Chateau Rayas Pignan Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2010
- Vinous
-
Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The vineyard of Pignan is located at Château Rayas behind a stand of pine trees. It is a slightly warmer site with some rocks scattered through the vineyard.
Professional Ratings
-
Vinous
Bright ruby-red. Intensely perfumed red fruit and floral aromas are complicated by notes of Asian spices and minerals. Extremely fresh on the palate, offering nervy redcurrant and raspberry flavors and a strong spicy underpinning. A zesty note of blood orange comes up with air and adds a tangy edge to the long, precise, floral-accented finish. A very sexy wine that's surprisingly approachable now, especially compared to its big brother.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Pignan Chateauneuf du Pape (100% Grenache from 30 year old vines) is the lightest of the 2010s. The color is a medium translucent ruby and the nose exhibits delicious notes of garrigue, lavender, sweet kirsch, strawberries and loamy soil. I could have drunk this delicious effort directly from the demi-muids in which it was aging.
Barrel Sample: 90-93
Other Vintages
2011- Vinous
-
Parker
Robert
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
Famous for its full-bodied, seductive and spicy reds with flavor and aroma characteristics reminiscent of black cherry, baked raspberry, garrigue, olive tapenade, lavender and baking spice, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the leading sub-appellation of the southern Rhône River Valley. Large pebbles resembling river rocks, called "galets" in French, dominate most of the terrain. The stones hold heat and reflect it back up to the low-lying gobelet-trained vines. Though the galets are typical, they are not prominent in every vineyard. Chateau Rayas is the most obvious deviation with very sandy soil.
According to law, eighteen grape varieties are allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and most wines are blends of some mix of these. For reds, Grenache is the star player with Mourvedre and Syrah coming typically second. Others used include Cinsault, Counoise and occasionally Muscardin, Vaccarèse, Picquepoul Noir and Terret Noir.
Only about 6-7% of wine from Châteauneuf-du-Pape is white wine. Blends and single-varietal bottlings are typically based on the soft and floral Grenache Blanc but Clairette, Bourboulenc and Roussanne are grown with some significance.
The wine of Chateauneuf-du-Pape takes its name from the relocation of the papal court to Avignon. The lore says that after moving in 1309, Pope Clément V (after whom Chateau Pape-Clément in Pessac-Léognan is named) ordered that vines were planted. But it was actually his successor, John XXII, who established the vineyards. The name however, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, translated as "the pope's new castle," didn’t really stick until the 19th century.