"The Chinon “la Fraîch” bottling from Sylvie Raffault and her husband, Éric de la Vigerie is made for early drinking. It is made from the younger vines near the winery, planted on alluvial soils down by the Vienne River. The grapes are destemmed, but not crushed, and the wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and raised in stainless steel tanks for six months. The 2023 “la Fraîch” comes in at a svelte 12.2 percent octane and delivers a lovely bouquet of dark berries, cassis, tree bark, sandy soil tones, tobacco leaf and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, tangy and complex, with a good core of fruit, fine soil undertow, modest tannins and lovely length and grip on the well balanced finish. This is a very good bottle of Chinon that is certainly approachable out of the blocks, but to my palate, would benefit from a short sojourn in the cellar to further soften up its underlying tannins. Good juice. 2025-2040+. "