Chateau Rayne Vigneau Sauternes Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau de Rayne Vigneau Sauternes, Premiers Crus with wine tasting notes, wine and food pairing tips, the best vintages, a history of the property, information on the vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Rayne Vigneau History, Overview

You might find it hard to believe, but 200 years ago, Chateau de Rayne Vigneau was said to be the second-best producer of Sauternes. Only one vineyard was considered to make better Bordeaux wine in the appellation, Chateau d’Yquem!

Chateau de Rayne Vigneau takes its name from the phonetic sound of one of its early owners, Baron de Rayne, and another owner, Etienne du Vigneau. At the time of the 1855 Classification, the estate was known as Chateau Vigneau. Chateau de Rayne Vigneau remained in the hands of de Rayne’s ancestors from the 18th century until it was sold in 1961 to Georges Raoux.

George Raoux resold it a decade later to the Cordier Mestrezat group who later sold it to the French bank, Credit Agricole, which owns numerous Bordeaux estates as investments, including Chateau Meyney in St. Estephe and Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse in Pauillac.

In November 2015, it was announced that Credit Agricole sold a large stake in Rayne Vigneau to Tresor du Patrimoine through their wine subsidiary Vins et saveurs de France.

Tresor du Patrimoine is a massive French company that is one of the biggest producers of foie gras. It is hoped that they might eventually sell and package foie gras and Rayne Vigneau, which is a natural combination.

Chateau Rayne Vigneau Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

Chateau de Rayne Vigneau is a large, 84 hectare Sauternes vineyard planted to 74% Semillon, 24% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle. The sizeable vineyard is planted in 1 solid block of vines.

The terroir is sand, clay, gravel, rocks, and stone soils located on a plateau. The vineyard reaches 75 meters at its peak, giving it one of the highest elevations in the Sauternes appellation.

Vines average close to 30 years of age here. Interestingly, the terroir is littered with occasional deposits of semi-precious stones! The vineyard is situated next to Chateau d’Yquem, so as you can imagine, they are in a very fine location.

To produce the wine of Chateau Rayne Vigneau, after pneumatic pressing, the wine is vinified in 50% new, French oak barrels. The wine is aged in 50% new, French oak barrels for an average of 18 months. On average, close to 10,000 cases of wine are produced here each year.

The best vintages of Chateau Rayne Vigneau are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2001 and 1997.

There is a second wine, Madame de Rayne. In addition, the estate also produces Clos l’Abeilley, which is made from a parcel selection. Chateau de Rayne Vigneau also produces a small amount of wine from 100% Semillon, Gold de Rayne, and a dry, white Bordeaux wine, Le Sec de Rayne Vigneau, which comes from a specific 7-hectare parcel of 100% Sauvignon Blanc. In 2022, the estate introduced a new, white Bordeaux wine, Chateau de Rayne Vigneau, Grand Vin Blanc Sec.

Chateau Rayne Vigneau is one of a handful of moderately priced, Sauternes producers that understand the need to create new markets. To help promote their brand, they recently began selling their wine in individual, 100 ml test tube packages.

The estate has also been focusing on the quality of its wine. Starting with the 2005 vintage, the wines at Rayne Vigneau have become much more interesting to lovers of Sauternes. The owners have started to turn everything around for the better.

When to Drink Chateau Rayne Vigneau, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Rayne Vigneau can be enjoyed on the young side with no decanting. In fact, it is delicious and quite a treat young, even on release! However, like all great wines, Chateau Rayne Vigneau is much better with age and does not reach full maturity until it’s between 12-30 years of age, or in some years, perhaps even longer in the best vintages!

That is when the magic happens! But that is unrealistic for 99% of the world’s wine drinkers. So, enjoy it on any special occasion that calls for it.

Of course, the wine is sweet, but there is so much, incredible, racy acidity, the wine always feels fresh, and never cloying, which makes it quite fun to enjoy young. With Chateau Rayne-Vigneau and frankly, all Sauternes, the temperature is more important than decanting.

Serving Chateau Rayne Vigneau with Wine and Food Pairings

Chateau Rayne Vigneau is best served at 14 degrees Celsius, 57 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. The wine will naturally warm in the glass, while it develops more aromatic complexities and fleshes out.

Chateau Rayne Vigneau can be served with seafood dishes, especially shellfish, lobster, crab, and oysters on the half shell. Foie gras is a perfect pairing with its natural sweet, salty and savory characteristics. Chateau Rayne Vigneau can also be paired with roasted chicken, veal, and pork dishes that are either spicy or prepared with a touch of sweetness.

Spicy Asian cuisine, raw fish, like sushi or sashimi, and cheese, both hard and soft also make great pairings with Chateau Rayne Vigneau.

www.raynevigneau.fr