1983 Chateauneuf du Pape
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Tasting notes
Elegant, spicy, floral, and loaded with kirsch, black raspberries, olives, leaves, and garrigue. Medium-bodied, finesse driven, the wine is still delivering the goods, though I would not hold my luck with further aging. Drink from 2024-2029.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Round, rich, gamey and sweet. Tasted of glacé cherries. Absolutely stunning with roast grouse. (JR)
This is a vintage that is nearing the end of its life, but which can still be spectacular where well-stored. It is a classic Rayas vintage, with the 1983 potentially the “wine of the vintage” in Chateauneuf du Pape. The wine reveals considerable amber in its color, along with a huge, intoxicating aromatic display of red and black fruits, herbs, spices, earth, and licorice. It is a full-bodied, sweet, creamy-textured Chateauneuf du Pape that, while gorgeous to drink, should be drunk up. Importers: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173 and Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400
About the producer
Ch. Rayas is a cult name in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The wines – pure, silken expressions of Grenache with distinctive perfume – are revered for their singularity and fiercely collected. Made by Emmanuel Reynaud and renowned for their ageability, they have become some of the region's most sought-after.