Quietly poised, like a lion ready to pounce on prey, Elizabeth pronounces “Umami, potpourri, orange zest” as we all taste through the wine. I’ve written my own conclusions on my computer and I think to myself ‘yeah, she is dead on.’ Elizabeth Bourcier is clearly blessed with an exquisite palate. She is astute, humble and full of amazing insight into not only her wine, the elusive and nearly impossible to find La Rata, but the entire lineup of Cayuse wines. As I’ve previous stated, the La Rata remains one of the great cult wines produced in Washington. There is nobody making a wine quite like this in North America.
Elizabeth was initially inspired by the insanely good Clos Erasmus wines of the Priorat region, and made the bold decision blend both Grenache and Cabernet together, since they wines tend to ripen at the similar times. 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 2016 La Rata Red Wine (WWB, 96) is the best La Rata Red Wine bottling that I have ever sampled. It reminds me of the 2012, as it is remarkably poised but carries out a bit more richness than that bottling. This scintillating bottling is not to be missed by all serious collectors of Washington/Oregon wines. The 2016 ‘La Rata’ will soon 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 2016 La Rata Red Wine by Elizabeth Bourcier of Cayuse Vineyards.
2016 La Rata Red Wine- The 2016 La Rata Red Wine is a one of a kind, simply sumptuous new wine by superstar vigneronne Elizabeth Bourcier. The final blend she chose was 59% Grenache with 31% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah. The wine was largely aged in third use demi-muids as well as some stainless steel prior to bottling. The nose is downright intoxicating as the wine shows off red cherry preserves, underbrush, Umami, blood orange zest and shades of wet stone that all shine brightly on the bouquet. The freshness and tension that run through the core of wine is truly outstanding. Bright guava puree and high toned Mandarin orange peel flavors collide with minerals, wet stone, seaweed and green olive tapenade. This finishes exceedingly long with cran-cherry and blood orange zest. A resounding success, this true heavyhitter of a wine will drink marvelously in its youth and will provide drinking enjoyment for a decade or more. Drink 2019-2029- 96