Vacqueyras 2012, Château des Tours

Name: Vacqueyras 2012, Château des Tours - Le Roux Vins
Brand: 0.75 L
SKU: VEVRVCDT2012
Price: 215.00 CHF
Availability: InStock

CHF 215.00

Vacqueyras 2012, Château des Tours: The Burgundian Secret of the Southern Rhône

Emmanuel Reynaud is the most discreet winemaker in the southern Rhône — and perhaps its greatest. Nephew of the legendary Jacques Reynaud of Château Rayas, he took over both the family estate Château des Tours and the mythical Rayas in 1997. His approach is unmistakable: old Grenache vines, organic farming, late harvest, zero compromise. The 2012 vintage in the southern Rhône was warm and dry, with excellent ripeness and preserved freshness — ideal for the Reynaud style, which combines power and elegance in a way found nowhere else in Vacqueyras. The result: a wine that connoisseurs identify blind as a Burgundy — and are left speechless when the truth is revealed.

What’s it Like?

In the glass, it shows a surprisingly pale ruby with slight garnet nuances — far less colour than one would expect from a 15% Grenache from the southern Rhône. The nose is the house signature: moist tobacco, red berries, raspberry, cherry, licorice, truffle, herbes de Provence and an unmistakable hint of molasses. On the palate it is velvety, full-bodied and deep, carried by vibrant acidity and fine, fully integrated tannins. The finish is long, complex and aromatically persistent. With air, it unfolds hour by hour — at least one hour of decanting is strongly recommended.

Serving temperature: 16–17°C ·
Drinking window: now through 2028, at its peak

Perfect For

A Provençal feast with character. Its earthy, wild profile calls for slow-braised lamb with herbes de Provence, a kid goat ragù with olives and thyme, grilled duck breast, or a well-aged goat’s cheese such as Pélardon.

The Critics Agree…

The 2012 Vacqueyras from Château des Tours earned 93 points on CellarTracker across 74 reviews — exceptional for a wine from this appellation. La Revue du Vin de France also awarded 93 points. Connoisseurs describe it as “a revelation — so light in colour, almost like a Burgundy. Nose all in finesse and red fruit. Superb. Burgundy from the southern Rhône.” A statement that says everything.

What is it? A cult wine from the southern Rhône by the nephew of the legendary Jacques Reynaud of Château Rayas — a Vacqueyras that drinks like a Burgundy.
From? Vacqueyras, Southern Rhône, France (AOC).
Grapes? 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah — from organically farmed vines.
Tastes Like? Red berries, raspberry, cherry, moist tobacco, truffle, licorice and herbes de Provence.
Critics score? 93/100 CellarTracker · 93/100 La Revue du Vin de France.

3 in stock

SKU: VEVRVCDT2012 Categories: 0.75 L, Château des Tours, Emmanuel Reynaud, Fine Wines, Grenache, Let's Barbecue, Red Wines, Rhone, Shiraz

Vacqueyras 2012, Château des Tours

Château des Tours: The Silent Genius of Sarrians

In the world of wine, there are loud geniuses and silent geniuses. Emmanuel Reynaud belongs to the second category — and it is perhaps precisely for that reason that he is one of the most influential winemakers of his generation.

The story begins with his uncle. Jacques Reynaud was a legend in his own lifetime — a recluse who lived in the crumbling Château Rayas in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, shunned the press, refused visitors and produced wines that left Parker in awe. Pure Grenache. Little colour. Explosive intensity. A style so singular it acquired a name: the Rayas style.

When Jacques Reynaud died in 1997, he left behind an inheritance almost impossible to bear. His nephew Emmanuel Reynaud, barely thirty, stepped up — with no experience of the spotlight, but with an instinct for wine that quickly proved itself to be generational talent.

Château des Tours: The Modest Brother of Rayas

Château des Tours is located in Sarrians, north of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in the heart of the Vacqueyras and Côtes du Rhône appellations. The estate belonged to Emmanuel Reynaud’s father — it was the humble family property, while Rayas was the legend. Today, Château des Tours is no longer a secret among connoisseurs — but it has preserved its character: minimal, laconic, uncompromising.

The Vacqueyras is the estate’s flagship. 40 hectares of vines, old Grenache — some decades old — farmed organically without certification, because Reynaud rejects publicity for his methods as much as publicity for himself. The grapes are harvested as late as possible. Ripeness is not an option — it is an obsession.

The Philosophy: Grenache as Pinot Noir

What Emmanuel Reynaud does is radical in the southern Rhône: he treats his Grenache the way a Burgundian treats Pinot Noir. Little colour, enormous intensity. Light extraction, immense depth. Little or no oak. The substance comes from the grape, from the soil, from time.

The result: wines that regularly confuse specialists in blind tastings. Too little colour for Grenache. Too much finesse for the southern Rhône. Too much complexity for a Vacqueyras. And yet: this is Grenache. This is Vacqueyras. Simply in the hands of someone who truly understands what this grape can do.

A Wine That Falls Silent — Then Explodes

Reynaud’s wines are often closed in their youth. They demand air, time, patience. But those who wait, who decant, who understand — will be rewarded with an experience that has few parallels in the southern Rhône.

The 2012 Vacqueyras is today where it should be: fully open, complex, deep, with a finish that persists for minutes after the last sip. A wine you drink and immediately want to buy again. And then you realise there is almost none left.