2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Production at Rayas was off by a full third in 2012, according to Emmanuel Reynaud, "but what fruit we got was excellent--clean and ripe, with excellent acidity and tannins." Reynaud compares '12 favorably with 2010 "for depth of flavor" but thinks that the earlier vintage is a safer bet for long-term cellaring thanks to its "greater structure and more solid tannins." Two thousand eleven is a vintage with a lot of charm but some of its power has yet to emerge, he added. The low yields ensured good depth and, if a grower was willing not to rush into harvest, "very good ripeness of the fruit was possible, with acidity that was still fresh and with easy tannins."