Tom Casagrande

9.3

The ‘21 iteration of this wine is very, very good. Deep dark cherry, veering a little into a whiff of framboise, iodine-tinged minerals. Deep and vigorous in the mouth. Lots of everything, fruit, mineral, acids, tannins. Basically stuffed. Thing is great now and will age for several years, kind of amazingly for a basic annata. — a day ago

with Rebecca

Tom Casagrande

8.9

Color is more youthful than one would expect from a wine of 14 years. Earthy and mushroomy on the nose. More youthful and still quite a bit of fruit in the mouth. Nice acids. Tannins quite soft. — 8 days ago

with Angelo

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Loads of petrol, liquid mineral, and apple skin fruit on the nose. Still quite fresh (fresher than a bottle I had several years ago, as I recall). Rich, with tons of dry extract, in the mouth. Deeply mineral, dense, slightly bitter-edged apple fruit. Almost overwhelming. But in a good way. Great wine. — 8 days ago

with Angelo

Tom Casagrande

9.2

The nose on this reminds me of a specific wine I had (and sold) long ago. A 1983 Gewurz but damn I can’t remember the producer. (It will come to me.) So richly pungent with lychee and deep florals. Very full and, for a Gewurz, dry in the mouth. Nice acids too. Very impressed. — a day ago

with Rebecca

Tom Casagrande

9.1

I don’t usually drink Zin from Lodi but for a Sandlands wine from the 100+ yr old Kirschenmann vineyard, I’ll make an exception. Full but not jammy, gulpable and balanced. Earthy dark red berry fruit, soft texture, more-than-decent acids. Really nice. — 3 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

60% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache, 10% Syrah. Soft, resolved, complex. Deep, smoky nose shows dark red fruit. Rich and low-toned in the mouth. Tannins resolving. Long. — 8 days ago

with Angelo

Tom Casagrande

8.6

Another one of my under $10 cooking wines for tonight. Raspberries and kirsch all over the nose. The deep, simple, but nice fruit carries forward on the palate. Nice balance. Solid value in a cheapo cookout or big party wine. Great value at $7.49 — a day ago

Tom Casagrande

8.7

I needed two bottles of red to cook with tonight so I thought I’d try a couple of under $10 wines that are widely available. This VDF has tons of ripe, pure berries on the nose. A teensy bit of earthiness. Fruity, straightforward, and balanced. A nice ever-so-slight bitterish note on the finish keeps it from being too simple. Great burger cookout wine. — a day ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

This has softened considerably since my last bottle several years ago. Nose is complex, with earth, cedar, cigar box, and an incense-like note. In the mouth, it’s rich but medium-bodied. The tannins that were so prominent a few years ago have significantly resolved. Entering (finally) its drinking window. — 8 days ago

with Angelo

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Drinking gorgeously right now. Nose still showing ripe dark red berry/cherry, with secondary notes of leather and mahogany furniture developing. also some warm gravel. Remarkable balance in the mouth. Fruit and acids, tannins resolving to a point of velvety softness. — 9 days ago

with Rebecca and Angelo