Rasa Vineyards Red Blend QED “Convergence”

WHY WE LOVE IT

• The vineyard for the QED Convergence is located in the Columbia Valley.
• It is a beautifully structured and complex wine with an overall sense of elegance and finesse.
• The wine should reach maturity in 8-10 years and will hold for approximately 15+ years.

Varietal Composition: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre

Elaboration: The wine had a pre-fermentation maceration average of 128 hours and a post-fermentation maceration average of 96 hours. Native fermentation was used on all of the lots. 60% whole clusters were used to give added structure. The wine was punched down by hand 3 times each day during macerations and fermentation. All individual wine components, including free run and press fractions, were kept separate until final blending. The oak profile is 25% new French oak (predominantly from Troncais and Alliers) and 75% neutral French oak. The wine had an elevage of 24 months in oak and was racked three times but not fined. The wine was very lightly filtered to capture any remaining lees.

Tasting Notes: The complex bouquet consists of blackberry, huckleberry, bacon fat, violets, white pepper, and forest floor. Nuances of gravel, incense, and roasted herbs can also be found. As usual, the palate is nicely layered and well delineated: huckleberry, kirsch dominate but notes of bacon fat, truffle mushroom, blackberry, and Asian spices, support. The refreshing acidity and fine-grained tannins provide a nice counterpoint to the fruit intensity. The very long finish echoes tones of kirsch, blackberry, cured meats and white pepper.

PRESS

2017 – – 93 Vinous | 91 Wine Advocate

2019 – 96 International Wine Report

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.’