Tom Casagrande

8.8

I used to drink this regularly in the early aughts. The label’s different now, but the wine remains a great weeknight value. Loads of kirsch-like fruit, crushed stone powder, and a slight note of new leather on the nose. Soft and balanced and flavorful in the mouth. A little bottle age has given this a little elegance. Not complex but just nicely done. — 2 days ago

Tom Casagrande

8.9

This reminds me of how good Valpo’s used to be in the 60s and 70s before ripassos and appassiamento took over. (Possibly a tad riper thanks to global warming, though.) Ripe crunchy berry fruit, a bit of spice, almond extract, and some kind of non-oak wood (even though the back label says oak) in the lively nose. Soft and lively in the mouth, with a nice cleansing bitter note growing on the finish. Medium-light body. No tannin to speak of. Yummy pasta or pizza or salumi wine. Drink now! — 8 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

For me, this is perfectly aged. Still some nice fruit, but loads of clay-like minerality and cedar in the nose. Soft and palate-coating but with nice balance, the tannins are still present but are not obtrusive. Really long, clingy finish. Really fine. — 13 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

This is a great value in a gutsy, balanced fall-weight red. 62% Grenache 38% Syrah. Nose shows rich Grenache raspberry liqueur/kirsch fruit. Terrific balance and concentration of flavor on the palate. Tannins surprisingly soft. The Grenache dominates here, with Syrah animal/mineral notes making an entrance in the second half of the finish. Impressed! This area in SW France is a source for value red. — 17 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

This is the Domaine de Colette Morgon “Charme”. It’s a pretty big wine for a BoJo. Fairly deeply extracted color, nose has deep, ripe, dark berries, a little whiff of wet farmyard soil, just a teensy bit of crushed stone. It’s surprisingly low-toned in the mouth, with earthy dark berries again and lowish acids. Actually a fair amount of grainy tannins too. So this one presents a quandary: how long to wait for the tannins to smooth out but without acids to make that a stress-free wait? I personally would drink these within the next two years. — 4 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Just popped and double-decanted this to go with Ligurian braised rabbit. In my experience, this is a producer where you don’t have to worry much about whether the wine will be ready to drink because their wines tend to be delicious early and also age well in the mid-term. Right away, this shows scents of dried leather, macerated mid-cherry, gravelly earth. And dark spice. Surprisingly structured on the palate, with intense savory flavors complementing dark cherry. Lengthy, intense finish. This will keep for several more years but is really good now. — 12 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

This tastes way younger than a ‘17. Nose has classic St Joe granite scents and bright mountain berry fruit. On the palate it’s super bright, with electric acids allowing it to keep playing with the kool kids despite its age. Medium bodied. Never heard of this producer previously. But will buy if I see again. This was bought off a bistro wine list. — 15 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Popped this about 20 minutes ago. Nose is already revving up. Showing earthy cherry cola scents, and a wee bit of toasted autumn spice (or maybe that latter thing is me sitting in the deck on this nice November evening surrounded by fallen leaves). Deep ripe, earthy fruit hits the palate immediately, and then the tannins take over. I know this is too young but I wanted to get a sense of its starting position. Palate clenches a bit after the first whack of fruit and a little astringent on the finish, but I think a couple of years rest will settle it down. Pretty solid 9.0 at present with potential to go a bit higher in a few years. — 6 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Not sure this is Napa Valley AVA, but I am sure it’s good. 50% Cab, 40% Zin, 10% Syrah. Deep color and deep red and blue fruit on the nose, nice graphite and gravel accents. Deep and soft in the mouth, but with lots of deeply buried tannin structuring things subtly. Clingy, rich finish. Quite a satisfying, um, tipple. — 10 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

This is really nice. Nose shows lots of ripe, perfumey Sauvignon fruit (I see that @Pinotman /// Andreas says guava, and that’s spot on), a bit of melted better and lanolin. In the mouth, it’s concentrated and soft, but the combination of decent acids and a mineral streak makes the balance quite nice. Lengthy finish. Yum.

BTW, something glitchy going on with @Delectable Wine software yet again: it’s taking over 24 hours for my wines to be posted. They’re showing up on my page but not being published. — 14 days ago