Rasa Vineyards Syrah “Veritas Sequitur”

WHY WE LOVE IT

• Rasa Vineyards Veritas Sequitur Estate Syrah is a premium, highly acclaimed Syrah from The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater in the Walla Walla Valley.
• Sourced from the SJR vineyard in “The Rocks” region, known for basalt cobblestone soils, it is crafted by Billo Naravane.
• This wine is built for longevity and can age gracefully for 10-15+ years.

Varietal Composition: 100% Syrah

Elaboration: The wine underwent 139 hours of pre-fermentation and 157 hours of post-fermentation maceration, with hand punchdowns. It aged for 24 months in new French oak. The final product was lightly filtered, with an alcohol content of 13.9%, pH of 4.05, and titratable acidity of 6.3 g/L.

Tasting Notes: A dense, dark purple color with a compelling bouquet of blackberry, white pepper, Asian spices, garrigue, bacon fat, black olive, stony minerality, and forest floor. It is a medium-plus bodied wine with very high flavor density. The palate is complex and intense: blackberry, bacon fat, truffle, aged cigar tobacco, white pepper, garrigue, black olive, Asian spices, dark chocolate, and leather. The impeccably long finish resolves beautifully with savory notes of truffle, bacon fat, white pepper, and stony minerality. The wine showcases powerful structure, exquisite balance, and incredible flavor purity.

PRESS

2019 – 95 Vinous

2020 – 94 Jeb Dunnuck | 94 Vinous

2021 – 97 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.’