Jean-Maurice Raffault Chinon Clos de l'Hospice 2018 (750ml)

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Producer	Jean-Maurice Raffault
Country	France
Region	Loire
Subregion	Chinon
Varietal	Cabernet Franc
Vintage	2018
Sku	01388
Size	750ml

   

WA

93

100% Cabernet Franc, hand-harvested, macerated for one month, malolactic fermentation in new and one-year-old 500-liter oak barrels, aged on fine lees for 12 months in former tuffeau quarries. No added sulfites.

In 2008, one of the most beautiful sites in the Chinon vineyards was replanted by Rodolphe Raffault of Domaine Jean-Maurice Raffault. This extraordinary plot is a natural amphitheater facing southeast, overlooking the Vienne River and opposite the château. Initially owned by the descendants of the writer François Rabelais, this walled vineyard is regularly mentioned in historical records. Nuns from Calvaire cultivated this plot until their expropriation during the French Revolution. The convent then became the "Hospice" of Chinon, as the wounded from the Vendée Wars required a large building. The Augustinian Hospitaller Sisters maintained the vineyard until its demise due to phylloxera. Despite several replanting projects, the land remained a garden throughout the 20th century, producing vegetables for the patients. Hospital activity ceased in the 1980s, and a project to rehabilitate the listed site was considered by the City of Chinon and an investment group. A tourist residence was then built alongside the planting of one hectare of a massal selection of Cabernet Franc, from pre-World War II vines, in order to create a vineyard as close as possible to its original state.

From an extraordinarily steep, south-facing one-hectare vineyard that is shaped like a natural amphitheater and overlooks the Vienne River, the 2018 Chinon Clos de l’Hospice is made from the fruit of 10-year-old vines after the once-famous vineyard had been partly restored (0.65 hectares) in 2008 by Rodolphe Raffault after a century of wildness or misuse as a garden. Meanwhile, the whole plot has been replanted again, and it's all planted with pre-WWII massal selections. Macerated for a month and vinified in 500-liter barrels for one year, the 2018 is dark in color and opens with a deep, pure, fresh and concentrated bouquet of perfectly ripe dark and red fruits intertwined with finely flinty and smoky notes. Full-bodied, crystalline and elegant on the palate, this is a juicy, finessed and excitingly spicy Cabernet Franc with lots of charm but also depth and natural tension. This is an impressive, pure and fruity Chinon whose richness and warm ripeness is well countered by firm tannins and the vibrantly fresh, mineral acidity. 15% alcohol. 6,286 bottles made. Tasted in June 2021. Anticipated Maturity: 2022-2040