{"product_id":"2008-chateau-rayas-reserve-chateauneuf-du-pape-southern-rhone-france","title":"2008 Chateau Rayas, Reserve, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhone, France","description":"\u003cp\u003eChâteau Rayas is the most storied name in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and the reason collectors who swear by pinot noir make an exception for one grenache. The estate sits at the end of an unmarked dirt track outside Courthézon, in the northeastern corner of the appellation, where Albert Reynaud, a notary from Avignon, bought the property in 1880. His son Louis began bottling under the Rayas name in the 1920s, his grandson Jacques ran the estate from 1978 until his death in 1997, and Jacques's nephew Emmanuel Reynaud made the wines from 1997 until his death in November 2025, when his sons took over. The site is one of the strangest in the appellation, and part of why the wines are so often called legendary: the roughly 13 hectares of vines lie on cool, north-facing slopes of pale sand rather than sun-baked galets, ringed by pine and oak forest that shelters them from the mistral, so the fruit ripens slowly and Rayas is routinely among the last estates in the village to harvest. The Réserve is grenache alone, drawn from the three parcels of Le Couchant, Le Levant, and Le Coeur, fermented whole cluster, aged in old foudres and demi-muids that add no flavor of their own, and bottled without fining or filtration after roughly two years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2008 was the most difficult year in Châteauneuf-du-Pape since 2002. A wet spring brought mildew pressure, summer never fully warmed, and September rain pushed harvest late into October. Rayas's sandy slopes drained quickly and its habitually late picking meant the fruit came in pristine. The estate produced one of the standout wines of the vintage from a year most of the village would rather forget.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 2008 is a lighter, more lifted Rayas, medium ruby in color and pure on the nose: kirsch, raspberry, damson plum, and licorice over thyme and a savory, iron-tinged earthiness. The palate is fleshy and round, medium to full-bodied, with cherry and mulled raspberry lined with shiso and a mineral snap on the finish. Ready now and best enjoyed through 2028.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yes Society","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52371607126312,"sku":"AT08RAYAS750","price":1900.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0779\/1794\/6152\/files\/2008ChateauRayas_Reserve_Chateauneuf-du-Pape.jpg?v=1789501272","url":"https:\/\/yes-society.com\/products\/2008-chateau-rayas-reserve-chateauneuf-du-pape-southern-rhone-france","provider":"Yes Society","version":"1.0","type":"link"}