WT3Nights: Brahms, Bach, Beethoven, Navarane?

Rasa The Composer Riesling, 2013, Columbia Valley, WA. Sagemoor vineyard.

Beautiful yellow gold fading to straw. Aromas are white fruit forward: lime, apple, peach, pear, honeysuckle. Hints of apricot and ginger. Defined minerals: granite, stone, wet stone. On the palate, minerals intensify, honey joins the honeysuckle. No diesel/petrol noted.Smooth, satin-like. Finish just to mid-palate, defined. Tasted over 3 days with minimal fading. Balanced, multiple aromas/flavors add to complexity. At $37 with tax & shipping, QPR well below average. A splurge, but at least we enjoyed a very good wine for the money.

Bought a full case of Rasa a few years ago when CT had a barrel project honoring one member who passed away in his 60s. Too soon. In addition to the reds on offer as part of the CT project, I chose a half-case of other Rasa varietals to get a sense of their overall approach. I'm glad that I did. Most were reds, this is the lone white.

Doubt I'll order from them again due to pricing, but let's just say it seems worth it for the experience.

Cheers!

[Jenise]

So you finally got around to this one!

Want to ask you about something. Re QPR, you take a different approach than I do. Acquisition costs: sales tax, shipping and buyers' premiums if an auction purchase, etc, are IMO irrelevant. They're personal to you, and would be significant for you when considering a repurchase, but I think it dilutes a meaningful two-way conversation about QPR to include the situational costs.

That said: at $30ish bare cost, this wine is priced comparably to other American reislings from top producers, and from everything I've read the Rasa's among WA's best. But the best QPR still comes from Germany.

[David M. Bueker]

If $37 is below average, what wine sets the average, at what cost?

Was the wine, dry, off dry or sweet? Hard to know what to compare it to for QPR sake.

Honestly curious, as I like to explore Riesling, no matter where it's made.

https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/sugar-in-wine-chart/

Thanks for the feedback and questions. Here we go.

Re: dry vs. off dry. Researched and found that the RS of Rasa Composer = 10.4g/L. My impression of dry to just slightly off dry was consistent with the above info. YMMV.

Re: QPR. First and foremost, will eliminate any discussion of QPR, $ from future TNs. If someone has a ? they can PM or post.

On QPR. IMHO it's very subjective, very personal and clearly where my frugal soul shows. I'll continue to track it in my own way. Here are a few factors that enter in. Past 2 years of data. Excludes Rasa.

Average cost, all Rieslings: $16.9
For International $21.6 (Alsace, Nahe, Pfalz, Frankland River Australia)
For Domestic (CA, CO) $14.1

With the help of CT, I do some score comparisons. Again, subjectivity enters in. Again, above costs include taxes & shipping. That's my cost. All in.

Reliable International Producers Trimbach, Schafer Frohlich, Von Buhl. All would be entry-level.
Reliable Domestic Producers Navarro Mendocino, Two Rivers Mesa County CO. Navarro is one winery that is so consistently good that it's hard to turn down the January deals. But we have for the past few years declined to make room for CV19 purchases.

Looked up base cost of Rasa Composer. $30. Of course, taxes and shipping would vary. In CA, we obviously pay < than a customer who lives in CT. And > than a customer who lives in WA.

Interesting exercise. Hope that helps.

Re: QPR. First and foremost, will eliminate any discussion of QPR, $ from future TNs. If someone has a ? they can PM or post.

On QPR. IMHO it's very subjective, very personal and clearly where my frugal soul shows..

Obviously you can do what you want, but I wouldn't stop all discussion of QPR. It's one of the main aspects of all TNs! What was the wine like, did you enjoy it, and was it worth the cost. All of that is subjective.

Not sure why people responded to your earlier comments. Perhaps the disjuncture between you writing "At $37 with tax & shipping, QPR well below average..." and "...we enjoyed a very good wine for the money."

[Jenise]

Perhaps the disjuncture between you writing "At $37 with tax & shipping, QPR well below average..." and "...we enjoyed a very good wine for the money."

I think you nailed it. I too like discussing QPR, I'd just suggest to Pat that shipping and tax be left out of the equation.

I think I get it the feedback. Not sure how best to word what I meant. On one hand, the cost was high based on my experience. OTOH, I was at least OK with the fact that the wine wasn't a disappointment; and, we need to experience higher-cost wines occasionally for our education.

I've had high-cost wines that were meh to me. For example, Patricia Green made a Berserkers Cuvee' PN that I bought for about $24/bottle. Within a year, I was offered the PG Marine Sedimentary, which was listed at $42, but I got for about $28/bottle. Given the supposed upgrade and a supposed deal for that upgrade, I rather expected to note a difference between the Berserkers and the Marine Sed. And I just didn't. Caveat emptor.

I could cite a few others in which we paid $50+ for a bottle, and it just tasted like a $20 bottle to both of us. Not fun, but part of the learning.

[David M. Bueker]

You’re probably better off. Saves you money.

I just opened a $100+ Pinot Noir, and it’s so good that the wine feels like a bargain. I wish I did not like it so much.

[Jenise]

I think I get the feedback. Not sure how best to word what I meant. On one hand, the cost was high based on my experience. OTOH, I was at least OK with the fact that the wine wasn't a disappointment; and, we need to experience higher-cost wines occasionally for our education.

I've had high-cost wines that were meh to me.

Yeah, we all have. I guess the difference is when and how we cite QPR. Most I think don't use it relative to their own cellar but more objectively relative to the marketplace in general where a wine's appeal or lack of would be fairly universal. A typical statement:
"this wine offers great QPR (wherein QPR would be loosely based on MSRP." Anyway, please understand we're just trying to help.