Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.8

A ridiculously stunning Pinot Blanc and the leanest, most tensile vintage I have tasted from Adank. The nose is pure and beautifully articulated, with apples, pears and subtle mineral complexity. The palate is breathtaking, with crystalline purity, unbelievable concentration and density, nervous acidity and monumental linear architecture. It has the structural authority of a great twenty-year-old Pinot Blanc, yet remains so juicy, elegant and alive that it practically dances across the palate. Mouthwatering, deeply sapid and driven entirely by finesse, with a finish that lasts nearly a minute and a half. One of the greatest Pinot Blancs I have ever tasted. — 12 hours ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Austere, almost fruitless nose of dry limestone and intense mineral. The palate is far more generous, with juicy concentration, apricot, peach pit and terrific texture, all cut by huge acidity. Love the tension between the severe mineral exterior and the ripe fruit underneath. Finishes a little short, but this is serious, delicious and completely on the Kalkstein line. — 4 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.9

A breathtaking bottle that is just beginning to show the first signs of maturity. The nose is perfect, with preserved early to mid-season cherries, screaming limestone, spice, earth, desiccated leaves and white flowers in one of the most transparent expressions of Pommard I have ever smelled. The palate is outrageously juicy, fresh and complete, with beautiful concentration, endless mineral persistence, unhinged inner-mouth aromas and the most delicate late-arriving stony tannins I have ever experienced in Pommard. Pierre Brisset is a genius. One of the greatest Pommards I have ever opened. — 7 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Glorious and fully expressive, with a perfumed nose of flowers, lime zest and slightly confectionery citrus. Beautifully mature but still completely alive. The palate is pure and elegant, densely concentrated yet entirely driven by finesse, with gorgeous minerality, vivid fruit and that crystalline rainwater effect. It dances into a place of perfect balance. Beautiful wine. — a day ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Much better cool and on the second day. Complex nose of honey, slate, mineral, peach, apricot, porcini, spice and wild mint. The palate is juicy, ripe, honeyed and very pure, with good acidity completely integrated into the wine. The finish initially seems short, then unexpectedly returns and keeps changing, although not in an entirely cohesive way. It is like a 30-minute David Lynch film. Strange, compressed, complex and ultimately compelling. Great mature Auslese. — 4 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Beautiful, classic Grafenberg. The nose is ripe and generous, led by apple and pear, with peach, apricot and slaty minerality underneath. The palate is juicy, clean and complete, with ripe melon, good acidity and lovely freshness. Everything is balanced and exactly where it should be. Very solid. — 5 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Huge confectionary nose of citrus, peach, apricot, slate and rain falling across a natural landscape. The palate is glorious, with tangy citrus, vivid stone fruit and sharp, perfectly integrated acidity cutting through the opulence of 2015. Unbelievably juicy, pure and mouthwatering, with beautiful minerality, tremendous finesse and dense dry-extract fruit carrying the finish. So serious, yet completely open and expressive. This has another decade ahead of it, maybe more. Amazing wine. — 7 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Deeply red-fruited, meaty and sauvage, but also precise. The palate has real Burgundy velvet, with extraordinary tiny-berry concentration, sweet ripe tannins and tremendous fruit intensity. There is noticeable new wood, placing it stylistically somewhere in the Méo-Camuzet or Lucien Le Moine camp: luxurious, polished and sheerly delicious. Less transparently Fixin than the Philippe Naddef bottlings, but outrageously compelling Pinot Noir. I drank it more than I tasted it, which says everything. Retasting tonight. — 3 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

8.8

A disappointing bottle showing extreme maturity and perhaps 40 to 50 percent maderization. Some fruit eventually pokes through, joined by attractive spice, minerality and considerable earth. The palate remains tannic and surprisingly concentrated, suggesting there is still real wine underneath, but the finish is dirty and slightly alcoholic. There is enough persistence to offer some hope with air, but this is not showing well. This is going downhill quickly. Tannins dominating and maderization expanding. Now 8.8 and sinking. — 4 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Wide open and immediately compelling. Gorgeous nose of sauvage and macerated cherries with that full chord progression of early, mid and late season fruit, plus a touch of black cherry, huge spice, sous-bois, wet moss and earthy minerality. Milk chocolate develops with air and makes the nose even more enveloping. The palate is juicy, fresh and complete, with premium mid-palate opulence, terrific concentration, restrained sweetness and dynamite inner-mouth aromas. Classic Champans. — 7 days ago