The Wines of Loire
Timed Online Auction, 1 - 8 May 2023
Session 1
About the SessionThe Loire Valley is a large region that follows the longest river of France. The Loire is an exceptional place to find lean, racy, white wines, including those of Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadet. Red varieties include Cabernet Franc, Gamay and Cot (Malbec), which produces herbaceous, rustic reds.
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About this Item
Specialising in Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc, Raats Family Wines was established by Bruwer Raats at the turn of the millennium. He believes the secret to his Cabernet Francs success is that they are old vines grown on decomposed dolomite granite. This belief was not unfounded, as today, Raats Family Wines is regarded as a leader of South Africa’s Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, receiving consistent local and international accolades. Early vintages are elegant, refined and still remarkably young today.
Chenin Blanc from three Stellenbosch vineyards on decomposed dolomite and Table Mountain sandstone, which have been planted with vines around 45 years plus. 50% fermented and matured in 300-litre French oak barrels and 50% fermented in stainless steel. After 9 months, the two components were blended together and left on the lees for two months before bottling.
Critics Ratings
'In what Bruwer Raats rightly describes as a "very good vintage for whites", this excellent wooded Chenin Blanc has come up trumps. Combining fruit from sandstone and granite soils over three parcels, with 50% of the resulting wine seeing oak, it has aromas of white flowers and a honeyed, peachy palate underpinned by stony minerality. 2020-25.' - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2018, 95/100
'Admirably light bottle. Thank you, Raats. Very barrel-fermentation smoky/stinky on the nose and then a wide panoply of spicy, braised-fennel-bulb and roast-parsnip flavours with a chuck of chalky apple. Lots there but still starched-linen stiff with youth. Could do with a year or two to limber into the full sheen of Chenin fruit.' - Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com, 16.5++/20 (May 2022)
'Fresh, clean and expressive, the 2019 Old Vine Chenin Blanc opens to notes of yellow apple and sweet Meyer lemon with hints of dusty citrus blossom. Medium-bodied and with fine mineral tension on the palate, the wine gives way to hints of popcorn kernel, lemon curd and oyster shell. The wine is compact yet layered on the mid-palate then glides to a delightfully lingering and citrus-laced finish. To be honest, this is going down way too easily. Bravo!' - Anthony Mueller, Wine Advocate, 90/100 (Jun 2022)
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