2009 Rasa Vineyards QED Proprietary Red Wine Columbia Valley 750 ml

From Two Masters of Wine to Your Cellar

Rasa’s Billo Naravane is one of only five winemakers in the entire United States to earn Master of Wine credentials. His deeply rich, dark-fruited 2009 comes to Wine Access clients by way of another MW, our very own Matt Deller, who hand-selected the QED Proprietary Red Blend out of a lineup of 50 wines just last week. Awarded 94 points by the International Wine Report’s Owen Bargreen, who called it “delicious and layered,” as well as 92 points by Antonio Galloni’s Vinous — “juicy, spicy, and supple, with enticing floral lift” — the 2009 QED has been resting peacefully in the Rasa cellars in Walla Walla for the last eight years. It’s time has now come. At the winery, this library release will set you back $50. On Wine Access, just $35. Of the 600 cases produced, some were held back and aged to perfection. Only a few of you will be fast enough to have them delivered to your door in perfect provenance with a stamp of approval from two Masters of Wine and a couple of the world’s toughest critics.

A juicy, Syrah-dominant blend, accented by Grenache, Mourvedre, and Viognier, the 2009 QED was grown in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley. Growing seasons here stretch on and on like an endless summer, allowing grapes ample time to ripen. Average rainfall is minimal and soils are well-drained, which results in highly concentrated, intensely flavored wines. The 2009 QED is no exception.

Founded in 2007, Rasa Vineyards is the brainchild of brothers Billo and Pinto Naravane. The transition to wine for Billo came after obtaining degrees from MIT and Stanford and working for years at leading technology firms. In fact, both brothers were knee-deep in computer science, but after almost two decades they had simply had enough. Billo’s brilliance uploaded instantly to winemaking, and after only a year in the enology program at UC Davis, he founded Rasa with his brother. The 2009 QED is one of the early vintages made at Rasa and it has more than withstood the test of time. It is voluptuous, refined, and drinking better than ever.