Château Rayas: wines and prices

About Château Rayas

Château Rayas is perhaps the most enigmatic and revered domaine in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Owned by the Reynaud family since the early twentieth century, it built its legend under Louis Reynaud and then his son Jacques, a reclusive genius who died in 1997; since then it has been run by his nephew Emmanuel Reynaud, who also manages Château des Tours and Fonsalette. The domaine is unlike any other in the appellation: vineyards enclosed by woodland, largely north-facing, on sandy soils rather than the famous rolled pebbles, planted to Grenache and cropped at tiny yields. Winemaking is artisanal and makes no concessions to modernity, with ageing in old casks in a deliberately spartan cellar. The result is a Grenache unique in the world, closer in finesse to great Burgundy than to the typical power of the southern Rhône: fragrant, silky, transparent and able to age for decades. Rare and made in minute quantities, Rayas wines are among the most sought-after in France.