2012 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve

Community Tasting Notes (5) Avg Score: 94.1 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View winetobealive's profile
  • Report Issue

  2/19/2024 - winetobealive wrote: 96 Points

  dégustation chais d'oeuvre. Ouvert 1-2h avant service. Robe très claire, rosée. Nez de fraise des bois très fine et élégante. Ultra long en bouche et fruité et énergique. Très jeune. Début de jus de viande. Magnifique. Un peu plus acidulé que le Rayas.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View oxwombat's profile
  • Report Issue

  2/9/2024 - oxwombat Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Opened at Caprice in HK. Didn't have enough time to slow-ox beforehand as this was a spontaneous order, so decanted.
  
  Initially, this didn't perform as well as I'd hoped. The signature Rayas herbaceousness didn't come through until about 30 mins of breathing in the decanter from a fresh pour - but when it did get going, it was really good. Slightly darker colour than the Rayas reserve; red fruits, licorice, still quite tannic and you can feel the alcohol here, it really gives a big kick.
  
  This wasn't quite as good as the other bottle I had recently, but still very good. You really can tell that this is part of the Rayas family, but definitely not quite at the top and is just a bit less elegant, slightly more clunky and less well integrated than the big boy.
  
  I imagine that there's still some upside with this wine, but already drinking well and will keep at this level at least for many years. Would be very happy to revisit - but given how strong this wine is I'd recommend making sure you don't have this on an empty stomach, and is a wine best shared with a few friends.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View oxwombat's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/20/2024 - oxwombat Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Opened at the 4S in HK. P&P and served immediately.
  
  I know that this bottle would probably benefit from more air, but this was so expressive right from P&P. Distinctively from the Rayas family, beautiful red fruit balanced with herbs, slight spiciness and high alcohol - but everything was packaged in such an elegant way.
  
  A really refreshing change from the Burgundies of the evening and a hit with pretty much everyone. I think this Pignan is in a prime drinking window right now and would love to revisit this again. Thanks to (the other) M for sharing, an amazing treat!

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View dube.varun@gmail.com's profile
  • Report Issue

  7/6/2023 - dube.varun@gmail.com Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Blood orange, apricot, cherry and floral with minerality. Florally “Sweet” without being sugary. Beautiful balance of acidity with a trail finishing with a touch of oak. Tannins greatly mellowed out.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Philippe_C's profile
  • Report Issue

  2/16/2014 - Philippe_C wrote: 94 Points

  Powerful nose of ripe cherries, very spicy... very powerful red cherries and mineral

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.