2017 Grenache The Ripper
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Tasting notes
Deep red. A highly perfumed bouquet displays scents of ripe red fruits, incense, candied flowers and smoky minerals, and a white pepper nuance builds as the wine opens up. Juicy, alluringly sweet raspberry, spicecake and floral pastille flavors become fleshier and deeper with air while maintaining energy. Seamless, focused and graceful for its heft, finishing with resonating red fruit character, strong persistence and harmonious tannins that come up slowly.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Ripper 22 is 100% Grenache and has a pale to medium ruby color and a nose of roasted cranberries, woodsmoke, dried red currants and dried cherries with nuances of burnt orange, dried leaves, underbrush and herbs with a touch of charcuterie. Light to medium-bodied, silky and with savory/earthy fruits, it has a firm, pleasantly chalky frame, a tad more melting than its counterpart, with a long, layered finish.
The 2017 Ripper 22 is a dead ringer for a top vintage of Domaine du Marcoux Châteauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes, and while I don't always find a noticeable difference in the extended aged releases, I think this is a tiny step up in 2017. Brilliant notes of kirsch liqueur, blackberries, herbes de Provence, licorice, and loamy soil all emerge from the glass, and it's full-bodied, with a wonderful, voluptuous yet weightless texture, fine tannins, and a great, great finish. It's another brilliant wine that will cruise in cool cellars over the coming decade or more.