Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

One of my favorite wines we get almost nothing of. Pure class in 23. Gorgeous, floral aromas, black cherry, hint of reduction, limestone galore. The palate is young but with extraordinary fruit. Pure. Zero hard edges and really energetic. Acid is on point. Such sweet fruit developing with air. So sappy and dense. Unreal. Wow. Nose now confectionary blackberry and black raspberry. Fun Dip powders. And the stick kind of. Palate gets elegant with such fruit authority. Unbelievably delicious. But has a decade plus and will benefit greatly. — 4 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.2

Château Branaire-Ducru 2023 – Saint-Julien, Grand Cru Classé en 1855, BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A structured and expressive Saint-Julien showing youthful intensity and precision, driven by 65% Cabernet Sauvignon–led blend with 28% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc as a support. The wine delivers power, polish, and depth, yet remains clearly in its developmental phase, signaling strong aging potential.

Aromas & Flavors
Black cherry, cassis, dark plum, graphite, cedarwood, crushed stone, subtle cocoa, fresh tobacco leaf, light violet lift.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus to full-bodied with firm, polished tannins, vibrant acidity, tightly wound core, excellent structural grip, and a long, focused finish that hints at future complexity.

Food Pairings
Chargrilled ribeye, lamb chops with rosemary, venison, mushroom ragù, aged Manchego or Comté.

Verdict
A serious, high-potential Saint-Julien that stands confidently in the mid-pack today while clearly projecting upward trajectory. Best enjoyed after a few years of cellaring to allow texture and aromatics to fully integrate.

🍷 Personal Pick
You can feel the horsepower under the hood, this just needs track time. Not quite ready for full send yet, but absolutely worth waiting for. Future star energy all over this bottle. — 6 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2020 vintage. Promise but shop closed for the next 3-4 years. 8.21.24. — 2 years ago

Neil Valenzuela

9.2

Deep ruby color. Aromas of raspberry, blackberry, black currant and licorice. Wow, great wine! Full of blackberry, blueberry and cedar finish. Decanted for 8 hrs.

🥇 96 points - Wine Spectator — 4 years ago

Mario Vaillancourt

9.0

Spices and nice dark and red fruit on the nose and palate, nice balance, medium bodied plus with a soft texture of tannins, good. 89-90

Notes constantes, un beau fruit, des épices, bien équilibré, assez puissant mais sans excès, des tannins approchables et de belle texture. 89-90 — 5 years ago

Neil Cornish

9.0

Huge black currant. Dark graphite. Really nicely balanced. Rich and silky. — 7 years ago

Kelsey Irish

9.0

Christmas 2017 gift from coworker Patrick Bottle from 2012 — 9 years ago

Phil

9.0

We jammin boozy, mon. — 10 years ago

Paul Stagg

8.9

Tasty. And why not? It's New Years Eve. very Good. — 11 years ago

Patrick Arres

9.3

Very Good saint-julien after a great trail — 12 years ago

DAL 9000

9.3

Opened and aerated. Bouquet of dry dirt cherry! initial taste of dry dusty cherries. Middle of old world dryness. Finishes with the medium dryness of dusty grapes. A great French wine. — 4 months ago

Vasanth Balakrishnan

9.2

Solid provenance and storage while aging. Tertiary notes but still some primary fruit left. #stjulien — 9 months ago

K ITO

8.9

Bought in Nicola’s on 251231
Healthy fine smell
Fresh good balance as typical French
Match with fresh cheese or grilled chicken or smoke salmon salads or fresh ham — 7 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2016 vintage. Second label with plenty of stuffing to warrant attention. Unexpected passenger fruit aboard alongside the expected tannic cargo. Great value if you can source it. Less than $30 resto cost and built to drink now or in a decade+. 01.30.25. — a year ago

John Tan

9.1

LQV w Nic and Brian.

A bit simple and jammy, the 2015 Saint Joseph Babylone features aromas and flavors of cherry preserves. It's medium to full-bodied, with some slightly green, stemmy notes on the silky finish. RP89, 2015

Bright, vivid blackberry fruit with lots of concentration yet quite light body. Slight bitterness to finish. (RH) JR16.5, 2017 — 4 years ago

Lindsey King

9.0

Chard that tastes like cloudy Aligote — 6 years ago

Philippe Dupuis

8.9

Nose all buttery and exotic, also showing a slight evolution. Mouth follows in texture and volume with medium + lenght. Julien Pilon’s wines are always show stoppers. — 8 years ago

with Phil

Osandi Robinson

9.2

Woo baby, #PercySelection gets it right again. Perfect wine for perfect eggs, extra runny, with grilled salmon and polenta! 🍾🍳🐟 — 10 years ago

Justan Fondbertasse

9.0

Tasting way less reductive since the last time I tasted it, apparently still needed time to find itself — 10 years ago

Drew Miller

9.4

Oakland's hot so give me some if that light cool Pinot please...def has the mineral taste to it. Perfect for hot weather red — 12 years ago

Yoly Sardinas

9.5

Love the wine and Sacháis very nice — 5 months ago

Heather Rostker

9.5

Phenomenal with our lamb. So smooth and silky. — 5 months ago

with Emmett and Brian

John Micklethwaite

9.0

Beautiful wine, decant before hand for the best nose. — 6 months ago

Ruud Verhagen

9.3

one of the best seconds….👌🏼 — 7 months ago

Pooneet K

9.2

Very nice Cornas from a producer I haven’t had before. Great selection by the somm at Daniel to go with relatively meaty second and third courses. Ever so slightly “modern” in terms of the seamlessness and hint of oak. But really a very nice wine with great dark fruit, pepper, olive, everything you’d want from a northern Rhone. Nice acid on the finish too. — 3 years ago

Neil Valenzuela

9.0

Deep ruby color. Aromas of dark cherry, leather and pepper. Smooth, gorgeous Bordeaux. — 5 years ago

Fredybeans

8.9

Jaune claire
Nez floral et salin
Bouche fraîche ample peu de gras assez désaltérant et élancé
Finale saline et fraîche — 8 years ago

Murphy Perng

8.9

Tar & roses — 10 years ago

Sebastian Goodwin

8.9

Nice, but young Saint Julien — 10 years ago

Michael Morris

Wine Director The Park Café

9.5

Great stuff. Definitely needs air. Like chili, it's even better on day 2 — 11 years ago