1976 Chateau Rayas Chateaueuf Du Pape Reserve

1976 Chateau Rayas Chateaueuf Du Pape Reserve

I once had a Rayas 78 and I concluded the end of my red wine journey with a detailed article as I do not think I can find a replacement of any red wine that can outclass Rayas 78. So when I see a case of Rayas 76 popped up, I did not hesitate to snatch the case. The bouquet was surprisingly green stemmy and green chilli skin (the non spicy varietal). While the 76 can’t compare to the 78 in terms of content complexity, it showed clear pedigree of younger Rayas of sweet cassis, sweet spice as well as cranberries. It also possessed the lushness and sexy character of younger Rayas (perhaps a Rayas 2005 as reference) in terms of style. It’s such an amazing experience to see a linear similarity of a 1976 compared to 2005, an almost 30 years difference.