Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

10

This was perfection. Full stop. Ten points, 100, A plus, whatever scale you want to drag into the room, it all collapses under the same truth: it does not get better than this. The 2016 Ar.Pe.Pe. Sassella Rocce Rosse Riserva was so achingly beautiful, so complete, so internally right, that halfway through I stopped even trying to “evaluate” it and just gave in. What makes it unbearable, in the best way, is how nothing sticks out and yet everything glows. The wine has lift, detail, soul, delicacy, authority, all of it moving at once, all of it perfectly proportioned. It just stands there in complete command of itself, and the longer it sits in the glass the more it seems to reveal that perfection and grace are not opposites. They are partners. Words really do start to fail with a wine like this, because the whole point of the experience is that it reaches past language. — 6 months ago

Seth Masterson

9.2

Delicious Chocolate over dried fruit notes with nice dry floral notes. A very nice nebbiolo without face ripping tannins- a good sipper but also would pair well with the lighter side of Italian foods. — 8 months ago

Joe Gillies

9.5

Aging beautifully! No rush to drink. Excellent and highly recommend! — 9 months ago

Sam Rubin

9.3

Fruity forward. Soaked mouthfeel. Great wine for great price — 10 months ago

Amier

9.0

Drank w/ Francis and family — 5 years ago

Eric Amsler

9.2

Great, big wine...at Filomena's in DC...with great company! — 7 years ago

Silla Aaltonen

9.1

Renen joulu ja uv — 8 years ago

Jd Thibodeau

9.3

Cherry red. Dry-sour fruits on the nose. Medium plus body, no or little oak, very fruity, high acidity. Good Rippasso. — 9 years ago

S B

9.0

Must buy again!! — 11 years ago

Nick Duckwiler

8.9

Nebbiolo blended with Merlot. This 2009 is just starting to mature...pubescent wine? Very bright red fruits followed by something smoky and interesting Happy #valentines — 12 years ago

with Julie

Marc Karetsky

9.5

Love this maker. Classic Nebbiolo. — 6 months ago

Bonnie Chu

9.0

Gambero Rosso Tre bicchieri l 🇮🇹 trade tasting, even more 💪 — 7 months ago

Jeremiah Diaz

9.2

Clear, medium ruby to garnet in color; on the nose it's, clean with pronounced primary and secondary aromas of cherries, almond,and cloves; on the palate, it's dry with high acidity, medium tannins, medium alcohol, medium body, and pronounced primary and secondary flavors of tart cherry, ripe strawberry, tar, and black tea with a long finish. This wine is complex and intense. Overall, I rate this wine as very good. Nellie likes it too. — 9 months ago

with Nellie

Jay Kline

9.3

Presented double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and no obvious signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of ripe and some dried fruits: bramble berries, slightly stewed black cherry, dried herbs, stony earth, baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. The alcohol is high.

Initial conclusions: this could be a Grenache-based blend, Corvina-based blend or Sangiovese-based blend from France or Italy. I felt the combination of slightly stewed cherry and spices ruled out what I would want from a Sangiovese blend. Which, left me to decide between Southern Rhône or Valpolicella. I liked this wine…the oak treatment was interesting. I was getting a French barrique. Hmmm…

So, for my final conclusion: I’m calling this a Grenache-based blend, from France, from Southern Rhône, from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 2017, from a more modern leaning producer using a good portion of barrique. I’ll be damned! I don’t hate my call but I gotta get better at distinguishing these wines from Southern Rhône. I probably just need to drink more of both, lol. Tasty stuff! Drink now through 2039. — 10 months ago

vin vin

9.3

Great ripasso — 5 years ago

Jennifer Lamb

9.5

Fruitier than most dry Proseccos with hints of bergamot & other florals. — 8 years ago

with Alan

Andrew Lohse

9.1

Intense, traditional / med+ body with a solid acid structure to match / red fruit, vibrant purple fruit, light spice — 8 years ago

Matt Waring

9.2

Wonderful acidity, well balanced fruit, a firm finish. This is top shelf Barbera and a real delight. Bravo. — 10 years ago

with Christine

Nena Madonia

9.3

I'm surprised by pro rating because I really enjoyed the wine after waiting it breathe. Great price too — 11 years ago

Jenks

9.3

Piedmont. Dolcetto. 💣 — 6 months ago

romo

9.2

First bottle three years ago had more energy. Went sour on day 2. — 7 months ago

JKT

9.0

Very nice, dark color earthy forest notes into firm palate with a good bite and extending into finish — 9 months ago

Angelo Casagrande

9.3

Light, rust colored; some bright fruit, light tannins, and pure cherry fruit. Quite quaffable! Went well with orecchiette, sausage and rapa. I do love Valtellina neb. North meets South with this dinner. — 10 months ago

Mark Mannebach

9.0

Full body, bold yet silky feel, plum, with spice notes — 2 years ago

Bonnie Chu

8.9

Slow wine tasting — 5 years ago

Mike Laba

9.2

Coming back to this wine a year and a half after I first rated it...still love it. Nice hints of fruit and exceptionally drinkable. Will continue to stock it as a house red — 7 years ago

Darren Sherburne

9.1

Lemon, lime, green apple and lavender. Paired with Salmon & lentils for lunch. — 8 years ago

Beau Carson

8.9

Mint, day lilies, lavender, and white peach. — 9 years ago

Austin Yursik

9.0

Bye, bye Zonin. — 11 years ago

Ivan Batlle

9.0

Aromatic and light. Fruity finish — 12 years ago