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. — a day 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! — 2 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. — 6 days 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 — 10 days ago

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. — a day 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. — 4 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. — 9 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Tom had this a day 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. — 4 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! — 7 days ago