Tom Casagrande

9.3

This is really nice. According to the winery website, they do an early harvest of grapes that ripen before the main bunches, and dry those until the regular harvest a couple of weeks later. It’s grown in the eastern part of the Valtellina valley, where it turns northeast toward Switzerland near Tirano. The nose jumps out of the glass with bright chokecherry, rose petals, and crushed stone. Intense and bright flavors in the mouth. Expands on the palate with earthy cherries. Great acids and a fair level of fine grained tannins. Lengthy and with god flavor persistence. This is top shelf Valtellina. — 6 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Day 3 notes this time (after closure under a vacuum seal). This is arguably better than it was on night 1. Made from a certain percentage of partially dried grapes, as I understand it. The dried cherry notes sing through. Also Alpine dried twigs and flowers. Elegant and persistent in the mouth. Excellent acids. Since the Patriots aren’t doing well, I’ve turned off the Super Bowl and have put on what I think may be my favorite piece of music: Shostakovich’s Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87, for piano. Listening to Sofia Sacco’s 2025 recording. Wonderful, but I’m not sure it hits me quite like Keith Jarrett’s 1992 rendition, which transports me somewhere else. — 7 months ago