Chateau Rayas Vertical Dinner

If there’s a Domaine to celebrate from Southern Rhone, Rayas is the name. The wines have aromatic intensity like no other. The history of Rayas goes back to 1880 when it was founded by Albert Reynaud in the midst of the phylloxera epidemic. The first vintage was 1920, which was made by Albert’s son Louis. The 13 hectares of north facing slopes are in the northern section of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and are split into 15 parcels under Louis's watch. The soil is sand over marl and clay. During Louis’s time, two more properties were purchased - Domaine des Tours in Vacqueyras in 1935 and Château Fonsalette in 1945; this is when Louis put his son Bertram in charge. His other son Jacques tended to Rayas and produced some of the legendary vintages such as 1989 and 1990. Upon Jacques’s death the estate was passed to his nephew Emmanuel who had been overseeing Château des Tours since 1989.