Tom Casagrande

9.2

Warm spring evening on the deck, chicken simply roasting in the oven: time for a Sancerre Rouge! To my taste this is at its peak. There’s still quite a bit of sappy cherry Pinot fruit, but loads of interesting soil-based notes are emerging, with wet dirty limestone, and scents like deep forest underbrush after rain. Nice intensity in the mouth, with mouthwatering acids to keep it fresh. Tannins are light and almost silky textured. Lovely. — 3 hours ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

If memory serves—which it sometimes doesn’t—this was an inexpensive Garagiste “mystery” wine. And it’s not bad. Very light color with some ambering of the edges. Nose is Nebbiolo all the way, with macerated wild cherry fruit, lots of old barrel/mahogany scents, a a little gravelly hillside note. In the mouth, it’s a rather lean and austere style, good intensity, but a little angular, and the tannins are a bit scratchy. Needs food, which, luckily, I happen to be eating.

UPDATE: Night 2, after being under a vacuum closure, it’s softened and rounded in the mouth considerably. Upping score from 8.8 first night to 9.0. — 6 days ago

Tom Casagrande

8.9

Had a bottle of this cheap white Graves a year ago and liked it a lot (my notes are listed as being for this chateau’s red because the app misidentified it). Still quite fresh. Love the sweetly grassy Sauvignon nose, with just enough ripe gooseberry and some gravel and lanolin. Soft and fruity in the mouth. Not a lot of acid, but more than enough to keep it fresh. Textbook. And a great value. — 12 days ago

Tom Casagrande

8.7

This is not the Classico Superiore. It’s the plain ol’ Classico.

And it’s exactly what you want in a cheap, basic Valpo Classico: bright, hard cherry candy fruit, and a nice note of bitter almond extract on the nose. Bright and crisp in the mouth. Cleansing. This is not for you if you’re looking for depth, concentration, and complexity, but with ground beef tacos? Perfection. Cheap perfection. — 17 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.4

2016. Just popped and double-decanted. Within minutes it’s singing. Such a classic Brunello nose of deep, dark brandy-macerated cherry fruit, iron, tilled dry earth, warm terra cotta tiles, some tertiary old library furniture notes. Deep and balanced in the mouth, it’s large-framed but has the fruit and enough acid to carry it. Tannins still there but starting to fade into the background. Fairly long finish. A Wednesday night treat! — a day ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Just decanted 15 minutes ago to separate the sediment, the color looks like it’s starting to mature. Nose is a quarry-full of cracked stone and some whole black peppercorn. A little dry garrigue note. Savory in the mouth. It’s got nice acidity and still some tannin to shed. If you really concentrate, there’s a little dark mountain berry fruit, but this is really all about everything BUT fruit.

UPDATE: Night 2, after 24 hours under vacuum closure, the palate is a little broader and shows a bit more fruit. Upping score from 8.9 to 9.0z — 4 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

My friend @Dave had this recently and said it was drinking well so I pulled one of my bottles. I struggle to find food that good Bordeaux shines with. Maybe our cooking wheelhouse doesn’t click with it. In any event, AFTER dinner this wine seemed really good. Nose is developing some nice complexity, with dark cassis, roasted Persian spices, cedar, moist gray clay, a bit of sweet wafty smoke. Rich and softening nicely in the mouth, with cigar box and cassis/plummy flavors, and some flinty minerality in the finish. I almost always like wine with food better than just wine, but not this. This is really fine to sip and contemplate. Great value. — 10 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

2022. Lots of character here. Looking at my notes from my last bottle over a year ago, this seems like a very different wine. It’s got a very “nattie” nose and palate. The nose has loads of tangy deep red fruit with a noticeable (but not unpleasant) barnyard streak. The palate is tangy and deep, and has a little of that nattie prickle on the tongue. I like it a lot but hard to believe this is the same wine I had in early ‘25. — 3 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

I’d almost forgotten I had this lying in a forgotten corner of the cellar. It’s a blend of 35% Semillon 28% Roussanne, 16% Chardonnay 15% Chenin Blanc 6% Clairette. It’s delicious and has lots of character. Deep greenish gold color is striking. I love the nose: lanolin, pear, candle wax, a wee bit of honey, crushed rock. Deeply flavored. It’s got the weighty texture of the Semillon and Roussanne components in the fore. Lovely fruit up front transitions into a minerally finish with a nice bitterish note. Pretty decent acids. Love it! — 7 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

This is just so bright and zingy and friendly. Juicy crisp cherries on the nose with a wee bit of crushed stone. Fresh and fruity and zesty in the mouth. A little chalky tannin and a nice slight bitter note in the finish. How they got this sort of freshness in such a hot year is beyond me. Just a great weeknight dinner wine with just about anything. — 14 days ago