1998 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

Community Tasting Notes (122) Avg Score: 93.8 points

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  4/11/2024 - 831900_ Likes this wine: 97 Points

  Seductive aroma of strawberry leaf, forest floor, and some dark berry fruit. Near perfectly balanced in the mouth, the viscosity and the acid and the body are lovely together – it seems both sort of impossible and like an ideal Chateauneuf du Pape. Just a suggestion of glycerol rounds the mouthfeel out as it heads into a long and just a bit hot & peppery finish. Decanted 2.5 hours before drinking.

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  3/22/2024 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points

  Black raspberries, kirsch, garrigue, plums, and black cherries are all over the place. A bit light in weight, but still, quite charming, and fully-ready-to-go. Drink from 2024-2028.

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  10/27/2023 - fclarity wrote: 95 Points

  Great lift to the nose, showing plum, rhubarb, starburst, and soil. This had great balance and length. Starting to drink and will last.

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  9/13/2023 - ccn wrote: 95 Points

  My first experience with old Rayas (thanks, Eric!). What a treat. Astonishingly pale in colour. The nose (and mouth) have layers of complexity, and the wine just keeps going. While definitely not burgundian in weight, it's certainly burgundian in aromatic complexity -- quite masculine even though ethereal. The alcohol does seem elevated, giving a slightly candied / stewed character, but that seems to be the direction of all CNdP over the last 20 years and is a matter of personal preference.

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  9/12/2023 - Eric wrote:

  Dinner at Oswald's (London): Mmmm, Rayas, always a glorious treat. Incredibly pale, almost ghostly, yet that belies the incredible power and purity of this special expression of Grenache. This may be the most ripe Rayas I have ever tasted, but it still had that amazing focus, white pepper and pine needle, sweet in the right way.

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