Wine biz in NYC in 80s. Sucked at sales. Since 1990, a lawyer. But still love wine!
Drinking really nicely right now. Booming nose of cassis, graphite, and clove. In the mouth, it’s very soft and clingy, with dark cassis fruit and low-toned savory flavors. — 9 days ago
Just a ridiculously good value. I really dig this co-op. Saturated in color, with air the nose reveals rich, oozing dark berries, smoky campfire ashes, savory cured beef, crushed stone. In the mouth, it’s intensely flavored but well balanced. savory, clingy, minerally (in the bloody sense), but with a nicely voluptuous mouthfeel, tannins abundant but very soft. Love it. — 11 days ago
Fruity and a bit denser and fuller than a Kabinett. Seems closer to a Feinherb style. Nice by the glass! — 15 days ago
From 119-yr. old vines. Color is not especially deep. Nose is beautiful, showing dark blackberry fruit, some vanilla and toast from French oak, a subtle maple syrup note, and loads of dry, rocky gravel. Though young, it’s approachable now, with intense but measured fruit, and fairly youthful but restrained tannins. Really nice length. Zero jamminess. A little bitter component in the finish that should recede with a couple more years of bottle age. — 3 days ago
Nose is appropriately pungent, with musky florals, a little lychee, and a surprisingly fragrant mist of slightly bitterish minerals. Dry in the mouth, it’s a bit leaner than the nose suggests. Loads of stony minerals and good acids in the somewhat bitter but refreshing finish. Thanks to my brother for this. — 12 days ago
Great aperitif light dinner wine on a hot night. Nose shows gorgeously pure orchard fruit, a little wet straw, and a bit of crushed stone. Great balance and brightness on the palate, with very nice acids and spritely minerality zooming the fruit along. It’s Pinot Blanc, so don’t expect great depth or complexity, but it sure is fun to drink. Fantastic value. — 19 days ago
Superb Alsace Pinot Gris. Brassy color, nose has honeyed butter, rich orchard fruit ooze, meadow flowers, river stones. Drier than most Pinot Gris these days, it’s got full body and noticeable acids, possibly even a teensy bit of VA, though it doesn’t detract. Intensely mineral on the palate. Very characterful. — 3 days ago
I haven’t had a Napa Chardonnay in quite a while. This is very nice. Very fragrant, with ripe orchard fruit, a nice florals, very light touch of barrel aging toast, and an interesting wet clay minerality. Denser in the mouth than the nose led me to expect. Low-toned cracked dark stones, with the fruit taking a back seat. Quite full bodied, but there is nice, subtle acidity to lift it just enough. Seem to me the closest French analogy is a well-made Pouilly-Fuisse. Got this for under $25 at Costco. — 5 days ago
Well, apparently Delectable ate my original notes on this. As I recall from 2 days ago, it was intensely minerally, quite lively, very dry, with fruit in the background rather than at the fore. — 14 days ago
Tom Casagrande
Popped and poured. Nose initially shows ripe apple and orchard fruit, a classic brothiness, a waxy, almost Semillon-like note, brittle dried sea shells. Intense in the mouth, with big but crisp fruit on entry, diving way to low-toned, deeply mineral flavors that are so intense they’re a tad bitter in the back half of the palate. Nice acidity for such a large-framed Chablis. Finish is quite long. Showing almost no oak influence. — 2 hours ago