Tom Casagrande

8.7

Ripasso, as a category, is tough to pigeonhole. Stylistically they’re all over the map. You don’t typically have a good idea what you’re getting if you’re not familiar with the exact wine. This one is a bruiser. Hugely structured in terms of alcohol and tannin and acid. But not a rich in fruit as some. I love the earthy, winey nose. Some old leather too. But the palate impression is a little much without rich, rustic food for it to cut through. And the finish exhibits a prominent bitter note. Use with rich, assertive, tomatoey meat sauces. — 17 hours ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

From French Basque Country. I’m no cider expert, but I like this. Earthy nose, like the smell of old apple trees I remember smelling in the backyard of a friend of mine in elementary school in like 1970. Lots of complex flavors, so much so it’s hard to place this as apple based. Slight sweetness in the nice finish. — 5 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

I am not sure of the precise blend but this damn sure tastes like it’s got a lot of old vine Grenache in it. (Update: I later sleuthed out that it’s 40% Grenache, 40% Syrah, and 20% Mourvèdre.) Deep kirsch/raspberry fruit in the nose, with a bit of clean slate. Almost Priorat-like in a simpler way. Deep on the palate, with lots of pure, vibrant, ripe red berry fruit, followed by loads of stony minerality. Texturally there’s quite a bit of youthful-feeling tannin, but it’s fairly fine-grained. Alcohol is stated at 13.5, and seems balanced enough that that could actually be true. Acids medium low. This is drinking well now and will continue to do so for the next few years. Nice purity and intensity here. — 10 days ago

Tom Casagrande

8.8

A rather rustic-textured Bojo. Lots of granitic stank on the nose, with nice dark cherry. A certain green vegetal note as well, but not unpleasant. Intense flavors in the mouth, with a dry, slightly coarse, slightly astringent mouthfeel. Loads of minerality. This is a little too coarse for my personal taste on its own, but should work with aggressively flavored food. — 3 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Delicious and drinking beautifully right now. Nose is a beautiful amalgam of dark red fruit and classic Mourvèdre tree bark, along with dry loamy scents. Deep and rich in the mouth, but the balance is impeccable. Loads of very soft tannin cling the flavors to the mouth. Acids are medium low but enough to balance. Very nice. — 5 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

No sediment, so I popped and poured. Explosive nose has super-deep, pure spicy blackberry Zin fruit. Purity of fruit is a hallmark (in my experience) of Ridge’s Dusi Ranch cuvée. There’s also a bit of clove from the American oak, but it’s pretty subtle. Great intensity of flavor in the mouth, with a soft, enveloping texture. It’s big, at 14.8%, but it’s balanced. And keeping things under 15 in Paso is challenging. Terrific wine. Yummo. — 6 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.4

Truncated dinner party notes. Jesus this is complex. Acids are surprising. Rich complex tertiary notes are not. — 12 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Always at least very good, this ‘22 is an excellent rendition. Of the Maconnais AOCs, I gravitate toward Vire-Clesse because I find it has a purity of Chardonnay fruit that I find very attractive. This has it, with the nose showing gorgeous apple fruit with a slight peachy note, along with subtle stony minerality. I get more of a mineral stank from the Pouilly’s and Saint-Veran than from V-C. When it’s fruit I crave, I veer towards Vire. Fairly deeply flavored, there’s nice balance on the mouth, with pretty good, integrated acids for such a hot year, and subtle minerality. Great value. — 4 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

Really nice. Nose has earthy, twiggy dark red fruit, some dark stony minerality, a subtle dark herbal note. In the mouth there is lots of soft tannin from front to back, and dark, sandstone-tinged fruit. Medium acids. The finish is a tad short, but a terrific wine with the intensely-flavored chicken/salami/fennel dish we’re having tonight. — 5 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

This was a relatively inexpensive “mystery” wine from Garagiste and it delivered. Nose is lively, with ripe dark cherry, loads of bright crushed stone, a little sous-bois. Deep and balanced in the mouth, a little angular in its youth, but it should settle down nicely over the next few years. A nice little bitter note makes the finish interesting. Delicious. — 8 days ago