Wines
J.M. Raffault
Loire
The J.M. Raffault winery is located in Chinon in the central Loire valley, near Tours. The family has been in Chinon since 1693 and as of 1997 Jean-Maurice Raffault’s famous Chinon estate is now run by his son Rodolphe.
The estate is spread over 55 hectares and over 7 districts within the Controlled Appellation Chinon. For this reason, each "cuvée" corresponds to a particular soil. Each single walled vineyard or "cru" is traditionally converted into wine using maceration from 15 up to 28 days, the alcoholic fermentation being carried out by natural yeast. The maturing in oak tanks from 6 to 18 months is one of the participant in giving the wine its flavour, protected from light and vibrations. During that period of time, several rackings are carried out (done in the traditional method, from barrel to barrel) and participate to the clarifying of the wine before a traditional egg white fining. For this operation, more than 700 barrels lie in 3 enormous wine cellars (old local stone quarry) with a constant temperature of 12°C and 85% humidity.