Ch. Rayas

Ch. Rayas has been run by the Reynaud family since 1880. Albert Raynaud, initially from Avignon, bought the estate after he went deaf and was no longer able to work as a notary, instead living out his days farming apricots, olives and vines. When he died in 1910, his son Louis inherited the estate. Louis was interested in viticulture, planted new vineyards and bottled the property’s first wine in 1920. He famously added “Premier Grand Cru” to the label, a declaration that defied the appellation’s rules. 

Louis had two sons, Bertrand and Jacques. Bearing their inheritance in mind, Louis bought two other properties, Ch. des Tours in Vacqueyras (purchased between 1935 and 1938) and Ch. de Fonsalette in Lagarde-Paréol, in the Côtes du Rhône (purchased in 1945). He entrusted Bertrand with running Ch. des Tours, and when Louis died in 1978, Jacques inherited Ch. Rayas and Ch. de Fonsalette. 

Jacques died suddenly in 1997 and, having no children of his own, the two estates passed to his nephew, Emmanuel Reynaud (Bertrand’s son, who had been in charge of Ch. des Tours since 1989). Today, Emmanuel Reynaud runs all three of the family’s properties – Rayas, Des Tours and Fonsalette. 

Situated in the north of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Ch. Rayas comprises 12 hectares of vines with 11 hectares of forest. Two hectares are dedicated to white grapes (Grenache Blanc and Clairette), while the rest of the site is planted purely to Grenache. The cool microclimate and sandy soils (none of Chateauneuf’s typical pudding stones are found here) create a particularly elegant and perfumed expression of Grenache. 

There are three wines produced at Rayas: the flagship Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the rare Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, and Pignan, another Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The latter is often considered a second wine, however actually comes from its own dedicated site, a two-hectare block surrounded by pine trees and with less sandy soils. The vines are all bush-trained, with very low planting density (2,500 vines per hectare) and an old average age, circa 40 years, with some that were planted in the 1940s. 

Yields are very low at Rayas, between 10 and 20hl/ha and the wines are made in a traditional style. Grapes are hand-harvested, with the majority whole-bunch fermented. Fermentation is in concrete tanks, with the wines then aged in old demi-muid barrels (600 litres) and larger oak foudres for just under two years. The results are extraordinary – exotic yet ethereal expressions of Grenache, unfurling exquisitely with time in bottle and transcending their appellation. 

The rare, white Châteauneuf-du-Pape is an equal blend of Clairette and Grenache Blanc, fermented and aged in old oak – and is an immensely fragrant, rich and textured wine. 

Production across the range is limited, with between 1,200 and 1,500 cases of the flagship Châteauneuf-du-Pape produced each year, circa 400 cases of the white and around 650 cases or so of Pignan. 

Ch. des Tours has its own winery, however the Fonsalette wines are made at Rayas. 

Ch. de Fonsalette sits north of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, near the village of Lagarde-Paréol, with the wines all labelled under the Côtes du Rhône appellation. The estate covers 120 hectares, however much of this is forest, farmland and olive groves, with just 12 hectares planted to vines.  

The soils are made up of gravel, sand and red pudding stones, with the vineyards planted to Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Grenache Blanc, Clairette and Marsanne. There are three wines: a Côtes du Rhône Rouge, a Côtes du Rhône Syrah and a Côtes du Rhône Blanc. 

La Pialade is a wine only made in certain vintages, a Côtes du Rhône made with declassified parcels from Rayas and/or Ch. de Fonsalette, typically a blend of 85% Grenache, 15% Cinsault and 5% Syrah. 

Ch. des Tours is in Vacqueyras, northeast of Châteaneuf-du-Pape, producing wines that are more structured than those of Rayas or Fonsalette. Alongside the wines bottled under the Ch. des Tours label, there is a range of IGP or Vin de Pays de Vaucluse bottlings from the estate, under the Domaine des Tours label, as well as the Les Tours Grenache Blanc and Parisy rosé.  

Read more about the Reynaud estates on our Editorial section