For almost five years, I have been a monthly wine club member at my happy place. Earlier this year I decided to progress to an upper level quarterly membership, called IYI (If You Insist).Believe it or not, I was not satisfied with the quality of the wines I was receiving with the standard monthly membership anymore. I was also receiving more wine than I could drink. This statement may shock some but it shouldn't. I tend to be a "quality over quantity" girl, in most things. I definitely am when it comes to wine!
One of the many perks of being an IYI member is the special quarterly free events for members and a guest. My first quarterly event occurred recently and it was with Rasa Vineyards from Walla Walla, Washington. I had the coolest guest of the night - my dad!
The owners and winemakers of Rasa are Pinto and his brother, Billo. They are from India and have engineering degrees. However, they lost their passion for engineering and decided to become winemakers in 2007. On this special evening, we were enlightened and entertained by Pinto and tasted some fantastic wines with unique names and interesting and beautiful stories. They make all of their wines from new world fruit, strive for elegance and claim all of their wines will easily cellar for 20 years.
We tasted eight wines and were able to purchase from the lineup that are shown in the photos.
2012 PB Wines Chardonnay - 100% Chardonnay with aromatics of pear, white peach and hazelnut. Aged in oak and stainless steel barrels. I enjoy Chardonnays but this was too buttery for me. I was interested in the reds tonight anyway so I didn't put much thought into this one. It is not your typical California Chardonnay. Why should it be? It's from Washington after all. I, however, tend to be a Napa Chardonnay snob. I call it like I see it, what can I say? My friend and dad, who lean towards the white side and are big Chardonnay fans, didn't even care for this one.
2008 QED - (Here's where we start to realize that we're dealing with science guys) Q.E.D. stands for the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum" meaning "which had to be demonstrated". The initials QED are traditionally placed at the end of a math proof or philosophical argument when what was specified has been exactly restated as the conclusion. QED signals the completion of the proof. Or as Pinto explained, QED represents that the "proof is in the bottle" and that he and his brother had proven what they set out to prove!
83% Syrah, 10% Grenache, 5% Mouvedre, 2% ViognierI was surprised to see Vioginier in a red wine and was told just a tiny bit of Vioginer is used to enhance the aromatics. This wine has an aroma of earth, vanilla and blackberries. The taste was smokey and earthy but just too tannic for me. The write up mentioned
"cashmere-textured" tannins. I beg to differ. More like burlap-textured tannins. I needed water after this one. Many enjoyed this wine. To each his own. On to the next one please!
Occam's Razor is the principle that states that among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected. If there are multiple possible explanations for an event or result, the simplest is almost always correct. As Pinto stated, "Given all things are equal, the simplest choice is the right answer."
Simple. Nice. It's almost as if he knew Occam's Razor would be included in a post on my simple pleasures blog. I'm impressed with the story and the names, but not with the wine as of yet. I know it's coming though and I'm being patient.
2010 Principia Reserve Syrah - "Celebrate Excellence"
100% Syrah but sourced from a different vineyard than the Occam's Razor's grapes.
It has nice aromatics of crushed rocks, blackberry, tar, bacon fat, pepper and hints of vanilla and espresso. It has a beautiful soft and silky finish. It was very easy to see that this wine will continue to improve for the next 10-12 years and hold for about 20-25 years.
Now, we're getting somewhere, Pinto! What's next, my friend?
2010 Creative Impulse - 67.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 32.5% Merlot. This wine has fantastic aromatics of cassis, spice, smoke and gravel. It is not as silky as the Principia but has rich layers of tobacco, smoke, earth and bell pepper with dark chocolate on the finish. This wine should reach maturity in 10-12 years and will evolve over 20 plus years. I received this as one of my two IYI quarterly wines and now that I have tasted it, I will definitely let it age. It is already delicious but I am excited about putting it away and forgetting about it for at least 10 years. Maybe this will be my "celebrate 50" wine!
2009 Plus One - 100% Cabernet Sauvignon - A friend who had tried these wines before, and who knows my taste buds pretty well, told me weeks ago that "Plus One" would be my favorite of the night. As much as I (and his mother) hated to admit he was right, boy WAS he RIGHT!! I love everything about Plus One - from the label on the bottle (I'm a big heart girl) to the smell, to the taste, to the story behind the name.
It has a deep ruby color with intense notes of cassis, black cherry, cigar box and graphite. Add those same flavors with roasted coffee beans and lush silky tannins and you have an unbelievable wine. It has a long finish with hints of leather and tobacco. Definitely elegant.
Pinto explained that ever since his daughter was a little girl when he would say, "I love you" she'd say "I love you plus one" back to him. He'd try to outdo her and she'd always add "plus one" even when he countered with "infinity". Now that she's older and it's not "cool" to say "I love you" back she just replies with "plus one". I love a fabulous-tasting wine that has a name backed up with an even better story - especially one of love between a parent and a daughter. When I first arrived that evening, I noticed there were only four bottles of "Plus One" on the tasting table. That alarmed me because even though I hadn't tasted it, I was told it would be my favorite and there were rows of bottles of the others available for purchase. After tasting the "Plus One", it was announced that the bottles of the "Plus One" on the tasting table were the ONLY ones available - period - even back in Walla Walla!!! In what seemed like a split second, I saw the girl sitting at the table in front of me ask Arthur a question very softly and then she got up and grabbed two of the bottles. My friend looked at me and he said, "Go!" and I ran and grabbed the other two bottles - one for him and one for me. Thankfully, I was sitting on the aisle and the only person in front of me was the girl who already grabbed what she wanted. WHAT A RUSH!! I know everyone in that room hated me, even if just for a moment. The early bird gets the worm, right?
Below is my bottle signed by the winemaker. So exciting!
I will, one day, share my "Plus One" with my plus one of that evening. This wine will gracefully evolve over the next 15-20 years but I have a feeling Dad and I are not going to be able to wait that long. We will, however, make sure it is opened for a very special ocassion and savored.
2009 In Order to Form a More Perfect Union - 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc. This wine is Arthur's favorite and the wine that caused his "aha moment" with Rasa Vineyards last year.
There were only two of these available for sale with four left in the warehouse. I am on the list to get one of the four at the warehouse. Deep rich purple, almost black in color with aromatics of cassis, blackberry, cedar, tobacco and earth. Full-bodied silky tannins with layered flavors of blackberry, black plum, lead pencil, exotic spices, earth and gravel. The lengthy finish is resonant of earth, dark chocolate and vanilla notes. This is a wine that I hope to have soon and will definitely cellar for many years to come.
There were only two of these available for sale with four left in the warehouse. I am on the list to get one of the four at the warehouse. Deep rich purple, almost black in color with aromatics of cassis, blackberry, cedar, tobacco and earth. Full-bodied silky tannins with layered flavors of blackberry, black plum, lead pencil, exotic spices, earth and gravel. The lengthy finish is resonant of earth, dark chocolate and vanilla notes. This is a wine that I hope to have soon and will definitely cellar for many years to come.
After the amazing event, we decided to share a bottle of 2012 Force of Nature Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles, California and decadent chocolates.
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