Rasa Vineyards

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The 2007 Principia spent 23 months in 25% new oak. After release, the 2007 Principia garnered ratings from 93 pts (Tanzer) to a perfect rating (Sealey). We had planned on bottling the 2008 Principia in similar fashion to the 2007 - after 23 months in barrel. But when tasting the wine prior to bottling, we noticed that the wine was getting better. So, we decided to go with the flow. We decided to keep it in barrel as long as it was improving.

After 30 months in barrel, we will bottle the 2008 Principia this March. Having just tasted it, we can definitely say waiting was the right call. The wine needed those extra months to integrate and form a more complete wine. Stephen Tanzer commented that the wine may surpass the 2007 Principia in quality. Agreed. There will be only 120 cases.

Winemaker’s Notes

The 2008 Principia exhibits incredible aromatic and palate complexity combined with great structure and a long silky finish. The bouquet offers meaty wild game notes with blueberry, blackberry, truffle, minerals, and black pepper. The palate’s extraordinary silky texture envelops flavors of grilled meats, blueberry, blackberry, espresso, dark chocolate, spice, minerals, and earth. The complex, silky finish lingers for approximately 2 minutes. The wine outstandingly showcases the unique terroirs of Walla Walla and Washington. The composition is 100% Syrah sourced from the following vineyards: Les Collines Vineyard, Seven Hills Vineyard, Lewis Vineyard, and Portteus Vineyard.

Technical Details

The wine had a pre-fermentation maceration of 102 hours and a post-fermentation maceration of 74 hours. 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% 3-year neutral French oak. The wine achieved its sparkly brilliance from 3 judicious rackings, no fining agents were employed. The wine was very lightly filtered to capture any remaining lees. The alcohol is 14.9%, pH is 3.79, and the titratable acidity is 5.6 g/L.