2009 Pasqua Valpolicella Ripasso

So I was down in Atlanta for a few days for a conference and I made many new friends and overall it was a lovely time.  But since I came a day early for a special session, I was on my own the first night, so not surprisingly with a Trader Joe's nearby I stopped on the way back from dinner and picked up a bottle of wine to enjoy in my room (the hotel's selections were pretty bland).  So I picked up a bottle of 2009 Pasqua Valpolicalla Ripasso to enjoy (what better complement for my earlier Amarone selection?)

First a note to Trader Joe's - I've been a huge fan of yours since the early days when I shopped at the store in Beaverton, Ore. not far from my house in 1999, and followed you to Issaquah, Washington, then Chicago, and now various locations in Detroit/Ann Arbor, so no one can accuse me of being a fair weather fan.  But on this instance at your store in Buckhead, I bought the aforementioned bottle of wine, which had a price tag on the shelf of only $8.99, but unfortunately when the cashier scanned it, it rang up at $9.99.  Now I'm more than happy to contribute an extra dollar to your efforts if you ask, but I get a little peeved when prices don't agree (after all, in Michigan, we have a law that would have required you to start handing me cash if that happened here).  But what gets me more peeved is when one of your associates tells me that the price on the register is right and the shelf tag is wrong, like I have mobile access to your pricing mainframe or have psychic powers that enable me to pick which items in your store I'm about to be overcharged for - here's a hint, I have neither of those, but as a customer when you put a price on the shelf, that's the price - PERIOD.  Don't try to give me a song and dance because you can't update your shelf tags in a timely manner.  I've never had this sort of experience at any of your stores, and I can only hope this was an isolated incident.  Now back to the wine.

The Valpolicella Ripasso, is made from the same grapes as Amarone, which are partially dried to make the wonderfully concentrated flavors of Amarone, but in the end there is usually something left over, so on the second pressing (ripasso!) they make another wine which is somewhat of a baby Amarone which usually is available for less than half the price of an Amarone.  I drank this one over a couple days, and I'll admit it was a bit young, so it probably wasn't as expressive as it could have been.  It was relatively light, with a bright magenta color and a nose of cherries, currants, herbs and a somewhat floral note.  The wine was very fruit forward, as could be expected for such a young wine, with taste of grape jam and a bit of lavender mid palate, and unfortunately the finish was pretty flat.

Overall I would rate this one a solid 7, it was good for what it was, and a nice value at $9, but I think there are a number of better examples out there for not a lot more cash.