Red Wine: 2009 | Chteau Rayas | Cotes du Rhone Chateau de Fonsalette

Bright red. Intriguing aromas of black raspberry, cherry-cola, Indian spices and lavender. Suave, gently sweet and focused, with very good mid-palate power and intense, spice-accented red fruit flavors. Finishes with dusty tannins that add focus and gentle grip to the very long, sappy finish.

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Producer: Chteau Rayas

Ratings: WA | 92 V | 92

Vintage: 2009

Size: 750ml

ABV: 14%

Varietal: Southern Rhone Red Blend

Country/Region: France, Southern Rhone

Bright red. Intriguing aromas of black raspberry, cherry-cola, Indian spices and lavender. Suave, gently sweet and focused, with very good mid-palate power and intense, spice-accented red fruit flavors. Finishes with dusty tannins that add focus and gentle grip to the very long, sappy finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The deep ruby/plum-tinged, spicy 2009 Cotes du Rhone Chateau de Fonsalette offers hints of sweet boysenberry, black cherry, licorice and incense. Elegant and full-bodied with a heady concoction of fruit and glycerin.

• Vinous: Bright red. Intriguing aromas of black raspberry, cherry-cola, Indian spices and lavender. Suave, gently sweet and focused, with very good mid-palate power and intense, spice-accented red fruit flavors. Finishes with dusty tannins that add focus and gentle grip to the very long, sappy finish.

Producer Information

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. Secondly, the estate’s 13 hectares (32 acres) of vineyard face north, and do not have any “galets rouls” the rounded stones so closely associated with the appellation and often found littering vineyard sites in Chteauneuf. Thirdly, the estate’s wines are matured in larger-format, “double-pice” 450-liter barrels. 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. The chteau’s white Chteauneuf-du-Pape is generally made from Grenache Blanc and Clairette in roughly equaly proportions. Chteau Rayas has been in the Reynaud family since the 1880s. Owner Emmanuel Reynaud also makes the (highly priced) Chteau de Fonsalette and Pialade Ctes du Rhne wines at the Rayas winery.