CRITIC REVIEWS
Matt Walls
A recent visit to Le Vivier restaurant in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue near Avignon turned up a very good wine list, with one bottle in particular than couldnt be ignored. Explosively aromatic, with blood orange, peppermint, strawberry, thyme, rosemary, all whirling round. On the palate its well balanced, including alcohol (though surely 15.5%). You could argue it lacks a little grip and structure, but thats not the Rayas style. What a wine.
Jeb Dunnuck
A good, but not great Rayas, with sexy, perfumed, and upfront kirsch, sweet spice, underbrush, and dried floral aromatics, the 2006 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve is medium to full bodied on the palate and beautifully balanced, showing sweet fruit, a soft, seamless texture and impressive focus and precision on the finish. Surprisingly accessible and open, it will be interesting to see how this evolves over the coming years. While more structured vintages can drink well for 2 to 3 decades, I would shoot for drinking these over the coming 10-15 or so years.