I thank the elves at Casemates for shimmying down my chimney and leaving a bottle of 2017 Brutocao Family Vineyards Torrent under my tree. As I have very little self-control, I just had to pop the cork and taste before the holidays. Let me tell you how we enjoyed this wine.
First, I’ll say that this is a classy bottle, heavy with a deep punt, one that enhanced my anticipation. The back label states that this wine is composed of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah…a Bordeaux blend…almost (more later*). The cork is tightly grained composite that slid smoothly from the bottle with the last ⅛” stained by the wine. The wine was clear, colored medium to dark garnet, with no “crud” in the bottom of the bottle. The smell was restrained and dark, perhaps moody would describe it, barely showing the 14.5% alcohol. I immediately poured two half-glasses, filled and sealed a 375ml bottle and left the remainder in the original bottle. The first taste was good, not fruit forward, with the most noticeable factor being incredibly drying fine tannins (I wrote the word “astringent”) at the finish. *Like a too young St. Emilion, consumed with no decanting and no food.
That evening I poured what was left in the bottle into two glasses that we drank with Baby Back Ribs and Fixin’s. The wine was so much better with air and food. Dark fruit appeared and the tannins were attenuated somewhat. There is enough acid in this wine to accommodate a well-marbled steak, just as it helped with our pork ribs. The finish was medium, with a pleasant cocoa/vanilla aftertaste (probably oak influence).
The next day, I was so convinced that this wine needed decanting and food, that in the morning, I poured the contents of the 375ml bottle back into the original bottle and put it aside to have with dinner (I did take a swig and noted that original pop-n-pour flavor). The wine was good before dinner, but shone with chicken and rich mushroom gravy on potatoes. It was very enjoyable with dinner on the second night.
I’d call this an old-world, food friendly wine that is quite good under the proper circumstances, and I believe that it is still young and will improve for many years in the bottle.
My guess at Casemates price? Anywhere below $20/bottle would be good, and with Casemates, this could be a steal for those of you who like this style of wine.

To quote the book of Job, “What I feared has come upon me” – last Tuesday I got an email from Alice that I had a Lab Rat bottle headed my way. Normally this is something I would welcome with great anticipation. However, with my senses of smell and taste being in the state of post-COVID recovery (their loss was by far the worst of my symptoms), I had serious doubts that I could do justice to the task. As fate would have it, I had already arranged to meet up with my (only – anyone else in the central Missouri/Lake of the Ozarks areas???) local Casemates exchangee (to split what ended up being the latest three @Winesmith offerings), I asked Scott (@SmittyWine) if he would mind if I split the Rat bottle with him (it didn’t take much arm twisting).

I received a bottle of Brutocao Family Vineyards 2017 Torrent red blend. I let it rest in the cellar for a few days, and on Saturday morning (the day of my travels and exchange with Scott) I divided it into two smaller bottles, one of which I passed along. As the opinions coming from Scott are far more significant, I will share them first.

— Thoughts from Scott and company

I enlisted the help of three other red wine loving friends, and we all collectively agree after the tasting that we are much more adept at consumption than description.

Notes on the 2017 Brutocao Torrent

Nice long legs when swirled in the glass.
Nose was universally agreed on as dark fruit/black cherry
Soft entry upon tasting, with more dark fruit and some oak
Three of the four of us felt the finish was dry/tannic, one thought it was still soft/smooth.
Two of the four of us felt that it was actually harshly tannic on the finish. (I was one of those).
All of us agreed the wine was better while sampling from charcuterie tray versus drinking on its own.
One person said she would give it a 6+ out of 10.
Only one person said they would buy it (and no one knew the price).

I must commend Scott and company for making a tasting out of slightly less than half a bottle. Hopefully they opened something else to make the gathering worthwhile.

My limited input: The wine was a clear medium-dark color in the glass. To my COVID-corrupted palate, all I got was tart cherry. My (41yo) daughter said she got cherry and wood. Over 3 days (just capping the bottle) I couldn’t notice any changes (always just a tart flavor). Due to travels, we weren’t able to try it with food. For a “tasteless” comparison, I opened another bottle I had brought along (a 2019 Kirkland Napa red blend of CS, Merlot, PV, Malbec, CF). Again, my crippled palate emphasized tartness, but I did pick up a bit more spice in this one.

Thanks to Casemates for another opportunity to rat – hopefully the next time my number comes up I will be in better condition to give a decent evaluation.

@rjquillin On a slightly different note, there were only a couple/few offers that included gifts for Christmas this year, as compared to last. Did I miss something?