1990 Chateauneuf du Pape Pignan
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Robert Parker
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
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Pignan is an actual terroir or lieux-dit that sits to the west and north of the narrow band of sandy/clay soil that composes the Rayas vineyard. While it is a separate vineyard, in practice, Pignan is the second wine of Rayas. Its extraordinary showing in such recent vintages as 1989 and 1990 have led some skeptics to suggest that the idiosyncratic Jacques Reynaud may be putting his best juice in Pignan, using Rayas as a second label. This is untrue, but there is no doubting that Pignan, especially in 1989 and 1990, is a wine of extraordinary richness and intensity that can be purchased for less than half the price of Rayas. The 1990 Pignan is a thick, fruity ball of over-ripe black-cherry Grenache fruit. Thick and juicy, with high alcohol and glycerin, this knock-out, full-bodied, port-like wine should drink well for another 15+ years. Imported by Martine's Wines, San Rafael, CA; tel. (415) 485-1800, Wines of France, Alain Junguenet, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173, and Ideal Wines, Medford, MA; tel. (617) 395-3300
About the producer
Ch. Rayas is a cult name in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The wines – pure, silken expressions of Grenache with distinctive perfume – are revered for their singularity and fiercely collected. Made by Emmanuel Reynaud and renowned for their ageability, they have become some of the region's most sought-after.