We just sent out a mailer offering the following 3 wines on pre-release: the 2008 QED, 2008 Principia Reserve Syrah, and the 2008 Creative Impulse.

You must be on our mailing list to order. If you’re interested, please visit http://rasavineyards.com/mailinglist to sign up. Here is the text of the mailer:

By the harvest of 2008, our 2007 QED and Principia had been in barrel for 12 months. We knew the quality was high but we also knew we had to push ourselves to make better wines. “Defy the narrative” became our mantra.

There is a common narrative where someone excels in his rookie year only to falter as a sophomore, leaving people to wonder if the rookie year was an aberration. If lucky, the person manages to eke out a respectable, though less than spectacular, career. The narrative is so common in sports that sportswriters can basically keep the same story year-in and year-out, substituting only the latest names.

We knew our 2008s had to be stellar. As a new high-end winery trying to establish itself in the worst economy in the last twenty years, we simply cannot afford to be a casualty of this prescribed narrative.

We are proud to offer on pre-release the 2008 QED, 2008 Principia Reserve Syrah, and the 2008 Creative Impulse.

The 2008 QED was bottled last year and has already received some great reviews (including the #12 spot on Seattle Met 100 Best WA Wines 2010).

Tasting out of barrel, Stephen Tanzer commented that the 2008 Principia Reserve Syrah may surpass the 2007 Principia in quality. Agreed. With only 120 cases produced, there isn’t much to go around.

The 2008 Creative Impulse DuBrul Vineyard is our first Bordeaux blend and it just may be our best wine to date. After tasting a barrel sample, Jay Miller has given it a rating of 93-96 pts. There will be only 150 cases.

For Winemaker notes, technical info, and reviews, please visit http://www.rasavineyards.com/ourwines .

To order, please visit http://shop.rasavineyards.com.

Defy the narrative. Our mantra served us well.