2007 Chateauneuf du Pape
Buying options
Tasting notes
Opulent, and hedonistic in style, the wine is all about hitting your pleasure buttons with waves of peppery, black cherries, kirsch, garrigue, black plums, and blackberries. The creamy, sensuous finish builds as it lingers. Drink from 2024-2040.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
This was a brilliant showing by the 2007 Châteauneuf du Pape Reserve from Rayas, the finest bottle I’ve had to date. Offering a classic ruby color as well as gorgeous notes of kirsch liqueur, sappy green herbs, flowers, and rose petals, this beauty hits the palate with a full-bodied, rich, yet also fresh and vibrant texture that carries nicely integrated acidity and fine tannin. It’s certainly one of the gems in this great vintage and is going to have a long life. I’d be thrilled to drink bottles any time over the coming 15+ years.
The 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape was slightly more impressive in its youth, and it's dropped a fair bit of color and is more upfront than I expected. Nevertheless, it's still a beautiful, elegant Rayas that offers classic notes of framboise, flower garden, strawberry jam and garrigue. Medium to full-bodied, seductive and elegant on the palate, with that seamless style that's rarely found outside of this address, drink it anytime over the coming decade or more.
Bright ruby. Red berry, cherry and Asian spice aromas are lifted by sexy notes of rose petal and blood orange. Impressively pure and perfumed, with remarkable precision and cut to its concentrated but lively flavors of cherry and black raspberry. The weightless, mineral-driven character of this wine is something else. In a distinctly delicate, feminine style, with superb finishing cut and energy. This will probably cost a fortune when it lands in the U.S. , unfortunately.
About the producer
Ch. Rayas is a cult name in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The wines – pure, silken expressions of Grenache with distinctive perfume – are revered for their singularity and fiercely collected. Made by Emmanuel Reynaud and renowned for their ageability, they have become some of the region's most sought-after.