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Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments More...
Red

2008 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 95 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. What a nose. Strawberries and white pepper; intensely complex. This is light and floral on the palate, with an airy brightness that is just lovely. A slight bit of stemminess here as well adds so much lightness and freshness here. Very long finish that leaves some really delicious red berries on the back end; it's very pretty and lovely. A little bit of heat here still, but this wine holds it so well. My 1st, group's 4th.

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Red

2006 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: flawed

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. Possibly lightly corked. Not sound in any case, this is thin and weak in comparison to the other wines, with a fairly simple palate. My 12th, group's 12th.

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Red

2005 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 93 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. A very dark character here, with dense brown spice notes. Really powerful and dense, with inky fruit. Sweet and rich, with a powerful tannic character as well. Intense and sweet, but there's a slight bit of alcohol on the finish. Very powerful, but lovely at the same time. My 2nd, group's 6th.

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Red

2004 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 93 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. Very intense nose with some darker fruit tones and a lovely hint of white pepper. Layered and complex, with some secondary fruit tones as well. The palate is spicy yet delicate, with a luscious juiciness that is just fantastic. Ample acidity and freshness. Tannins are still present but on the verge of resolution. My 3rd, group's 7th.

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Red

2008 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 90 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. A very slight hint of tomato on the nose, but it somehow works with the rest of it. There's a leafiness here that is also interesting; seems to point to a cooler vintage. Touch of smoke on the nose and palate here. Not as rich and fruity as many of the other wines; in fact, there's a green coolness here that feels almost refreshing, to the point that in the context of the lineup this is almost minty fresh. There's still some sneaky tannin on the back end though. My 4th, group's 2nd.

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Red

2006 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 83 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. Relatively clean nose, but still a slight hint of brett. There's an odd note here that almost reminds me of apricots. Brown spice and heady, with some furriness on the nose. The palate feels a little overripe, and there are very intense tannins here. Heat, tannin, and short. I'm guessing this is a lesser 2003. My 11th, group's 1st(!).

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Red

2005 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 85 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. An almost nutty quality on the nose here, with some browned and earthy notes, dried fruit, and a hint of iodine. Sweet and a little weird on the palate here, with lots of tannin showing, and some heat really poking through. Definitely a weaker wine in the context of things, with so much alcoholic heat poking out. Really tannic and heavy-handed; seems like a real outlier. My 10th, group's 11th.

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Red

1995 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 85 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. A little rusty and bretty on the nose here, but there's a splash of brown spice that adds good interest. Black fruited in character. The palate has a little bit of balsamic, as well as plenty of chewy and dusty tannins. Not too complex, and a bit of headiness from the ripeness here. On the other hand, this is still really well balanced, and despite that ripeness on the palate, there's no outright feeling of heat. Seems a little old. My 9th, group's 10th.

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Red

2000 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 88 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. A hint of brown spice and coffee, as well as a slight touch of brett on the nose here. The palate here also shows a slight bit of brown character, and there's a sweetness here that seems slightly odd in the context of the age of this (probably 15-20 years). However sweet and ripe this is, it doesn't feel hot at all, and this is nicely balanced. Still, this comes off a little thin to my palate. My 7th, group's 4th.

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Red

1995 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 88 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. Slightly faecal and mulchy on the nose, with some notes of decaying something or other. There also seems to be a slight hint of brett and rusty iron here. The palate is quite heady, although there's no alcoholic heat at all. In fact, despite the rustic nose, the palate is very clean, showing lovely fruit, as well as a character that moves a little bit more towards black fruit. Fairly rich and powerful. My 6th, group's 9th.

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Red

2003 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 88 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. A relatively pure nose, although there's a bit of brown spice and coffee. A little figgy and brown on the nose as well, I'm guessing that this has a spot of age on it. The palate here shows a good amount of dried fruit, with a slight autumnal character. Despite that, this is a very clean wine with lovely development. A touch of tannin still seems to indicate that this is a relatively sturdy year. In no rush. My 5th, group's 3rd.

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Red

2006 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 85 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. Very moderate nose, with a beautiful nose of red fruit -- a little bit of dirt and earth and a slight hint of pepper. Slight hint of leafiness. There's a good amount of earth and dirt on the palate, but there is also some sweetness from the fruit. The alcohol does seem to poke out a little bit, and that burn on the back end is something I am not too keen about. My guess is that this is a lesser wine. My 8th, group's 8th.

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White

2007 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: 85 points

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. A very nice nose with something that seems to evoke tart green apples. This, too, is obviously a Rhone white, and a little better than the previous with its more dominant apple tones. The palate still has a very light touch of acidity, but there is nowhere near enough to balance out the waxy texture. Some green herbs on the palate, with a hint of fennel and licorice. Good for what it is (white Rhone has never been my thing).

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White

2001 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve

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5/6/2018 - acyso wrote: flawed

Vinetasters: Rayas (Skokie, IL): Served double blind in a Rayas lineup. A nice enough nose, with some ripe stone fruit, tart apple, and slight herbal aromatics. Quite a rich and powerful palate, with a touch of peachiness. On the other hand, there's almost no discernible acidity on the palate. Very generous amount of glycerol, wax, and all sorts of palate-coating richness. A little bit of barnyard and a touch of bitterness. This finishes with a splash of licorice on the finish. Well made for what this is (clearly a Rhone white), but certainly not my style. However, there were whiffs of TCA here and there, and while others seemed to think that this wasn't corked (just old), I wasn't quite as confident.

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Red

2006 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

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5/3/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine: NR

Hommage a DryCab - Washington Wines release; 5/3/2018-5/5/2018 (Various spots in Walla Walla): Different than ow it has sometimes been in the past. It's got the tea leaves and the cherry, but somehow missing the ethereal style that I usually love with this wine. Heavier. Still quite young. Will hold on remaining bottles for much more time.

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Red

1995 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve

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5/4/2018 - Burgnick wrote: flawed

Old and tired, probably due to storage.

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Red

2004 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône La Pialade

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4/29/2018 - pbaek wrote: NR

Still such a beautiful wine, floral, light red fruit, dancing effortlessly. No hurry.

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Red

2012 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône La Pialade

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4/29/2018 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 92 points

A baby Rayas with the signature lychee wood, strawberry field, asian spice, pepper and herbs. If you have a burgundian palate, you might even appreciate this more than the Rayas because it is less sweet and concentrated. Obviously, it has less complexity and depth (only slightly) when it is compared to the Fonsalatte, Pignan and Rayas, but it is a quick and good fix for the Rayas itch. Very elegant cote du rhone. 91-92

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White

2003 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve

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4/29/2018 - Villon wrote: 92 points

Beau nez floral. En bouche c'est riche, gras, avec une belle densité de fruits exotiques. Alcool perceptible en final. 92

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Red

2003 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

Grenache more

4/29/2018 - Villon wrote: 95 points

Nez typique, frises des champs, épices, cerises. Floral, charmeur, délicat. Pas trop chaud pour un 2003. Grand plaisir, grand vin. 95

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Red

1986 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

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12/1/2017 - Blake Brown wrote: flawed

1986 CHATEAU RAYAS CHATEAUNEUF du PAPE RESERVE- this was saturated with VA and I moved on. A great bring, but not so good of a bottle.

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Red

2001 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

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4/22/2018 - Sen4469 Likes this wine: 93 points

Nice mature wine. Decanted for half an hour. Would have been better if decanted longer, say 1-2 hours. Enjoyed it.

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Red

1985 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve

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4/21/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine: NR

Dinner w/Brad & Maggie (Eleven Madison Park): This could easily have been my WOTN so it was sad to get such a small pour (1 bottle split among 24 ppl). The wine just kept going on and on and it was different every time I came back for a little sip. Very herbal with tea leaves and a lightness of fruit and it was just delicious.

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Red

1985 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Reserve

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4/21/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine: NR

Dinner w/Brad & Maggie (Eleven Madison Park): A bonus bottle mostly because one bottle of the Pignan of the same year was not quite right. This is a great wine and perhaps if not sitting right next to the Pignan would have stood out. As it was, could tell that this was a very tasty, but missing that next step of layers and complexity. There's still the lightness I like though from these and bit of a more herbal nature.

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Red

2009 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve

Grenache more

4/20/2018 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine: 93 points

Short decant, great aromas of ripe sweet strawberries, cherries and roses, the 09 keeps getting better as it ages, full bodied, rich with a tannic bite
93+

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  • Tasting notes: 4,401 notes on 220 wines

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