2014 La Rata Wines La Rata Walla Walla Valley
Very grenache-driven, though I know syrah and maybe tempranillo are also in the mix. Showed best in a burgundy bowl. Pretty aromatic nose, pomegranate and cactus pear on the palate with a touch of parsley. Medium weight, almost feminine. Decanted two hours and drunk over two more, and white pepper started showing up only near the end. Ditto some funk but not much funk (and I like funk, so it would have been welcome), and from reading notes there seems to be some bottle variation as others clearly experienced more than we did. A great wine, could easily pass for European.
This is a Cayuse wine made by Christophe's assistant winemaker. Her intention was to make a Priorat style wine, and before they had a name or a plan for it they wrote 'The Rat' on her barrels and referred to it that way in conversation. How appropriate, then, to just translate that into Spanish.
