Tom Casagrande

9.3

375 ml. Gorgeous nose of peach, apricot, lightly honeyed, very bright. On the palate it’s quite intense but so nicely balanced. Almost a little tannic thing in the finish which shows the intensity. I know we’re drinking it young but we’re with my dad and he’s 94, and loves Riesling, so we’re living in the present. And the present here is pretty nice. — 2 hours ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

@Delectable Wine - This is the Cote Granits (not the La Cote). Yup. Nose gives it away. Northern Rhone Syrah. Gorgeous nose of dried Spanish chorizo, crushed granite, black peppercorns, and dark mountain berries. Soft and deeply flavored in the mouth. Clingy flavors have dark berries and savory, dark-toned mineral and cured meat components. Good initial and mid palate intensity. Soft texture, and a decent amount of acidity. Long finish. What a great value this was. Gotta get more. ($25 on WTSO) — 4 days ago

Tom Casagrande

This is the “Herivault Silex d’ Ordeuilles Vouvray. Yet another non-dessert Chenin I’m ambivalent about. There’s a weird (to me) funk to the nose that, in alternating sniffs, vacillates between lightly corked and something vaguely biologic. There’s classic Chenin bruised orchard fruit underneath. Off-dry. You’d think after 40+ years of being “meh” on non-dessert Chenins, I’d actually learn not to occasionally buy them. B.F. Skinner is shaking his head. Because on every other sniff I think it’s corked, I won’t give it a rating. — 6 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Haven’t had a Brunello from the ‘20 vintage yet so wanted to start setting a base point. This is already drinking well. Deep and low-toned nose has bass notes of leather, gravel, iron, and dark cherry. Rich and round in the mouth. Lots of deeptoned fruit and a lot of iron-ey minerality. There’s a ton of mouthcoating tannin but it’s very friendly tannin, enveloped as it is in rich flavors. Acids are on the low side. This likely won’t be a long ager, but I’m looking forward to pairing it with the braccioles in Sunday gravy that’s simmering away. — 9 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

This is the Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Frionnes. Nose is quite earthy, with loamy and limestone notes combining, some underbrush, with some dark cherry-ish fruit underneath. Nice balance, flavors going a little tertiary, nice acidity for an ‘18. Tannins soft, chalky, but receding. Went very well with my mom’s old Chicken Dijon recipe from the 70s! — 3 hours ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

This bargain St-Emmie is a great Monday dinner companion. Fragrant, plummy, earthy nose. Rich and dark-toned flavors, tannins enveloped by the deep fruit. Terrific with my late mom’s version of Steak Diane. — a day ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

Not quite up to the last bottle I had of this but still very good. On the nose, lots of spicy dark berry fruit with a very slight raisined note and the barest pinch of VA. Fruity, fairly deep, soft and nicely balanced in the mouth. Tannins completely resolved. Drink up and enjoy this 100 yr vines beauty. (I love that it’s “only” 14.5% ) — 7 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Garagiste said this was a Beauroy, but there’s no mention of it on the back or front label, or even the cork. Just “premier cru.” I believe this is an alternative “brand/label” for Jean-Marc Brocard. Very good stuff. Nose is nuthin-but-limestone, brothy limestone. Little bit of crisp apple. Soft and minerally in the mouth too. Jurassic geology 101. — 4 hours ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Such a nice sipper on a hot day while prepping dinner. Obviously a baby, nose a little reserved, but the palate is redolent of ripe, peach and apple. Crisp acids. Delicious. — a day ago

Tom Casagrande

8.8

This is a unique one. 80% Pinot Noir 20% Gamay. I wanted something light I could put a light chill on because we’re in another heat wave. The nose has got a bunch of things going on: grapefruit rind, tomato leaf, pungent rocks, and some berry fruit. In the mouth it’s fresh and light, with cleansingly bitterish grapefruit rind notes and tart berries. Nice, buoyant acids, and what tannin there is, is super-fine grained. Finishes with mounting bitterness. Sounds weird but it’s actually what I want on a night like this.

UPDATE: Night 2, the palate is more settled and showing a tad more fruit and a tad less bitter flavors. Upping from 8.7 to 8.8.

By the way, looks like Delectable is back to a 24-48 hours delay in publishing posts. 😠 — 5 days ago