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  • Weather

    20° C Clear sky
  • Time

    14:59 PM
  • Wine average?

    97 Tb
  • Country Ranking?

    23
  • Region Ranking?

    2
  • Popularity ranking?

    147

History

In the heart of the southern Rhône Valley appellation vineyards, Emmanuel Reynaud offers up his Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée wines, among them Châteauneuf du Pape. The Reynaud family members have been wine-growers from one generation to the next since 1880.

Albert Reynaud, Emmanuel Reynaud's great grandfather, purchased Rayas in 1880.  In 1920, his son Louis Reynaud took the initiative and bottled Rayas wine with an eye to local and national distribution. In 1978, Jacques, Louis' youngest son, took over the management of Rayas and Fonsalette (purchased in 1945) from his father. He vinified a good number of vintages and had a keen interest in the balance of the soil and its impact on the quality of the wine. Jacques Reynaud passed away quite suddenly in 1997 with operating and management

turned over to Emmanuel, his nephew, who was already running the Domaine des Tours (purchased in 1935-38), where he created the cellar and developed marketing as from 1989. Today, Emmanuel Reynaud manages three domains with the help of his employees.

 

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Vineyards

Château Rayas is a small ten-hectare vineyard, in the heart of the woods, planted in very poor, sandy soil producing wines with great finesse.

Chateau Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape

100% Grenache, at least 98%.
Fermentation in cement tanks and maturing in old foudres for about one year.

Pignan Chateauneuf du Pape
100% Grenache, at least 98%. 
This cuvée is a kind of second wine to Chateau Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape.

Chateau Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc
50% Grenache Blanc and 50% Clairette.
Normally the malolactic fermentation is blocked for the whites wines in Rhone.

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Winemaking

While 13 varietals are permitted in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Emmanuel uses only one for Rayas’ red wines: Grenache. For the whites, he uses Grenache Blanc and Clairette. Grapes come from the three vineyards, are vinified and aged separately in old barrels, then are blended to achieve Emmanuel’s vision for the vintage, always adhering to Château Rayas’ signature style. With a Pinot Noir–like flavor profile — kirsch, cherry, peat moss — coupled with a peppery Mediterranean flair that is distinctively “Southern France,” there is simply nothing like a bottle of Château Rayas.

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Inside information

..No one would suspect that inside the drab, unpainted building that houses Château Rayas (sitting unmarked at the end of a deteriorating dirt road in the appellation of Châteauneuf du Pape) are some of the world’s most distinctive wines. The credit goes to Jacques Reynaud and his late father, Louis, who passed away in 1978. Jacques Reynaud (he reminds me of a cross between Dr. Seuss’s Grinch and Yoda from the Star Wars trilogy) is the brilliant, unassuming genius behind these wines, which are made from low yields from some of the oldest vines in the southern Rhône Valley. Reynaud is assisted by his sister, Françoise, who is cut from the same eccentric mold as her brother.
Château Rayas is the antithesis of modern-day winemaking. No stainless steel, no temperature controls, no new oak, and no oenologists are to be found in the Rayas cellar, which contains a hodgepodge of barrels, demi-muids, and foudres. The stories I could tell about Jacques Reynaud could fill a book, but behind his decidedly antifame, anti-twentieth century facade is an extremely well-read gentleman with exceptional knowledge and a love of many things, including fine food, as I discovered over several meals with him at the nearby La Beaugravière.
Getting precise information on what goes on at Château Rayas is not an easy task. Despite having visited and tasted with Reynaud more than a dozen times during the last decade, I still have not figured out what magic takes place in these cellars. Given the extraordinary quality that emerges in the finest years, I can live without the answers. We have gotten to know each other reasonably well, and I will convey a few stones to give readers a glimpse of Reynaud’s impish character. Early in my tasting experience with him, I became irritated after tasting through four different barrels without Reynaud’s saying one word about what was in each barrel. Finally, I asked what we were tasting. His response was, “You’re the expert. You tell me.” Another example of his sense of humor emerged over dinner at La Beaugravière while we were sharing a magnificent bottle of Chave Hermitage. I asked him whom he admired the most. His deadly serious response was, “You.”

Robert Parker

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5 different wines with 61 vintages

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