Chateau Rayas is just plain different. Everything about this extraordinary domaine runs counter to conventional wisdom. Unlike most leading estates in Chateauneuf, which cultivate maybe three or four of the permitted 13 grape varieties for their red wines, Rayas is planted exclusively with Grenache vines, of 35 years average age. The soils of the vineyard are fine and sandy, with none of the famous pebbles that are supposed to contribute so much to the quality of great Chateauneuf. Rayas’ former owner, the late Jacques Reynaud, who died in January 1997, believed that fine wine is made on fine soil; as far as he was concerned, the stones would have been detrimental to the final flavour of the wine.

But then this whimsical, reflective man, a student of ancient Greek and philosophy, was an intuitive, old-fashioned winemaker. Not for him the modish tools of new oak barrels or temperature-controlled fermentation tanks. "I just let the wine do what it wants," he used to say with a shrug and a smile. This may have been play-acting, but the reality is that Rayas is a must for the serious Rhone lover’s cellar.

The main Rayas vineyard, comprising some 13 hectares of Grenache, extends south and east towards Courtezon. Louis Reynaud, Jacques’ father, laid the vineyard out in 15 seperate parcels in the 1920s to take maximum advantage of the protection offered against the mistral by the trees and brushwood across the property. Rayas’ greatness as a red wine is based on first-rate Grenache grapes from low-yielding vines. Late-picking ensures optimum ripeness and concentration in the grapes, and 15 degrees natural alcohol in the finished wine is quite normal. The flavour is a high-wire act of exceptional richness and intensity balanced by a silky smoothness and plum fruitiness. The medium-weight 1993 will provide enormous pleasure over the next decade.

The white Rayas is another exceptional creation. Made from Grenache Blanc and Clairette in the Pignan vineyard, and also again picked late for maximum ripeness, it is a rich succulent wine which ages well for up to six years. The Reynauds’ second property, the 11 hectare Chateau de Fonsalette at Lagarde-Pareol produces superb Cotes du Rhone. The 1993 is made from Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault and has a depth of flavour rarely matched in the southern Rhone; the pure Syrah Cuvee is another lively mouthful of inimitable character. Reynaud - made wines are distinctive. Vive la difference!