2018 Booker The Ripper 22
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Tasting notes
The 2018 Ripper 22 Grenache is matured for 22-24 months (the Ripper is matured for 16). Medium ruby-purple, it's scented of fresh red berries, tangerine, licorice and floral perfume with botanical touches. The medium-bodied palate is bright, spicy and grainy with a lifted finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
Opaque ruby. Expansive, mineral-accented boysenberry, cherry liqueur, licorice pastille and floral oil aromas display fine delineation and become spicier with air. Alluringly sweet, concentrated dark fruit, spice-cake and candied lavender flavors show a surprisingly light touch for their weight and power. Broad, slowly mounting tannins frame an incisive, floral-dominated finish that hangs on with superb tenacity.
Moving to the 2018 Ripper, this 100% Grenache reminds me of the Vieilles Vignes cuvée from Domaine de Marcoux in Châteauneuf du Pape with its exuberant bouquet of kirsch and black raspberry fruits as well as notes of flowery incense and spice. Almost opaque, this ruby-hued 2018 is full-bodied, has a polished, elegant textured, silky tannins, and a great finish. This classic, rich, yet flawlessly balanced Grenache is going to knock your socks off over the coming 8-10 years.
The 2018 The Ripper is a barrel sample of 100% Grenache aging in 40% new French oak puncheons. Medium to deep ruby, it has a youthful nose of rhubarb and red berry jams—raspberries, strawberries, cranberries—with oodles of violet and lilac perfume and notes of amaro and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, it's lushly fruited in the mouth with a very pretty floral backbone, a grainy frame and mind-bending freshness, finishing long and flavorful. About 750 cases will be made.