With regard to buying at the domaine, does Emmanuel Reynaud receive visitors other than friends or people coming with introductions? His uncle, notoriously, did not much take to visitors.
1989 and 1990 are legendary but you might get bad bottles or far traveled bottles. From all more recent vintages, the 2008 is the safest bet. It is drinking beautifully these days (see Cellartracker), is widely available, does not cost as much as 89/90, has less problems of storage/travel and from all more recent vintages, delivers the most mature/ready experience.
this is a great illustration of how tracking wine sales online can be subject to opacity and manipulation. all you have to do is send a bottle to auction, bid up the price either on your own or with the help of some friends (better yet if they also own the same wine), and within a short time frame all the merchants who are on wine-searcher will start adjusting their prices to this newly ‘established’ value. instant market making ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
Agree with this and Jay above. I"ve had many bottle of Pignan and Fonsalette which were superb and you kind of say to yourself “wow that’s a special bottle” but every time (not enough times) that I"ve had a Rayas it’s that “clouds part and the holy light shines down to say ‘That, THAT is what wine can be’”. Great years of D’Yquem have done that for me. 1985 Champagne Charlie always did. 1978 DRC RC did and wrecked me on red Burgundy. Rayas has a purity, a weightless sense of density and depth, and un-cloying sappiness that I"ve only experienced in truly great burgundy. But it’s not Pinot. A singular wine.
As with Chateau des Tours, whose Vacqueyras is about 30 Euros at the domaine and over $100 now in the states, the American market screws up all proportionality. At 140 Euros at their estate (something of a fictional price for most of us, since we aren’t allowed in), Rayas’ QPR relative to other prices for special cuvées is fairly reasonable, and certainly in proportion to its place in the hierarchy of the wines. At 10-20 times the prices of wines like Pegau or Charvin, despite what others have said above, I don’t see the price as remotely reasonable. But the market is what the market is and has only tangential relationship to non-economic value.
Rob, thanks for posting this and capturing exactly how I feel about Ch. Rayas.
A few years ago I described Ch. Rayas as a high end Grand Cru Red Burgundy made with Grenache. The sense of power without weight or heaviness, the perfume & aromatics, the silky texture. A truly great wine.
cheers Brodie
Well that’s the thing with Rayas though, in which I’d say it’s also quite singular.
All you have to do is send a nice letter to the domaine, be patient, et voilà, you’ll be proposed a “triplette” (Rayas, Pignan, Fonsalette), probably some back vintages as well or Rayas blanc. That’s true for anyone in France and I’d venture some other countries as well. Current prices are around 370€ for the triplette, and I think a new customer would be offered the 2006s or 2007s.
So sure you won’t be able to buy by the case, but I don’t know of any top domaine in Bourgogne, Rhône nord, etc. where you can do that.
This for me is one of the most effective approach a domaine can take to ensure its wines are drunk by people who will try to appreciate them and not reserved for an elite.
Alain
Best mailing list ever.
The bidding just closed on a 1985 horizontal of the CdP Reserve, Fonsalette, and Pignan. Bottles appeared to be in excellent condition for their age. Bidding “started” at $2,500.00, with 5% vig… Bidding closed with no bids.
No, no! He means someone else!
(It’s bad enough that now Charlie is already buying it up!) 
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I have one precious bottle remaining.
(Wedding year wine)
Which Charlie? I think We’ve created a monster with “Meats” - he’s bought quite a bit recently.
I work with a lot of Mexican guys(and ladies), and Mexican-American as well, so I just assumed ‘Meats’ was a play on Charlie Carnes last name. He also buys a lot of good wines, so that also helped my assumption.
Wait, what?
Two Charlies?
Correct assumption. Multiple plays on words for one of the most genuinely classy, great guys that you will ever “meat”.
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Indeed, new customers get 2007. Got the 2006 last year (first year) and 2007 this year. 2010 for older customers, at a very slightly lower price (like 5-10 bucks difference). And the rest is often a kinder surprise egg, you never know what you are going to get : last year did not get Pignan, this year I got the triplette but vintages vary from friend to friend. Another got some whites, I got only reds (which suits me fine).
But that’s really very minor details which don’t bother me at all. As you said, it’s great to have a policy where you accept new clients despite the demand with a simple process (just send a nice letter and be patient, he responds in like 6 months) by just rationning allocations. Everyone’s happy except if you wanted to speculate.
I was watching that too. I don’t think there’s any big surprise, but given how things have been going recently if they start at $1750 I wouldn’t be too surprised to see it hammer over $2500.
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No, Rayas isn´t 10x better than any other CdP … but it´s singular and unique …
Some names that produce equally fine wines have already been named (Pegau, Marcoux, Bonneau, Pure …), but they are different … and there are several more!
sure it would be great to find a (well stored !!!) bottle of 1983/85/89/90/98 … Rayas … at a reasonable price …
but nowadays very unlikely …
2004 and 2006 are drinking very nicely at the moment, and should be (slightly) more affordable … 1994 and 1999 would also be nice … and I personally love the 1997 which is no blockbuster but drinkable with great pleasure …
The reason for the price escalation of R. at the moment is NOT the release price off Chateau which isn´t very high.
It´s
- the hype created in the market – and in some forums (e.g. THIS ONE)
- the general rarity of the wine: 15.000 to 20.000 bottles annually (from 10 ha) … for the whole world … usually less than La Tâche (from 6 ha) … Lafite-R. 300.000 to 400.000 bts!)
- the policy of late releases off domaine … I don´t think the 2011 has arrived so far in the major market worldwide … and the 2012 won´t for another 2 years.
So if you don´t want that price increases … don´t hunt for Rayas!
Well, certainly a possibility, but I heavily recommend to write in proper FRENCH !
(btw: the fax no. is on the website … the e-mail is confidential …)
Gerhard,
Given that Reynaud seems to prefer formal, written communication, does he consider a faxed request sufficient or is it better to write a letter?
a fax is usually fine when in Fench and polite enough.
I faxed for 20 years until I got the (confidental) e-mail.