Rasa Vineyards Occam’s Razor Red Blend
WHY WE LOVE IT
- The Occam’s Razor Red Blend from Columbia Valley offers an exceptional quality to price ratio.
- Drinks well now but will improve over the next 5-8 years.
Varietal Composition: 51% Syrah, 28% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc
Elaboration: The wine had a pre-fermentation maceration average of 102 hours and a post-fermentation maceration average of 53 hours. Native fermentation was used on 80% of the lots. 45% whole clusters were used to give added structure. The wine was punched down by hand 2 times each day during macerations and fermentation. All individual wine components, including free run and press fractions, were kept separate until final blending. The wine had an elevage of 18 months in oak and was racked three times but not fined. The wine was very lightly filtered to capture any remaining lees. The oak profile is 12% new French oak (predominantly from Troncais and Alliers) and 88% neutral French oak.
Tasting Notes: An alluring bouquet of black plum, black cherry, cassis, violets, asian spices, vanilla, and espresso. The full-bodied palate has firm tannins and high acidity and wonderful complexity. The wine finishes with lovely notes of black plus, black cherry, cassis, and spice.
PRESS
2019 – 91 Vinous
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
The concept of Rasa Vineyards started with a bottle of 1988 Mouton Rothschild that brothers Pinto and Billo Naravane bought at a discount in Napa Valley. That bottle of wine changed their lives. They call it their epiphany wine. That Mouton inspired them to learn all they could about wine and seriously discuss starting a winery. In 2007, with Pinto’s business plan and Billo working on a degree from the UC Davis Master’s program in Viticulture and Winemaking, the two budding winemakers quit their tech jobs and selected Walla Walla, Washington, as the home of Rasa Vineyards.
They purchased 28 acres in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, just ten miles south of Walla Walla, in an area that would become the Rocks District AVA. Their first two wines won accolades and high ratings in wine publications. In 2017, Billo joined an elite worldwide group of 498 people who have earned the title of ‘Master of Wine.’