Elizabeth Bourcier poured her wine for me with delight as I was immediately drawn in to the intoxicating aromatics of her wine. ‘Wow!’ Thinking to myself, I was immediately overcome with the intense range of this wine. It was truly something special in the glass. Cayuse assistant vigneronne, Elizabeth Bourcier, has made this wine now for several years and it has reached its cult status in Washington wine stardom.
I have yet to find another producer making a wine like ‘La Rata’ in North America. Originally inspired by the insanely good Clos Erasmus wines of the Priorat region, Elizabeth saw a great potential to blend both Grenache and Cabernet together, since they wines tend to ripen at the same time. Elizabeth chose to use Grenache from Armada Vineyard and Cabernet from En Cerise Vineyard. Now she has added a touch of Syrah to the equation. The wine was named “The Rat.” And then Spanglish-cized: ‘La Rata’. The name ‘La Rata’ also connects with Elizabeth, as her zodiac sign is the rat.
The new 2015 ‘La Rata’ Red Wine (WWB, 95) is a bit deeper than other bottling with the addition of the Syrah. It shows captivating poise, texture and range. It is so good you will have to try it for yourself. The 2015 ‘La Rata’ will be offered by Full Pull Wines and is very challenging to find in the retail market even on winebid.com. Learn more at http://laratawines.com/wines.html Here is my review of the scintillating 2015 La Rata Red Wine by Elizabeth Bourcier of Cayuse Vineyards.
2015 La Rata Red Wine- The 2015 ‘La Rata’ Red Wine is a blend of 54% Grenache with 26%Cabernet and 10% Syrah. Inspired by the top wines of Priorat, Elizabeth Bourcier decided to make a small tank of co-fermented Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon. The name was called ‘La Rata’ based on Spanglish and the resulting red blend ended up a remarkable success. This year displays a slightly darker color than previous vintages, likely due to the addition of the Syrah. The nose takes on some stunning aromatics with horse manure, red cherry candy, guava puree, teaberry, black truffle oil and Umami. Seriously perfumed, the intoxicating bouquet brings you back to the glass for more. The texture to this wine entices and beautifully coats the mouth. The savory and saline quality to this wine is quite striking, showing charcuterie with red cherry puree, cran-guava, white truffle, and Umami flavors. A downright stunner, this gorgeous wine will cellar well over the next decade but is impossible to resist right now. Drink 2018-2028- 95