2008 Château Rayas Château de Fonsalette Côtes du Rhône Rouge Reserve

Light red. Sexy, fragrant scents of Moroccan spices, dried strawberry, raspberry and minerals, plus a whiff of cherry skin. Very sexy, sweet red fruit flavors are perked up by blood orange and smoky minerals, with dusty tannins adding support. Impressively pure and focused wine with excellent finishing clarity and a whiplash of cinnamon. This reminded me of a high-end Pernand-Vergelesses.

Cinsault component: Quite a pale ruby. Peppery and sweet. Light, fresh and pretty – extraordinary freshness – but definitely lighter than usual. Very sweet. Transparent in many different ways. Grenache component: Also transparent, lively and fresh. Much lighter than usual; really rather like the Cinsault component above. This property in particular was hit by coulure in 2008 apparently. Syrah component: This, alone, had a tinge of blue. Peppery, sweet and flirtatious – so different from most Syrahs! Just a little bitter on the finish and relatively light. The assemblage will be made next year. (JR)

The 2008 Fonsalette Cotes du Rhones is a lighter version, as one might expect from this much more challenging vintage. It displays loads of earthiness, licorice and herbaceousness, but underneath is some very sweet fruit, especially plum, fig, truffle and black cherry. It should be drunk in its first 7-8 years of life. Oct 2012, www.robertparker.com