2004 Chateau de Fonsalette Cotes du Rhone

Following in the footsteps of a legend can't be easy, and Emmanuel Reynaud has been working under a microscope at Rayas for almost a decade now, since the death of his uncle Jacques in 1997. Any doubts I might have had about the current level of quality here were put to rest with the wines I saw this year. Fans of the floral, intensely perfumed style of this estate will have plenty to sink their palates into in both 2004 and 2005. The whites are excellent, too, especially the 2005 Rayas, a dead ringer for a grand cru Chablis. Reynaud emphasized to me that the finesse and perfume of the Chateau Rayas wines are largely due to the high quantity of silt and clay in the soil.