is such a lovely drink right now!  Beef, duck confit or lamb on the menu?  A Provencal style grilled leg of lamb and a bottle of Chinon is one of life’s real pleasures.  Or how about a spicy lamb biryani?  Drink now, because it tastes so good.  But do put some back in the cellar where your Bordeaux and Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines dwell and someday you’ll be a very happy wine lover!  Very highly recommended.  (Cool bottle, too!)  

Vinous: From one of the appellation's most historic vineyards to the east of the city of Chinon, the 2019 Clos de l'Olive offers a wonderfully rich fragrance and an almost creamy mid palate. While it feels a little closed right now, the concentration is intense. The finish is long and has sinew and sense of chalky precision, likely due to the clay-limestone soils of this south-facing, old-vine vineyard. You can expect a brooding and lingering scent that fills the mouth with fragrance long after you've tasted this wine. It's reminiscent of dark chocolate bitterness alongside black cherries, rosemary, pencil lead, tea leaves and a rich smokiness. Ridiculously young with the potential for even greater things. I often prefer the Clos de l'Echo but in 2019, Clos de l'Olive seems to have greater balance while l'Echo is the more generous of the pair, as usual.. 95 points