2000 Château Rayas Pignan Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve

The light to medium ruby-colored 2000 Pignan Chateauneuf du Pape (7,000 bottles produced) is pure kirsch liqueur. Medium-bodied, delicate, and feminine, it offers considerable pleasure, but not a lot of substance or follow-through. However, these wines can seem to lack stuffing as well as aging potential, only to put on weight and last longer than anyone expected. Nevertheless, I would opt for drinking it over the next 10-12 years. A disclaimer is in order concerning the following tasting notes. While the bottled 2000s were easy to taste, the 2001 barrel tastings at Rayas were challenging because there was no electricity in the cellars. Rayas was one of many estates where electricity had been cut off by the floods of September 8 and 9. Hence, the tasting was conducted by flashlight ... a first in my 25 years of experience. It was hard to get a grasp of the barrel samples' colors when viewed by flashlight, but they appeared to be light to medium ruby. However, darkly pigmented wines are rarely produced at this domaine. There have been some deep-colored vintages of Rayas (1995, 1990, and 1989), but most are surprisingly weak in color, yet intense in flavor. Importers: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173 and Martine's Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400