Last year, I got the Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar around Thanksgiving, hoping to taste all the wines before December 25. But wouldn’t you know it? The busy-ness (and booziness) of the holiday season intervened, and I fell too far behind. I forgot I had a wine fridge full of half-bottles. I ended up drinking most of those suckers in movie theaters and parks between New Year’s and Spring Break.
With this year’s box, I will make no such blunder. I’m starting early! To have any prayer of getting through all of the 2025 wines by Christmas Eve, we’re opening Bottle #1 today, September 4.
I’m doing this for my studies. And also because…dang, a whole bunch of you Costco wine fans have been stumbling upon my blog this past week. (Welcome!)
These are quickie reviews, so I’m dispensing with the usual ten-point scale. Instead, I’ll give a brief tasting note, a letter grade, and some vital stats about the wine.
So we here go. Wine #1, L’Artiste Ripasso, is a blend of five Italian varieties: Nero di Troia (30%), Sangiovese (30%), Primitivo (20%), Negroamaro (10%), and Montepulciano (10%). The grapes are sourced from Puglia, in southern Italy.
For those who are unfamiliar with the term, ripasso (“passed again”) is an Italian technique of re-fermenting a red base wine with leftover grape skins and solids. The result is a fuller, more flavorful, and higher-alcohol wine then the one the winemaker started with. Valpolicella Ripasso (from the Valpolicella region of northeastern Italy) is the most famous example–but ripasso-style wines can technically be made anywhere.
The Label
From the producer: “This Italian Ripasso reveals an inviting nose of cherry, blueberry, chocolate, and ripe dark fruits. On the palate it is juicy and silky with seamlessly integrated oak nuances. The wine offers excellent balance and complexity, culminating in a long, fruity finish.”
Tasting (and Pairing) L’Artiste Ripasso
Medium ruby in color with some flaky sediments at the bottom of the glass. Aromas of sour cherry, vanilla, charred wood. It’s off-dry with weak acidity. Flavors of cooked/stewed fruit (black plum, cherry pie filling, blueberry jam) and grape candy. Medium-plus smooth tannins and a chocolate-y aftertaste. It’s “only” 13.9% ABV, but it has a sharp, volatile, and bitter bite and an ethanol burn on the front and back end.
I had higher hopes for the first bottle from the Costco wine calendar, which is usually stocked with some half-decent table wines. But this one is unfortunately a miss.
The residual sugar and overripe fruit in this wine nudged me toward cooking up a sweet and salty dish. Bulgogi udon with celery and mushrooms was a good call–the ginger marinade and crushed red pepper lending some verve to an overall flat-tasting wine.
Wine: L’Artiste Ripasso (2024) – Italy
Costco Wine Advent-ure Calendar Number: 1
Grade: C-
Finish the bottle? Nope.
We’re tasting the whole box! Check out more Costco Wine Advent-ure reviews here.
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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