x
  • Country ranking ?

    528
  • Producer ranking ?

    10
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    Now
  • Food Pairing

    Game

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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The Story

One could become addicted to Rayas wines. The rich aromatic herbal reds and the intense complex whites. The red wines are unique. Contrary to the common belief that good Châteauneuf-du-Pape should be made from a blend of grape varieties, at Rayas only the Grenache is used and only old vines from north facing slopes. The result is a wine that will age for 20 years or more. A longer than normal period in cask only adds to the complexity and depth of the wines. These wines are full of personality. The Château Rayas red has a huge exotic bouquet with hints of black-cherry fruit and staggering concentration. On the palate the wine is almost Port like in texture with great intensity and gorgeous voluptuous flavours. 

The most iconic of all the Chateauneuf estates. The highly individual Jacques Reynaud was responsible for making this wine, only using the Grenache grape from very old, low yielding vines. However, this works as the property is on cooler sand and clay soils, whereas the typical Chateauneuf terrain consists of large flat stones which would excessively heat up the Grenache. Undoubtedly this is the most complex, rich, ripe and exotic of all the Chateauneufs, gloriously atypical and a rule unto itself.

 

Serena Sutcliffe, MW

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Wine Information

Châteauneuf du Pape – Château Rayas

The name Châteauneuf-du-Pape bears an ecclesiastic heritage, the straight translation being “The new castle of the Pope”. From the year 1305 to 1375, which marked the periods of ascendancy of seven Popes, the holy throne was relocated from Rome to the tiny village of Avignon. The background to this relocation was nothing less than a holy power struggle, between the king of France and the Pope. For a change the king was more powerful, and he had the Pope and his entourage moved to an almost forgotten French village. So there is a little mockery in the name, though nobody seems to remember it anymore. Today when we are enjoying the wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape we are in fact enjoying the fruit of the fields primarily cleared for the Pope.
This unique family estate’s vineyard of 8 ha was planted in 1922 by Louis Reynaud.
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. Although the family is known for being introvert towards the public, they surely express their fascinating personality through their wines. Their Châteauneuf-du-Pape differs from most of the AOC wines as being a mono-varietal wine from Grenache Noir. The wine that holds 15% potential alcohol most of the years is produced with amazingly low yields of 15-18 hl/ha from vineyards facing north. In this hot and dry year only 2000 cases of Château Rayas were produced.
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.


Château Rayas
84230 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France
Tel. +33 4 9083 7309
Fax +33 4 9083 5117

www.chateaurayas.fr

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Tasting note

color

Full

ending

Long, Pure and Spicy

flavors

Pepper, Cedar, Meaty and Truffles

nose

Open, Fresh and Opulent

taste

Complex, Rich and Fresh

Written Notes

I know it seems like the 99-point ratings were getting handed out like candy at the end of the night, but believe you me, that’s what happens on the greatest wine day ever!  There was only one wine that could keep me interested at this point, and that was Chateau Rayas.  The legendary trio of ’78, ’89 and ’90 were on call, and the 1978 Rayas delivered another near-perfect experience.  Cherry cola oozed from its sexy nose, and the art of Grenache was on full display with that fleshy decadence and red fruit gamy greatness.  Strawberry, cranberry, lingonberry, if you were a red berry, you were invited to this party, and all the gentlemen in attendance were trying to introduce themselves this late in the evening lol (99).

  • 99p

Bottle was in good condition and level was by the neck. Decanted 1.5 hours. Intense, dark and deep colour to the rim. An open and clean, fresh peppery nose with hints of exotic fruit, balsam wood and truffels aromas. Thick, unctuously textured and pure wine. Still powerful and tannic, and has a lot of character and complexity. This is Château-neuf-du-Pape for those wanting immediate gratification. Very fresh and meaty wine. A powerfully spicy and rewarding finish. This is a very opulent example of Rayas.

  • 92p
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Information

Origin

Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône

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