Châteauneuf du Pape 2011 - Château Rayas

Château Rayas

Finest wine from Châteauneuf-du-pape

The Château Rayas was founded in 1880, by Albert Reynaud. Bored with his job as a notary in the city of Avignon, and slowly going deaf, Albert one day decided to throw it all away and start a new life. That is why, at 45 years of age, he bought a wine estate and its surrounding vineyard, in a little locality known as Rayas. Him and his son Louis began producing and embottling their red wine (Côtes-du-Rhône and Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellations). The bottles were sold in the region, and later on in the entire country.

Louis took the family estate in 1920, before buying the Domaine des Tours in 1935 and the Château de Fonsalette in 1945. At the same time, he was studying agriculture in Angers, in order to improve his skills as a winemaker. He was the one who established the foundations of the Château Rayas we know today, as he spent time developing the estate and the vineyard. When he died, in 1978, Louis' sons Jacques and Bertrand Reynaud inherited everything. Jacques was in charge of Rayas and Fonsalette, with his sister Françoise. Bertrand took care of the Domaine des Tours.

After Jacques' death; in 1997, his nephew Emmanuel (Bertrand's son, who had been working in the vineyard since he was 19 years old) took the helm of Château Rayas. Until 2007, Emmanuel Reynaud completely renovated the winemaking equipment and facilities. He also replanted a lot of grapevines. Just like his uncle, Emmanuel is rough around the edges and he doesn't care about conventions, but his wines are some of the best in the Rhône Valley. Each year, he manages to wring out a bit more than 10,000 bottles of this sandy terroir. He is now in charge of the three estates.

Discover the wines from the Château Rayas.