Tom Casagrande

9.3

Dinner party. Very busy cooking. No formal notes. Really nice. Fruit, crushed rock, acids, tannins. Worked incredibly well with pasta with a rich meat sauce. — 20 hours ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Such a relaxed Syrah. Gorgeous nose has fragrant, earthy red berries (raspberry?), Asian spice, crushed stone. A slight new leather note. The palate is soft but bright, dark red berry fruit, loss of savory, almost garrigue-like herbal/earthy notes. Tannins super soft and integrated. Nice length. A really, really good wine. — 6 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

Biodynamic, no sulfites whatsoever and clean as a whistle! Vibrant as all get-out. Very much like a bright Cru Beaujolais in style. Zingy, pure dark berry fruit. A little crushed crock and gravel. Bone dry. Electric acids on the palate and only 13.5%. — 11 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Dinner party. Very busy cooking. No formal notes. Soft, fragrant. Composed. Entering its prime drinking window. — 20 hours ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Bought at the winery in August. Light, but so fragrant and flavorful. Works beautifully with our Pollo alla Romana. Cinnamon-spiced berry juice and crushed rock on the nose. Broadly-flavored. Deep spiced berry juice that turns savory in the clingy finish. Great balance. Such a fun wine. — 5 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Really good Pinot Bianco (Pinot Blanc). I like Pinot Blanc, but in many instances it’s tiring to drink because its fruit can be a little one-dimensional. Not so with this one. The nose has bright, pure orchard fruit, but leavened by a serious mineral vein. On the palate, it’s full bodied and shows a serious stony side. Bone dry, fairly lengthy finish with a nice whisper of a bitterish note. I really like this. — 9 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

Dinner party. Very busy cooking. No formal notes. Full. Athletic. Nice earthy component. — 20 hours ago

Tom Casagrande

8.8

Starting to put together a weeknight pork-cutlet Parmesan dinner and this straightforward, no-pretense, gutsy red will be perfect. Leathery and dry, tilled loamy earth nose goes along with dark berry fruit. A rather rustic mouthfeel doesn’t skimp on savory and earthy notes. Nice acids. My Nonno would have approved. — 3 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Definitely mountain wine. Light but bright color. Fresh nose of cracked stone, tart mountain berry juice, tart cherry, and almond. Intense, sappy, intensely minerally flavors. Light but mouthfilling. A little bitterish edge in the back half of the palate. I opened it in the dead of winter, but, damn, this would be a great summer cookout wine. Very distinctive. — 8 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Nice, well-made, straightforward Brunello. Savory notes of iodine, balsamic, rocky loam, and old furniture compete with sweet, dark cherry on the nose. I like the palate even more, as it seems a little more youthful than the nose. Full and rich, loads of earthy dark cherry fruit. Some chalky, ripe tannins help it cling to the sides of the mouth a bit but don’t intrude. Not the most complex but gives you its moneys worth. — 12 days ago