2004 Château des Tours Vacqueyras

JancisRobinson.com

• By Jancis Robinson, MW
  3/17/2009, (See more on JancisRobinson.com...)

  (Ch des Tours Vacqueyras Red) Subscribe to see review text.

• By Josh Raynolds
  January 2009, (See more on Vinous...)

  (Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras) Login and sign up and see review text.

RJonWine.com

• By Richard Jennings
  12/31/2013, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 91 points

  (Château des Tours Vacqueyras) Bricking dark red violet color; beet root, pepper, green olive nose; pepper, green olive, mineral, beet root palate; medium-plus finish

• By Richard Jennings
  12/19/2010, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 91 points

  (Château des Tours Vacqueyras) Very dark red violet color; reduction, earthy nose; earthy, tart black fruit, herbal, clove, anise palate; medium finish

• By Richard Jennings
  10/16/2010, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 92 points

  (Château des Tours Vacqueyras) Bricking medium dark red color; red bean, malt, red berry, plum nose; tasty, licorice, ripe berry, plum, garrigue palate; medium-plus finish 92+ pts.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  1/26/2010, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (VACQUEYRAS Tours) Chateau des Tours Dear Friends, Here's another example where timing is everything. I recently sat down to a vertical tasting of Rayas, Pignan, Fonsalette and Chateau des Tours - it was eye-opening to say the least. The biggest surprise for me was how well Fonsalette ages - almost as well as Rayas in certain vintages. The other big surprise was Chateau des Tours. I was so impressed with this sister estate of Rayas that I secured a parcel of the 2004 and 2005, mostly for the guys at the warehouse (they adore des Tours). After thinking it over, I went back to the well for everything they had left as I was sure a number of you would be interested as well. That was a few weeks ago and, just like last week's Picau-Perna offer, the critical stars aligned after the fact. Today's Tanzer report had the 2005 Chateau des Tours as the top rated example of the entire review, which is not that surprising if you've tasted the wine. What was surprising is that the review was for the 2007 vintage. In other words, this is another 2005 that bested all of the 2007 competition (Chateau des Tours releases their wine very late so the 2005 is the current release, thus it was included in the 2007 report). If I recall, the 2004 des Tours was the highest rated in last year's report as well, which tells you something about the pedigree of the winery. While the 2005 is way up in price over the 2004, both are worth acquiring. Chateau des Tours is crafted by Emmanuel Reynaud - nephew of the late Rayas maestro, Jacques Reynaud. Emmanuel is now the winemaker for Rayas as well and he is certainly responsible for that grand estate's resurgence after a number of inconclusive years surrounding Jacques' passing. If you've tasted any of the component parts for the 2007 Rayas, it will assure you that Emmanuelle Reynaud is among the finest winemakers in the Rhone. While it's made in nearly an identical fashion to Rayas, des Tours is $100-150/bottle less than Rayas simply due to its place of origin (Vacqueyras versus Chateauneuf proper). Not only is Chateau des Tours relatively affordable versus the rest of the Rayas portfolio but it represents an expression that is among the finest in the wine-world. Both vintages require extended bottle age to show their best - they are not for today. EXTREMELY LIMITED and very hard to find in the US. 2005 Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras 2004 Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras This parcel has impeccable provenance - it has been perfectly cellared since release. Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Rhone6523 Rhone6524