Tasting Notes
Robert Parker 97
The 1989 Chateau Rayas is an absolute peach. Deep in colour, it has an intense, flamboyant yet beautifully controlled bouquet that oozes sensuality from every pore: blackcurrant pastilles, dark plum, hint of Alpine forest and bacon fat. It is extraordinarily pure and yet it transports you straight to the region, something that magical wines have a propensity to do. The palate is structured and focused, a Chateauneuf-du-Pape with palpable presence and class, building gently in the mouth towards a youthful, strident finish that suggests it will last another couple of decades… easily. This is a wine to lose yourself in. Tasted August 2013.
Vinous 98
We end on a high note with the sublime 1989 Rayas Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Powerful yet also super-finessed, the 1989 boasts extraordinary aromatics, seemingly endless fruit and striking inner sweetness. A real knock-out, the 1989 is hauntingly beautiful from the very first taste.
JancisRobinson.com 18.5
Magnum served blind. This seemed more structured than the 1998 served with it, even rather Syrah-like. Firm and dark and tighter than the 1998 with a hint of molasses. I think I would have drooled over it if I had not been able to compare it with the 1998.
Anticipated maturity: 2005-2030
