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. — a day ago

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. — 6 days ago

with Angelo

Tom Casagrande

9.3

61% Zin 39% Petite Sirah, very old vines. Lots of Petite Sirah character, richly inky. But with a bit of Zin character making it a bit less overbearing. Palate is so deep and balanced. Long. So good. — 8 days ago

with Angelo

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. — 6 days ago

with Angelo

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. — 6 days ago

with Angelo

Tom Casagrande

9.3

This is so resolved and subtly confident. Loads of earthy garrigue notes lead on the nose, black peppercorns, so fragrant. Velvety soft and rich, but pulled back a bit and so balanced. Really fine — 7 days ago

with Rebecca and Angelo

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Amazingly tight for a 16-year old wine. The acids are smell-able on the nose, zinging along tart, macerated wild cherry fruit and glacier-crushed rock fragments. (OK, maybe I’m making up the part about how the crushed rocks were created.) In the mouth it’s deep but the acids rip this along on the palate like a whitewater canoe ride. Really really unique and good. — 8 days ago

with Angelo

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. — 6 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. — 7 days ago

with Rebecca and Angelo

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Intense but way softer and fruitier than expected, likely due to vintage conditions. Intensely mineral on the nose but vying for primacy with copious amount of deep orchard fruit (greengage?). Rich and intense in the mouth. Lowish acids. Very very good but seemingly atypical (or maybe this is global warming typical). — 7 days ago

with Rebecca and Angelo