A blend of all the culled out lots from Fonsalette and Rayas, the 2008 Rayas Cotes du Rhone La Pialade offers lovely strawberry, roasted Provencal herb and loamy soil notes as well as a medium-bodied, quaffable style. Drink it over the next 2-4 years. Rayas has one of the most unusual terroirs in Chateauneuf du Pape with sandy soils and a more northerly oriented exposure. To understand these wines, one must realize that this is a cool-climate terroir in a warm appellation. Emmanuel Reynaud, the nephew of the late Jacques Reynaud, has now been the sole winemaker and administrator here for 13 vintages and he appears to have settled in comfortably. His 2009s have turned out well in this challenging, drought plagued vintage. The white wines are always intriguing. In some vintages they are absolutely spectacular as well as long-lived and in others they are somewhat bizarre with a tendency to oxidize. 2009 appears to be a top-flight year for the whites. I tasted the 2009 reds from an assortment of small barrels, demi-muids and foudres and putting together a score range takes some degree of extrapolation based on seeing all these different component parts.Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400

The wine that remains after all the blending is done, the 2007 La Pialade Cotes du Rhone, is a light, fruity, bistro-styled, pleasant quaffing wine. 2007 may be Emmanuel Reynaud’s greatest vintage since he took over the management of this estate when his uncle, Jacques Reynaud, died in 1997. Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400

The cuvee that is made from fruit that is left over after they make all their selections is called La Pialade, and the 2006 is a straightforward, bistro-styled, pleasant red offering juicy fruit, an elegant personality, and no hard edges.After going through a transitional period after Jacques Reynaud died in 1997, it is safe to say that his nephew, Emmanuel Reynaud, has returned this venerable estate to its previous level of high quality. While Chateauneuf du Pape is a warm appellation, Rayas is situated in a cool micro-climate, and is undoubtedly not an easy property to maintain. It is also known for its sandy soils, which are in total contrast to the rock-strewn plateau a half mile to the east, west, and south. Two utterly profound Rayas Chateauneuf du Papes have been produced recently, the 2005 and 2007. 2007 is a superb vintage at Chateau RayasImporter: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400

The lightweight 2005 La Pialade (essentially a blend of everything that is culled out from their other cuvees of Rayas and Fonsalette) is a soft, bistro-styled wine showing plum and cherry notes but little depth or complexity. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400