Remembering Emmanuel Reynaud

BY NICOLAS GREINACHER | NOVEMBER 25, 2025

Emmanuel Reynaud, the steward of Château Rayas, Château de Fonsalette and Château des Tours, passed away after a severe illness on November 25, 2025.

The iconic Château Rayas became part of the Reynaud family in 1880 when Albert Reynaud, Emmanuel’s great-grandfather, acquired the estate. Its reputation was established by Albert’s son, Louis Reynaud—who also founded Château de Fonsalette in 1945—and further elevated by Louis’s son, Jacques. When Jacques died in 1997, his nephew Emmanuel was tasked with preserving family tradition.

Emmanuel Reynaud’s winemaking tenure at Château Rayas started a new era. While his early vintages from 1998 to 2002 saw the start of a thorough vine replanting scheme, 2003 felt like the beginning of his own voice. Rayas vintages like 2005 or 2010 are singular, world-class, benchmark wines, resisting even the slightest stylistic imitation. Even in challenging vintages such as 2008 or 2014, the wines show radiant beauty and striking typicity.

My first visit to the historic Rayas cellar was in 2005, barrel-tasting the 2003 vintage. Since then, I was able to visit over a dozen times, getting a sense of the person behind the curtain. To many, Emmanuel Reynaud was a man of mystery, but to those who had the privilege to spend extensive time with him over many years, he revealed himself as a sensitive, thoughtful, soft-spoken and, most of all, humble vigneron.

A spontaneous encounter at the post office in Châteauneuf-du-Pape still lingers with me. It was scorching hot outside. Reynaud asked what I was doing that day, and I mentioned a very long day of syndicate tastings, which meant hard work. He smiled, tapped my shoulder and wished me a pleasant afternoon. Nothing grand, just a moment of warmth and appreciation.

One early morning in August last year, the two of us walked the vineyards of Château de Fonsalette in the early morning hours. When I asked Reynaud why none of his estates grow any Mourvèdre, he joked that Mourvèdre was a grape that needs a view to the sea. In moments like that, you saw the witty side of Monsieur Reynaud.

During the same encounter, he mentioned something that in hindsight is almost chilling:

“C’est les générations qui peuvent passer, mais c’est toujours le terroir qui va parler.”

Generations may come and go, but it’s always the terroir that will speak.

 In August of this year, when Reynaud was already undergoing heavy medical treatments, I exchanged my final words with him at Château Rayas, expressing gratitude for all the moments we shared over the years.

Emmanuel Reynaud leaves behind one of the grandest legacies in the world of wine, now looked after mainly by his two sons, Benoît and Louis-Damien. It is an enormous set of shoes to fill. My heart goes out to the entire Reynaud family in this difficult time.