Rayas Chateau Fonsalette Rouge 2004

Histoire du domaine

The origins of the estate date back to 1880, when Albert Reynaud, a notary in the Avignon region, acquired a mixed-farming property in the hamlet of Rayas, in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. His son, Louis Reynaud, succeeded him in 1920, expanded the vineyard’s presence and began bottling the wines on the estate. Louis acquired the Domaine des Tours in Sarrians in 1935, followed by Château de Fonsalette in Lagarde-Paréol in 1945. On Louis’s death in 1978, Jacques Reynaud took over the management of Rayas and Fonsalette, whilst his brother Bertrand retained the Domaine des Tours. Emmanuel Reynaud, Bertrand’s son, was already managing Château des Tours when he took over Rayas and Fonsalette following the death of his uncle Jacques in 1997. He then brought the family’s various estates and their labels under a single management, including Château Rayas, Pignan, Château de Fonsalette, La Pialade, Château des Tours and Domaine des Tours. Emmanuel Reynaud passed away in November 2025. Benoît Reynaud has been chairman of Château Rayas since February 2026 and Louis-Damien Reynaud is its managing director; the sources consulted confirm their involvement in taking over the business, but do not allow us to attribute with certainty sole responsibility for the winemaking across the entire portfolio to either of them.