Tom Casagrande

9.1

Intense nose of cracked wet limestone, citrus, and gooseberry. Densely- flavored too, with intense minerality. It has a denser, more viscous texture than most Sancerre, but not too much so. Surprisingly full but long and zesty. A Sancerre that clearly has spent some time at the gym. — 9 hours ago

Tom Casagrande

8.8

Good wine for a tough year. Not much fruit, but loads of pungent, balsamic, savory and gravelly flavors. Vigorous acids and lots of soft tannin. A bit demanding on its own but it went well with a rustic chicken braise. — 7 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

College baseball and a nice Maconnais white. Nose is very deep, with wet limestone minerality, and pear fruit augmented by a clean sweaty note. Nice depth of flavor, with pear skin fruit and dark minerality in equal measure. Very good length and some nice acidity peeks though at the very end (unusual for the Maconnais). Fantastic value, and in the top 1% of wines from this region. — 12 days ago

Tom Casagrande

8.9

Pretty much at its peak. Nose is a nice amalgam of cracked stones, roasted herbs, and some blackberry fruit. Good intensity in the mouth. Loads of stony, savory flavors. Still some tannin, but with the fruit bowing out to savoriness, I’m thinking it’s time to drink up. — 18 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Needs a few hours of air time to strut, but then shows wet river stone minerality, fragrant bitter cherry, and a floral note. Lean but flavorful in the mouth, with loads of barely ripe cherry, and lots of savory minerals. Tannins and acids are present but well integrated. Very nice. — a day ago

with Lyle

Tom Casagrande

9.4

Needed a big friendly Zin to help obliterate an unusually stressful week at work. This Zin is so flavorful yet contained. Fruit, spice, intense minerality, concentration, length, balance. Hard to name a patch of earth that creates better Zin than Monte Rosso. Superb. — 9 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

So much freshness and cracked stone minerality. Underneath there is piercing cherry fruit and a whiff of sweet spice. Lots of intensity in the mouth. There is some fruit but this is bone dry and really shows high-toned savory stoniness. Long, mouthwatering finish. Very unique!

UPDATE: On night 2, still super fresh, but showing more fruit and a sweet mint leaf note. Great wine. — 13 days ago

with Lyle

Tom Casagrande

8.4

Nose is dominated by dry old leathery scents (brett?). Vague notions of gravel and tart cherry peek out. Lean and tannic in the mouth. Was OK with a rustic sausage pasta, but severe on its own. — 5 days ago

Tom Casagrande

8.8

Big, ripe, appley nose. A bit of gravelly earth. Similar in the mouth, with an initial belt of rich apple fruit and then just a tad of balancing bitter minerality on the finish. Not complex, but lots of flavors. Good bargain basement Riesling. — 6 days ago

with Angelo

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Phenomenal nose: dark red berries, smoky minerality, a bit of sweet spice and a bit of funk. Mouthfilling flavors are very clingy, but the wine is soft and seems almost weightless. Savory, iodine, smoky fire pit, charred beef. Long-ass finish. Really good stuff.

UPDATE: Night 2 this is showing even more depth and complexity. Upping from 9.2 to 9.3 — 11 days ago