Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Absolutely stunning nose, already operating around 9.8, with wet earth, mud, decaying and desiccated leaves, damson cherry, chestnut, massive spice and florals everywhere. Haunting, complex and unmistakably mature Nebbiolo. The palate is still much younger than the nose, with beautiful purity and freshness, dark sweet Nebbiolo fruit, classical delineation, enormous concentration and dense cheek-coating tannins. The finish is ridiculously long and persistent, suggesting there is still much more to come with air. 9.6 for now. — 13 hours ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Absolutely world-class white wine. The nose is pure and beautifully lifted, with clean limestone, subtle natural-world aromas and perfectly judged oak adding complexity without ever dominating. The palate is extraordinary: rich, saturating and powerful, yet tense, saline, nervous and completely precise. Tiny-berry fruit explosions emerge with air, framed by sweet mineral extract, tremendous grip, silky texture and unbelievable purity. Dense but never heavy, opulent but disciplined, with Grand Cru structure, refinement and a long, building, penetrating finish. This blows away an enormous amount of white Burgundy. One of the greatest Probsteys I have tasted. — 4 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

A wonderfully aromatic, classically shaped Barolo, dominated by fresh roses, spice, early-season cherry, sour cherry and ripe mid-season cherry, with crunchy red apple skin, loam, chestnut, desiccated leaves and a cool touch of menthol emerging with air. The fruit becomes progressively purer, more concentrated and more precisely defined, while remaining clean and remarkably fresh. The palate is juicy, dense and velvety, driven by a terrific core of red fruit, vibrant acidity and firm slate-like tannins that continue to build. Not enormously complex, but exceptionally well made, beautifully balanced and intensely satisfying, with an amazingly long finish. An absolutely terrific wine and an absurd value. — 6 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Initially quiet on the nose from the cold, but quickly opening into limestone, intense minerality, nougat, caramel, apricot skin and ripe stone-fruit flesh. The palate is immaculate: unbelievably elegant, deeply concentrated and pure, with gorgeous integration, superb finesse and a wonderfully resolved texture. Juicy and ripe, but the defining feature is the bitter stone-fruit finish, which gives the wine tremendous tension and keeps all that richness perfectly controlled. Fully mature in its architecture now, seamless and complete, with terrific length. Almost 9.7. — 13 hours ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Beautifully expressive right from the pop and pour, with classic Southern Rhône aromatics of garrigue, lavender, wild herbs, florals, menthol, wild mint and just a faint touch of barnyard, all wrapped around intense old-vine Grenache fruit. Cassis and sappy cherry dominate as the wine opens, with terrific aromatic depth and purity. The palate is gorgeous, juicy, concentrated and remarkably elegant, with silky texture, tremendous sap and beautifully articulated sweet, velvety tannins. It builds steadily through the mid-palate and finishes with real length and freshness. Almost baby Châteauneuf in aromatic breadth, but less alcoholic, less overwhelming and far more graceful. At this price level, I would take great Cairanne over almost any sub-$50 Châteauneuf. Fantastic wine. — 5 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Gorgeous classic Nahe nose of white cherry, confectionary fruit, apricot skin, vulcanized rubber and a distinct slate-like note. The palate is ripe, round, pure and extremely juicy, with beautiful sweetness, a Riesling-creamsicle texture and enough tension to keep everything balanced. The acidity is clearly lower than in 2021 and the wine does not have that vintage’s superstar energy, but it gains freshness after the first sip and shows lovely elegance, finesse and concentration. Very good now and likely to open further — 8 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Bready, yeasty and increasingly savory with air, with lemon, a faint rice-like note and good aromatic depth. The palate is juicy, energetic and concentrated, with solid acidity, clean fruit and good mousse. The bottle age has clearly added complexity and it is a step up from the lower cuvée, but for me Riesling still limits the ceiling here. Very good, serious Sekt. — a day ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

A profoundly backward Jessie James that took a strange, winding path over several days. Initially reduced and giving maybe 10%, with matchstick, damson, sour and mid-season cherry, mineral and very little aromatic expression. The palate was completely discombobulated at first, but the material was obvious: beautiful velvety tannins, tiny-berry fruit intensity, tremendous depth and an extraordinarily long, persistent finish. After about ninety minutes it briefly opened into something spectacular, with deep, voluminous perfume, sweet and sour cherries, mossy minerality and exotic spice, the nose easily operating at a 9.7 level. Then it closed again, the tannins took over and both nose and palate retreated. Two days later it is much more composed, silky and elegant, with pure red fruit, sour cherry and beautifully refined tannins. Very good, serious and clearly built to age, but not at the level of the great 2021 or 2022 Jessie James. — 2 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

The nose is still somewhat restrained but clearly dense, with orange marmalade, tangerine, caramel, clean botrytis and the faintest touch of saffron. The palate is gorgeous: juicy, ripe, honeyed and citrusy, with beautiful botrytis complexity and a round, hedonistic texture. It does not have the acidity of 2019 or 2021, but the balance is excellent. Elegant and featherweight despite the concentration, with tremendous purity and a long, delicious finish. Really beautiful. — 8 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

8.6

Gorgeous, classically Nebbiolo nose of dried roses, violets, purple fruit, dark cherry, melting road tar, desiccated leaves, chestnut and Christmas spice. The palate begins elegant, juicy and concentrated, but the 14.5% alcohol quickly takes over. Prickly heat becomes increasingly dominant, the tannins swell with air, and even the nose begins showing alcohol. Fifteen minutes only makes it worse. This is exactly why I have moved away from so much modern Barolo and Barbaresco. The Langhe is too hot, and Nebbiolo at 14.5% rarely works for me. Very disappointing. As this aired it got more alcoholic and more stewed. Down to 8.6. — 10 days ago