The powerful 1996 Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape blanc is, as usual, controversial because, unlike most white Chateauneuf du Papes, it is put through a malolactic fermentation. The 1996 appears to be the most complete and muscular white Rayas since the heavyweight 1990. The wine is flowery, unctuous, and long in the mouth, with a chewy constitution. In some vintages this wine possesses an uncommonly long aging curve, but generally the wine's ability to age is impossible to predict.The 1996 vintage, the last one Jacques Reynaud vinified before he passed away, was the product of a very late harvest. The wine is reminiscent of a hypothetical blend of the 1985 and 1994 - seductive, forward, and precocious. Importers: Martine's Wines, San Rafael, CA; tel. (415) 485-1800, and Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173
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