Chateau des Tours Vin de Pays de Vaucluse

Here is a wine that may be hard to find, but is worth the effort to track down. One of the big names of the southern Rhône is Château Rayas in Châteaneuf-du-Pape. But Château Rayas is managed by Emmanuel Reynaud who lives and makes the wine at Château des Tours at Sarrians, a village between Châteaneuf-du-Pape and Vacqueyras, entitled to get you a truly memorable, warming and delicious glass or three of outstanding Côtes du Rhône red wine, hence the apparently lowly Côtes du Rhône appellation. The color is a brownish red. The nose of earth, tobacco, and dark red fruit hints at what is about to come on the palate: red fruit–raspberry and black cherry dominate– with some residual tobacco. The wine has a medium body, good structure, and soft tannins. While the finish is not the longest, it is very enjoyable with a finale of mild black pepper. If you are fortunate enough to find this wine, be sure to give it at least an hour to open up. The wine is much better integrated after being open for several hours. It is a very nice accompaniment to filet mignon.