Tom Casagrande

9.0

My first ‘24 Bojo. Lots of granite and dark black cherry in the nose. Classic. The palate is very mineral and fresh. Crisp acids. Very nice! — a day ago

with Angelo

Tom Casagrande

9.4

Post dinner party notes. Third bottle I’ve had of this and by far the best yet. Amazing. Such a complex nose, with roasted herbal notes, dark spicy fruit, earthy mineral iodine notes Tannins just about completely resolved. Length and depth for days. Wow. — 4 days ago

Tom Casagrande

8.8

It’s raining out, so no late dinner on the deck. Instead, a little baseball. This wine’s not aging particularly gracefully. The nose has lots of tertiary notes, with fall leaves, some old mahogany furniture scents, camphor and scorched earth. To me, a scorched earth scent frequently signals that I’m going to find some astringency in the wine, and that’s the case here. It’s big and mouthfilling, and has vigorous acids, and the tannins are still a bit scratchy. I’d like to see more depth in the mid-palate and finish to coat the tannins. Very savory flavors on the finish. Should be fine with a rich risotto al Barolo, but it’s a bit taxing on its own. I dont think age will help due to the lack of mid-palate depth. — 7 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Thanks to my brother for supplying my first Comando G wine. Till now, I’d only read about them. As a Garnachista, I’ve always wanted to drink one (actually many). This strikes a wonderful balance between the ripeness and friendliness of Grenache fruit and avoidance of any heaviness. In a word, balance. The palate is rich, but balanced and savory. Not super complex but so delicious. — a day ago

with Angelo

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Tom had this 4 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

These are night 2 notes after overnighting under a vacuum closure. Intense nose features scads of ripe apple fruit, with a hint of white peach. There’s the classic pungent wet limestone scents I expect from the Maconnais, and a little meadow wildflower. Palate provides a big up-front whack of crisp, ripe fruit, but the acids are very nice for such a hot year. Is it complex? No. But it’s a classically satisfying snootful of interesting Chardonnay. — 7 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

This is delicious. Lots of sunny, dark berry fruit, dark roasted-herb-inflected Southern Rhone earthiness. Soft texture in the mouth, full body. Friendly but not flabby. Great value. — 2 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Post dinner party notes. This was really good but paled side by side with the 2015 Mondavi Oakville, which surprised me. Reserved but deep. Soft and mouthcoating. — 4 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Another great value Walla Walla Syrah from these guys. Complex nose has moist cigar box (and some cigar smoke), campfire ash, dark but very pure berry fruit, a salty mineral note. Rich in the mouth but with nice acids and a significant saline streak that really brightens and lifts. There are some subtle telltale Walla Walla dark vegetal notes that add nice savory complexity. Tannins totally absorbed in the rich flavors and mouthfeel. Impressive! — 5 days ago

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. — 9 days ago