2012 Chateauneuf du Pape
Buying options
Tasting notes
Château Rayas regularly hold wines back until they feel they’re ready to drink, so the 2012 Châteauneuf Du Pape Reserve is the current release from the château. It reveals a classic Rayas ruby hue with just a touch of bricking on the rim. Sweet strawberries, sappy flowers, sandalwood, and peppery nuances define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with a beautifully layered, seamless, medium-bodied profile offering the classic purity and elegance of this address. It's a solid step up over the 2011, with more density and depth, and will drink beautifully over the coming decade.
Critic scores
Average Score
Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réservé is at the start of its broad drinking window. Prominent kirsch liqueur, forest floor, strawberry compote, dried meat, rosemary, pressed violets and sage are only some of the many aromas and flavors that jump out of the glass. Refined to the core, the athletic 2012 packs a laser-like focus and flawlessly integrates the elevated alcohol. This is a remarkably uplifting Rayas with less obvious punch compared to riper years like 2009 or 2010, but the levels of intensity and finesse are jaw-dropping.
Presented in three components, as is Reynaud's custom. #1: High-pitched red berry and floral aromas show superb purity and focus. Racy, crisp and concentrated, offering intense raspberry and cherry flavors and a bracing mineral nuance. Finishes long and spicy, with a whiplash of zesty minerality and lingering red fruit. #2: Deeper and darker in profile, offering sweet black raspberry and cherry-cola aromas and flavors and a hint of licorice. Shows impressive power on the close, with dusty tannins coming on late. #3: Spicy, floral dark berry aromas, with an exotic Indian spice note in the background. Stains the palate with powerful blackberry and bitter cherry flavors that are complicated by notes of smoky minerals and lavender. Suave and seamless on the finish, which lingers with excellent tenacity and smooth, harmonious tannins.
Very lively and mineral – more lifted and less fat than the Fonsalette Blanc. Sweet, herbal and fine. Really exciting. Emmanuel Reynaud is very keen on 2012 for whites because the vintage has both body and freshness. (JR)
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.