HISTORY OF DOMAINE: Jean-François Olek was of Polish origin. His original career in nuclear power science brought him to the Loire Valley where he met his wife and settled down. He fell in love with the wines of Chinon and purchased vineyards just to the east of Chinon in the village of Cravant-les-Coteaux, the veritable heart of this appellation with its steeply sloped, southfacing vineyards. Sadly, both M. & Mme. Olek passed away within months of each other, Madame just prior to the 1991 harvest and Monsieur in April 1992. That difficult sequence of events left the estate in the hands of the Olek's two young daughters. Nathalie Olek now manages the domaine; the vineyards are taken care of by the Baudry family (neighbors and long time friends of the Olek family); and the wines are made by Bernard Baudry and his son, Matthieu.

COMPOSITION OF DOMAINE: Domaine Olek-Mery is fairly small, with only 9 hectares of vineyards. Organic farming principles have significantly influenced their philosophy and practices. No chemical herbicides or fertilizers are used. The vineyards benefit from a superb situation on a southerly slope facing the Vienne river. The pride and joy of the domaine is the "Les Tireaux" vineyard, a special holding of older Cabernet Franc (with a recently planted plot of Chenin Blanc). The southerly exposure combined with the unique "tuffeau" (a soft yellow chalk) and sand of the slopes near Cravant give the Cabernet Franc grape the ability to produce wines with more concentration and structure than found in most Chinon. For the past decade, two red wines have been produced at the domaine; one, from younger vines within the Tireaux vineyard; and, a second from the very old vines parcel also situation within Tireaux. Beginning with the 2003 vintage, the wines will be combined to produce one unique and concentrated cuvee: Chinon "Les Tireaux". In addition, a very small amount of the rare and intriguing Chinon Blanc will be available.

METHOD OF VINIFICATION: The wine is vinified traditionally in wooden tanks with frequent pigeage and an extended cuvaison of 20 to 30 days. This results in exceptional depth, flavor and complexity. The two different cuvées undergo a slightly different élevage. The regular cuvee is aged partially in tank and partially in barrel and/or cask and then bottled after a year. The "old vines" cuvee is aged in smaller oak barrels for a period extending up to 24 months. The wines are bottled without filtering and sediment is common. The extremely limited cuvée "Les Tireaux ­ Vieilles Vignes" is made from a selection of the oldest vines in the vineyard, many over 70 years old. It is a wine of immense concentration and great ageing potential.