Tom Casagrande

9.2

Youthfully delicious! Pop ‘n poured. 55% Carignane, 26% Zin, 19% Mataro. 100% really old vines. Zingy nose features all manner of crisp, ripe berries, as well as a whiff of American oak and iodiney minerals. Deep fruit but focused and balanced (really nice acidity) in the mouth. Drinking great now, this will certainly last and possibly improve for the next five years. (Bandol the dog is glad I’m enjoying it but remains skeptical of new world wines.) — 3 hours ago

Tom Casagrande

Corked. Ugh. — 6 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

Chiseled. Minerally, slightly brioche-y nose. Bone dry and laser focused on the palate. — 9 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Back label says Trocken. Terrific wine, terrific value. Classic musky florals and lychee on the nose, but buoyed up by nice stony minerality. Big Gewurz flavors on entry, but quickly turns minerally and zesty. Bone dry! Nice bitter note cleanses in the finish. To accompany turkey meatballs in a coq au vin blanc-type sauce. — 2 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Deep, rich berry nose accented by animal, feral notes. Not necessarily prototypical Zin characteristics. But really nice. On the palate, however, it’s more typical. Earthy, sandstoney blackberry fruit, really nice balance of richness, acids, and tannin. Very long finish. I love the Zins from this vineyard, but I think I heard somewhere this is the last vintage they’re making from here. 😥 — 8 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

64% Syrah, 36% Grenache, 100% yummy. Gorgeously pure nose shows vibrant, oozing red berries, red florals, freshly-cracked stone dust. Deeply flavored but with a zingy energy throughout, with nice salinity in the finish. Great balance. Only 14% alc. The zinginess is fun now but I could see this settling down in couple of years and gaining some complexity. — 10 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

I don’t drink much South African wine. Based on this, maybe I should drink more. This mimics a nicely-aged, high-level Crozes. Very earthy nose has lots of fragrant gravelly sandstoney notes. Underneath there is subtle wild mountain purple berry fruit and a subtle feral/animal hint. In the mouth, it’s rich and low-toned, again with loads of gravelly, dry earthy notes. Lots of soft, cheek-coating tannin initially, the finish tightens up a bit at the end. Nice! — 3 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

- 38% Viognier 32% Grenache Blanc 22% Marsanne 8% Roussanne. Nose has wet hay, marzipan, fresh and fermented pear, wet limestone. Fairly intense but lovely and balanced in the mouth. A bit of unripe pear fruit, grapefruit zest, loads of stony minerality taking over as the finish progresses, with a nice bitter prickle at the end. Very nice acids. I like this a lot. — 4 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

This really leans into the darker aspect of Cab. Dark cassis, loads of dark crushed stone, baker’s chocolate, dark iodiney savory notes. Intense in the mouth, but with surprisingly nice acids for its 14.9 frame. Rich, but bone dry. Still tannic, but it’s soft. — 9 days ago

with Rebecca

Tom Casagrande

9.0

This is nicely done. A bit on the “in your face” side, it’s got loads of rich, plummy Merlot fruit, a fair whack of French oak, and loamy earth notes. Rich, darkly fruity, a bit chocolatey in the mouth. Still a fair amount of soft, side-of-the-mouth-clingy tannin left. More youthful than its 12-year age. 15% alcohol. I prefer a slightly more reserved style, but this is impressive in its own way. — 11 days ago