Chateau Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve 2010

Chteau Rayas is a leading producer in the Chteauneuf-du-Pape appellation of the Rhne Valley. It is one of the region’s most prestigious estates, and its wines fetch some of the highest prices in southern France.

Much about Rayas is unusual. Firstly, the estate’s red wine is made solely from Grenache, unlike most Chteauneuf-du-Pape wines that typically contain Syrah, Mourvdre and a range of other varieties.

Chteau Rayas’ flagship Chteauneuf-du-Pape label is known for its sweet, pure fruit and silky texture, and has a reputation as one of the best wines in the appellation for longer-term aging. The second label, Pignan, is also 100 percent Grenache, and tends to be gutsy and ripe and not quite so polished in style as the top cuvee.

Chteauneuf-du-Pape; the southern French wine region whose renown is such that it is even known among those for whom wine is a mystery.

Chteauneuf-du-Pape is a historic wine region located between the towns of Orange and Avignon, in France’s southern Rhne Valley. It is famous for powerful, full-bodied red wine, largely made from the classic southern Rhne grape trio of Grenache-Syrah-Mourvdre.

Critical Acclaim

98 Jeb Dunnuck

Showing more finesse and elegance than the Pignan, yet still with plenty of density and concentration, the 2010 Chteauneuf Du Pape Reserve is a sensational effort from this estate that has a kaleidoscope-like array of framboise, darker cherries, sappy flowers, garrigue, and spice. Opening up beautifully with time in the glass as well, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, silky tannins, and a great finish. Reminding me slightly of the 1990, it is heavenly today and will be heavenly in another 15+ years as well.

97 Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

The three component parts of the 2010 Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape show it to be a deeply colored vintage with terrific fruit intensity of licorice, raspberries and sweet, jammy cherries. Medium to full-bodied and ripe with 15+% natural alcohol and sweet, soft tannins, this ethereal 2010 is reminiscent of the 2005 although the tannins in the 2010 are more silky.

96 Vinous

Vivid ruby. An explosively perfumed bouquet displays red and dark berry preserves, potpourri, licorice and smoky minerals. Broad and fleshy, offering deeply concentrated black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors and a strong note of floral pastilles. Chewy tannins give grip to a powerful, alluringly sweet, endless finish. Shows as much density as I can recall from a young Rayas and is clearly built for the long haul.