A local shop has listed their recent allocation of Rayas, Pignan, and 2014 La Pialade. La Pialade is listed at ~$100 which, while exorbitant for the level, makes Rayas somewhat attainable for normal guy such as myself.
Is La Pialade a sufficient entry-level representation of the unique winemaking of Rayas? I don’t mean “will I experience the singular, haunting beauty of the Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve in a fractionally priced Cotes du Rhone”- surely I will not.
I understand the pricing is much more expensive than other Cotes du Rhone and while looking through other posts going back about ten years there were people lamenting how la Pialade used to be $15 and how (at the time) $30 was unimaginable. It seems that everything from Rayas used to be Much Cheaper but with a growing market/demand, my personal whining about being priced out won’t make the wine any cheaper.
I haven’t found much about Rayas’s 3rd (or 5th?) cut wine, let alone track down much about availability about any of their wines for that matter. Allocations are tiny, and my area doesn’t have much in the way of a grey market from what I’ve experienced. Someone posted a similar inquiry not terribly long ago here, asking about springing for 4 bottles of La Pialade vs a single Pignan: Pignan or Pialade x4? - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers Adjusting for current pricing and perhaps to my point, it would now be 5 bottles of Pialade for 1 Pigan. Though to be clear I’m not asking if one bottling from Rayas is 5 or 9 times better than another since I think those questions aren’t helpful or possible to answer.
i’d say yes it is a wine of special character. it ages really well in my experience. pricing can’t really be debated because it’s a speculator’s wine now. but pialade, pignan and rayas are cut from one cloth and the des tours wines are cut from (an also excellent) other.
But I paid approximately 75CAD in a restaurant! So a 100USD seems pretty steep. That being said, I really enjoyed the wine. However, I was told there was a lot of bottle variation (see link) so that might warrant caution.
I have paid 40$ for mine (2012-2014) in Denmark. 100 bucks seems steep, however lately i have seen insane prices for Pialade on the secondary market. That said i do think they are really good, but the 2014 is very light and rosé like. So if you can get a 12 or 13 then take a bottle for a spin. It is great wine. If it is only 2014 thats available, then buy 2016 Des Tours CDR instead… it is a better wine.
That said, then I do actually think all of Reynaud’s wines can give a sense of the top wines. They are that unique. You are never in doubt about the producer.
Recent vintages of La Pialade have been really rather special, my favorite being the 2011, so I’d definitely recommend them. Often almost like a rosé, it’s lighter and more delicate than the other Reynaud wines. One might almost think of it as just the bottled perfume of Rayas. And in that sense, it gives you more of an insight into what mature Rayas is like than even drinking young Rayas does. I would add that, while the wine is very delicate, don’t be deceived into thinking it’s fragile: Reynaud’s recommended opening protocol—which is to open in the cellar the day before you drink it, pour half a glass to taste, and replace the cork, leaving the wine in the cellar until the next day—works wonders, as you get even more aroma and the fruit fleshes out, and the wine will taste younger than it does when popped and poured.
Well, the last Pialade I´ve tasted is 2012, and although it´s good it´s by far not good enough for the price (and I get it rather cheap).
Yes, there is a hint of the style of E.Reynaud, but there is usually not one grape of Rayas in the blend.
The pyramid is like this:
Ch.Rayas (CdP)
Pignan (CdP - a separate vineyard, may contain weak patches of Rayas, but not vice-versa)
Ch. de Fonsalette Syrah (S. which is not used for the classic Fonsalette)
Ch. de Fonsalette (Cotes-du-Rhone, may - rarely - contain weak Pignan in minor vintages)
La Pialade (all that is not good enough for above)
Fonsalette is a different estate 30 km North of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
I´d rather recommend the Vin de Pays of Chateau (Domaine) des Tours, or the Cotes-du-Rhone Chateau des Tours.
This is a 3rd estate, but also made by Emmanuel Reynaud … and usually cheaper than Fonsalette/Pialade, and it´s much closer to Rayas, only app. 10 km.
At least the Cotes-du-Rhone is usually better than La Pialade.
Who knows how what exactly it was under Jacques Reynaud, but when I asked him several years ago now Emmanuel was quite explicit about Pialade containing the declassified lots of all the wines made at Château Rayas - which is to say, as you know, Rayas, Pignan, and Fonsalette. I think in practice that means it is mainly younger vine Grenache, a good helping of Cinsault, and a dash of Syrah.
It definitely has less fruit weight and body than the des Tours wines, but for me in the last handful of releases it has had more of the character of Rayas all the same. But I guess one’s opinion will vary depending on whether one loves Rayas for its richness and volume, or for its perfume and texture.