1994 Rayas

WINE TALK
1

Last night I had my first Chateau Rayas, a 1994. Simply put, this wine was beautiful. It had a little funk, but in a good way, and that gave way for a wonderful nose of kirsch and strawberry and pepper. Those flavors were echoed on the palate, but the best part was the sleek and silky texture. For me, wine doesn’t get much better than this. 95 points

2

I love Rayas '95 and older. Even a couple of fake '90s were good. [wow.gif]

3

Do you have the recipe?

4

Pignan? Or the full-bore stuff?

5

I love the 94 Rayas.
All of mine are gone but that is a really good wine. Wished I still had some.

6

The '94 drinks well above it’s reputation…a truly lovely wine, and one of the wines of the night when we had our Rayas dinner.

7

Drank a bathtub full of '89 and '90 Rayas, all before the early '00s. Who knew? Stuff was on every good restaurant list in Paris in the late '90s and '00 when the $$ was king vs the Euro. So cheap…

8

The 1994 Rayas is the last vintage completely made by the late Jacques … even 1995 has been bottled by Emmanuel, and 1996 only vinified by Jaques, but elevated and bottled by Emmanuel.

Don´t underestimate the vintages after 1995 - the 1997 is beautiful now, and dispite the fact that some vintages seemed to be slightly “lighter” initially (1999, 2000, but still fine - they are “filling out”) from 2003 onwards Rayas is simply a great wine.
1994 is also a “lighter” vintage, comparable with e.g. 2004, and some vintages by Emmanuel will ultimately surpass it …

BTW: RAYAS – RAYAS – RAYAS – PIGNAN – FONSALETTE in GRAZ (re-post) - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

9

Pignan can be beautiful - but usually it´s a certain step down … it´s another vineyard, but now and then contains also 2nd rate Rayas juice (not the other way round) … the acidity is usually more prominent, slightly less complex and sweet, but nevertheless quite similar.
(e.g. the 1995 P is no match for Rayas, but 1989/90 are quite close …)

Most probably 92 or 93 Rayas with changed vintage label, or a Pignan with changed main label.
Unfortunatly all Rayas/Pignan had no vintage branded corks … so it is a hazard game …
From 1996 onwards CHATEAU RAYAS + vintage is on the cork, easily readable when removing the capsule …
(attention: Rayas or Pignan resp. is always printed on the capsule, if not a French one with green tax-chip)

10

The full bore stuff. I have had the Pignan and Fonsalette bottlings, but this was a whole different league.

11

depends certainly on vintage, but if this is boring for you i wonder what else you are drinking? :astonished:

12

Funny! The euphemism I had in mind refers to the size of a drill bit, with “full bore” meaning something like “complete” or “top grade” or “full scale.” Not that the wine bores me.

I’ve been fascinated by the house since a blog post described a visit, but I’ve yet to have Rayas. I’d like to try an introductory wine, but since the Fonsalettes start at $80, that’s a pretty stiff exploratory price, for me at least. And I start wondering: as long as I’m going so deep, whenever I finally splurge, why not start with a Pignan ($150)? And then I think it would have to be really a life-changing experience. And then I think “What if I don’t like it?” And then I think, “Worse, what if I DO like it?” I’ll start making a pile of my pocket change and see if I can make it work.

13

niiice. only a bucket for me - releases after 99.

[cheers.gif]

14

Hilarious. I took a sip of water before I read this and almost spit it out.

15

Sorry if I misunderstood something ---- it´s due to my imperfect English … pileon