Earlier in 2025 we paid a go to to the Messina Hof vineyard in Central Texas, having fun with a enjoyable harvest meal there with the winemaker and house owners. Not too long ago the operation despatched us three lately launched bottles for extra formal evaluate, together with one underneath the Bonarrigo sub-label (Bonarrigo being the title of the household that runs the place). Let’s dive in.
2022 Messina Hof Cabernet Franc Non-public Reserve Texas Excessive Plains – “Double barreled” in each French and American oak. Initially tight, tannic, and fairly earthy, the wine takes its time to open up, at first constricted and charry with overtones of cherry pits and dried plums, later silky and barely candy, with notes of vanilla and a clearer maraschino high quality. Gently nutty on the end, evoking a touch of pistachio and walnut, the wine’s tannins shortly recede into the background. B+ / $35
2023 Messina Hof GSM Texas Excessive Plains – A Rhone-style mix of fifty% mourvedre, 30% syrah, and 20% grenache, not less than in development, it is a decidedly aggressive wine that bursts with black fruit — significantly macerated cherry and prune — plus ample milk chocolate. A great deal of vanilla proceed to punctuate the sweeter aspect of this wine, which feels far boozier than its 13.5% abv would recommend. A barely saccharine end supplies a zin-like expertise ultimately that may strategy a dessert-level sweetness if given sufficient time to develop. B- / $30
2024 Bonarrigo Heritage Choose Texas Excessive Plains – A mix of 60% trebbiano and 40% pinot grigio, it is a white wine that’s fruity and floral in nearly equal proportions. White flowers meld with notes of lychee and tinned pears, a mild acidity including some tempering to maintain the wine from spinning out of stability. There’s a curious pastoral high quality to the end, showcasing sage and thyme, each restrained however including a vigorous and grassy herbaceousness to the wine that turns into more and more evident because it warms up a bit. The slight spin is fascinating however not distracting, and sufficient to put this consistent with most California pinot grigio wines available on the market. A- / $30
2024 Bonarrigo Heritage Choose Texas Excessive Plains
USD30
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