Rayas Chateau des Tours Cotes du Rhone Rouge Reserve 2015 - Bt | JR17.5

Tasting note

65% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 15% Cinsault. 90% aged in vat, 10% in 600-litre oak for 18 months.

Very pale garnet, and quite cloudy too. Fantastic nose of mahogany and mushroom, with mushy raspberry fruit. It's one of those wines which is so instantly classic, so obviously 'fine wine' in that intangible way. On the palate, there's savoury aniseed and violet aroma, plenty of peppery spice, and a long finish with the sort of dried fruit I sometime associate with Amarone or port. Absolutely dry and appetising on the finish. What's wrong with it? Well, the alcohol is a little high, and it doesn't have the swirling depths of its sibling Rayas, but it's still outstanding. (RH)

Score: 17.5

Richard Hemming MW, Jancisrobinson.com, August 2020