Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras is 80% Grenache, the Cotes-du-Rhone around 60-70% Gr.
Domaine des Tours Vin de Pays also contains a lot of Gr., but also Syrah, Counoise, Cinsault and even Merlot
I would add Marcoux Vieilles Vignes (~95% Gr.) and Domaine Giraud Grenache de Pierre (100%)
Domaine des Tours Vin de Pays du Vaucluse (about 13 euros at the domain), Château des Tours, Pialade (ONLY 18 euros but difficult to get)… always a great pleasure … (and the same style).
What vintages did you try? Among the recent years, I’d say 2011 is drinking the best right now if you want to hear the Reynaud music.
The world’s finest blueberry bagel is from …
The world’s finest flavored coffee is from …
The world’s finest ground up chicken nugget is from …
Kidding aside, I’ll go with Rayas as well.
Though I still think grenache is best as a blending grape. Now if you’ll excuse me I have some clouds to go yell at.
For me, and I taste it very often, Rayas is the finest grenache in the world … (Pignan is at the same level and Fonsalette more rustic).
Rayas is also one of the best red wines in the world …
The “Climens” of Châteauneuf 
Are there other 100% grenache CdP wines worth checking out that aren’t in the $100-200+/bottle category? I know Charvin is like 80%+ grenache.
I’m a big fan of Rayas and Charvin, but for my humble palate, the beauty of classic CDP is the blend, and I tend to prefer those with a bit more Mourvedre with syrah than most, think Beaucastel. Janasse Chaupin is 100% Grenache, and is a great party pleaser, just too ripe for my personal preference, generally. Domaine de la Barroche Cuvee Pure is almost 100% Grenache with old vine vineyards right next to Rayas, but it’s really pricey and hard to find, not much made.
Pegau, which I like in many vintages, including the recent 2017 which is floating around for around $50, tends to be around 85% Grenache.
The Chapelle St Theodoric wines can be very nice!
My recent excellent/great Châteauneuf :
Charvin 2008
Juliette Avril 2005
Les Cailloux 2005
Mas St-Louis Grande Réserve 2017
Mouriesse-Vinum Tour d’Ambre 2014
2019 will be stunning, as I checked here :
Clos du Mont-Olivet
Jérôme Gradassi
I was going to say Janasse Chaupin, but I see RA beat me to it. Others under $100 are: Isabel Ferrando Colombis, Giraud Grenache de Pierre, Vaudieu Amiral G and Usseglio Mon Aieul, although the latter two are close to $100. [Edit]: William Kelley reminded me that Chapelle Saint Theodoric Les Grans Pins and La Guigasse are both 100% grenache and under $100.
JLL has compared these to Rayas purity.
Surely one could posit that truth in labeling may be a universal problem, but I would be surprised if that 2008 Rayas that I pictured is above 15%. JLL calls it close to the label.
Having never had a Rayas (other than a Fonsalette, which doesn’t count), my vote goes to L’Ermita and Clos Erasmus. The 1998 L’Ermita and 2005 Clos Erasmus were two of the best wines, whatever the grape, I’ve ever had.
Every Rayas I have had has been great, but they have been provided by the kindness of friends who were wise enough to buy long ago. The price for it these days makes it unavailable for normal human beings.
Thus I second this post, As always, this William Kelley guy gives good advice. Chapelle St. Theodoric makes three cuvees. The middle one in price (which still costs some money) is made from sandy soils near Pignan and is a great wine.
No mention of Usseglio CDP Mon Aieul? 100% Grenache, generally beloved by Parker, especially the 07.
And, how can you talk about California Grenache without mentioning Alban? Alban Grenache and Grenache-dominat Pandora are excellent - in the same vein as SQN and Saxum Rocket Block.
Has nobody done a blind tasting that included Rayas against new world grenache? That would be pretty interesting.
These are always so darned interesting to read - and so much, to me, has to do with whether you bow down at the altar of ‘typicity’ or not. There are lots of great expressions of Grenache around the world, and there are lots of great wines made with the Grenache grape that don’t necessarily remind me of ‘grenache’ that are heavily sought after, and many have been mentioned here.
I’ve been fortunate to take part in a few epic Grenache tastings featuring top Spanish, Australian, American and French grenaches, with many folks insisting that it’s ‘okay’ to include wines that contain a percentage of something else in them (at which point I always ask whether the same could be done with a top Pinot tasting, at which everyone, of course, says hell no).
To me, the purity and ethereal nature of Grenache is best expressed by Rayas, though I’ve only had the chance to try it on a few occasions (and the Pignans that I’ve had have not been far behind).
Cheers.
Thank you for that information Mike. I never understood the obsession over ABV. I pretty much ignore the friggin’ number on the label and judge the wine on its own merits in the glass. I don’t like fumy, bitter ETOH in my wine but I haven’t found much of a correlation between that character and the ABV on the label.
I’ll join the chorus on CdP and southern Rhone as best for average and peak levels of Grenache quality imho. Best grenache I ever had were some Albans in the early 00s but I don’t follow them. That said I think Grenache is one of CAs least successful grape varieties overall.
Rayas!
Closest I’ve come to matching the power and transparency of Rayas is
Domaine Gramenon Cotes du Rhone Ceps Centenaires la Meme, Rhone, France
The correlation is to your palate, not to others. For many, like me, elevated alcohol levels are like scratching nails on a chalk board. It’s largely why the modernization of CDP - heavily influenced by Cambie and Parker, and of course other sycophantic critics - came close to killing this once glorious region for me. I drink very few CDP producers these days. It used to be one of the more significant regions in my purchasing. Labels are important. If a Southern Rhone says 15% or more, I generally avoid it. Sure, I could be missing a decent one here or there, but I’ve drank far too many Rhones to know what generally works for me and what doesn’t. I’m not going to drop $75 or more on a CDP (or $800+ on a Rayas) at 15%+ just hoping it works.