Domaine Olga Raffault

Olga Raffault came from a family of smallholders. In 1931 she married Pierre Raffault, another grower from Savigny-en-Véron, and by combining the two families' smallholdings the couple held 3 hectares of vines, although their main crop was asparagus. Pierre Raffault (d. 1947) worked to build up the estate until 1947. Olga, then the mother of two young children, finished that vintage with the help of Ernest Zeinninger, a German prisoner who had worked on the estate from the end of the war and who devoted himself to the vines and to supporting Olga and her two children. Her son Jean Raffault carried the domaine forward, combining tradition and modernity with the help of his wife Irma Raffault. The estate still carries Olga's name and traces its winemaking know-how across five generations.

• 1931: Olga Raffault marries Pierre Raffault of Savigny-en-Véron; their combined smallholdings hold 3 hectares of vines, with asparagus as the main crop
• 1947: Olga completes the vintage with Ernest Zeinninger, a German prisoner working on the estate since the end of the war; Pierre Raffault d. 1947
• Jean Raffault, Olga's son, sustained the domaine with the help of his wife Irma Raffault
• The business is Sarl Domaine Olga Raffault

The domaine is run by Olga's granddaughter Sylvie Raffault, with her husband Eric de la Vigerie and their son Arnaud de la Vigerie. Sylvie Clédat de la Vigerie is the gérante (managing director) of Sarl Domaine Olga Raffault. The family's stated aim is to keep the methods of the past while adding modern efficiency for a clientele in France and abroad.

• Sylvie Raffault: Olga's granddaughter, running the domaine
• Eric de la Vigerie: Sylvie's husband, part of the family team
• Arnaud de la Vigerie: their son, part of the family team

The estate lies at Savigny-en-Véron, part of the Chinon appellation to the west of the town and north of the Vienne, on the narrowing triangle of land between the Vienne to the south and the Loire to the north. Here the surface soils are alluvial and mostly sand, but the sand is shallow and covers deeper seams of limestone. Domaine Olga Raffault farms 24 hectares: 23 hectares of Cabernet Franc for Chinon Rouge and Rosé, and 1 hectare of Chenin for Chinon Blanc. Its vines average thirty years of age and are spread over three terroirs that give three types of Chinon Rouge. Les Barnabés comes from the Loire alluvium and Vienne gravels of Savigny-en-Véron, Les 2 Roches from clay-silica and limestone slopes, and Les Picasses draws its structure from limestone. Les Picasses is the most notable Cabernet Franc parcel, followed by Les Peuilles; Pierre Bréjoux included both sites in a short list of the appellation's top lieux-dits in Les Vins de Loire (1956). In 2009 the vines in Les Picasses were more than 50 years old.

• Savigny-en-Véron: alluvial, mostly sandy surface soils over deeper limestone
• 24 hectares: 23 ha Cabernet Franc (Chinon Rouge and Rosé), 1 ha Chenin (Chinon Blanc)
• Average vine age of thirty years across three terroirs
• Key parcels: Les Picasses, followed by Les Peuilles
• Les Barnabés: Loire alluvium and Vienne gravels; Les 2 Roches: clay-silica and limestone slopes; Les Picasses: limestone

The range is all Chinon. The reds are 100% Cabernet Franc: Les Barnabés, from sand and gravel soils; Les 2 Roches, a newer cuvée from clay-silica and limestone soils; Les Picasses; La Singulière, from small yields off the domaine's oldest clay-limestone parcels; and La Fraîch'. The whites are Chenin: Champ-Chenin, from clay-limestone soil, and L'Or d'Olga, a Chenin Blanc from Les Picasses. The Chinon Rosé is 100% Cabernet Franc. The estate's shop lists Les Picasses back to 2008 and La Singulière in 2018 and 2020.

• Les Barnabés (Chinon Rouge): sand and gravel soils at Savigny-en-Véron
• Les 2 Roches (Chinon Rouge): 100% Cabernet Franc from clay-silica and limestone soils
• Les Picasses (Chinon Rouge): the limestone site; shop vintages 2008, 2009, 2010, 2018 and 2020
• La Singulière (Chinon Rouge): small yields from the oldest clay-limestone parcels
• La Fraîch' (Chinon Rouge)
• Champ-Chenin (Chinon Blanc): Chenin from clay-limestone soil
• L'Or d'Olga (Chinon Blanc): Chenin Blanc from Les Picasses
• Chinon Rosé: 100% Cabernet Franc

Les Picasses is picked by hand, destemmed in the cellar and moved into vat as whole, uncrushed berries on a conveyor. Fermentation, with punch-downs, runs at 30°C and maceration lasts 25 to 30 days. The wine is then matured for 12 to 24 months depending on the vintage, partly or wholly in 30-hectolitre foudres. The estate rates Les Picasses for keeping at least 15 years, and much longer depending on the vintage. La Singulière is hand-picked and sorted, macerated for more than a month, goes through malolactic fermentation in a large truncated-cone oak vat and spends 24 to 36 months in small barrels. Les Barnabés is made from uncrushed berries, with the must brought up gradually to 25°C. Champ-Chenin is pressed gently as whole bunches, fermented gradually at 20°C and kept on its fine lees until bottling, while L'Or d'Olga is fermented and matured at 16°C for more than 12 months in seasoned casks, with lees stirring, and stays a dry Chenin for keeping. The rosé keeps a light sparkle from its fermentation. The estate presents its Chinon as a traditional wine, with the slogan 'Vin de tradition depuis cinq générations'.

• Les Picasses: hand-picked, destemmed, whole berries; 30°C fermentation with punch-downs; 25 to 30 days of maceration
• Les Picasses: 12 to 24 months, partly or wholly in 30 hl foudres; the estate rates it for at least 15 years in bottle
• La Singulière: over a month of maceration, malolactic in a large truncated-cone oak vat, 24 to 36 months in small barrels
• Champ-Chenin: whole-bunch pressing, fermentation at 20°C, fine lees until bottling
• L'Or d'Olga: more than 12 months at 16°C in seasoned casks with lees stirring

Writing in Wine Spectator in May 2009, Thomas Matthews called the domaine 'a leader in Chinon' of long standing, described its winemaking as 'faithfully traditional', with the Chinon fermented in stainless steel and matured in old wood, and rated the 1990 Les Picasses 90 points, non-blind. Chris Kissack of The Wine Doctor places Olga Raffault among the Chinon domaines held dear by lovers of the traditional, old-school expression of Cabernet Franc.

• Wine Spectator (Thomas Matthews, May 2009): 1990 Les Picasses rated 90 points, non-blind
• The Wine Doctor (Chris Kissack): a domaine valued by admirers of traditional, old-school Chinon Cabernet Franc

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.olga-raffault.com/, https://www.olga-raffault.com/le-domaine-2.html, https://www.olga-raffault.com/nos-cuvees-10.html, https://www.olga-raffault.com/nos-cuvees-3.html, https://www.olga-raffault.com/notice-legale-11.html, https://www.olga-raffault.com/chinon-rouge-s24.html, https://www.olga-raffault.com/chinon-rouge-s25.html. Secondary sources: The Wine Doctor (Chris Kissack), https://www.thewinedoctor.com/loire/olgaraffault.shtml and https://www.thewinedoctor.com/loire/olgaraffault_2.shtml; Wine Spectator (Thomas Matthews, 7 May 2009), https://www.winespectator.com/articles/a-fully-mature-french-red-4769. Last verified 2026-10-20. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.