Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Terrific. In a great almost ideal place now. Nose is apricot, honey, candied lemon, spices, citrus, salt, so so aromatic. Big fruit skin energy as well. Also earthy, confectionary and gamey. Just so so complex. Palate is just pure harmony. Not a hair out of place and long saline finish with apricot skin that lingers. Stunning purity. So pretty. Really lingers. A knockout. — 5 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.7

The 2016 MacDonald is a stunning new release, utilizing 100% To-Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon fruit. This downright sexy Cabernet is absolutely singing in its youth. The wine shows incredible richness and complexity with a vibrant mineral backbone. With a sumptuous mouthfeel, the palate reveals sage, black tea, anise, tar and creme de cassis with mocha with lighter wet stone accents. There is an incredible purity of fruit here. Seamless and intense this is an absolutely incredible new wine from this storied family in Napa. Drink 2022-2045- 97 — 7 years ago

Antonio Galloni

Founder, Vinous

9.6

A superb Barolo. The 2008 continues to blossom in bottle. The purity of the fruit and aromatics....striking. Proof that world class wine is still reasonably affordable. — 9 years ago

Conrad Green

8.9

Fresh and bristling on the nose. All the lifted tartness of the voignier on the front. A little lacking in deep Syrah purity. Well crafted, but a little underwhelming. — 9 years ago

with Matt and David

Erik Nordman

9.3

First Dönnhoff! A truly electric, crystal-clear Riesling and very much to my preferences with German Riesling, I definitely need to explore the Dönnhoff line of wines further. Very precise, with laserlike acidity with great purity of fruit. Ripe nectarine, green apple, and pineapple, great wet slate minerality, apple blossom, jasmine, a slight waxy honeyed character, and a tiny bit of that classic petrol character, which is very muted and subtle right now but it'll probably come out with a few years in bottle. Body is medium; fuller than most other Kabinetts I've tried. Even with the slightly fuller body, that lovely acidity keeps it so fresh and nimble, and counterbalances what is IMO, the perfect amount of RS for a Kabinett style, it's perfectly off dry, with noticeable sweetness but it still finishes clean and fresh. Just some delicious juice. — 10 years ago

Bradley Brown

Owner/Winemaker Big Basin Vineyards

9.3

Beautiful purity and spice, opulent with no heat — 10 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.5

Another great one from the master that had a perfumed nose showing both floral & elegance with amazing purity & balance that is hard to find elsewhere. — 5 years ago

B K

9.6

LOVE THIS!!!! Fizzy bubbelach glou. Zoom cards and cocktails during the pandemic. — 6 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

More notes later. Stunning. So smoky and sweet. Ethereal.

Nose of smoke, mesquite, sweet raspberry fruit, violets and other flowers. Unreal.

Palate is soft and sweet and spreads to every nook and cranny. Unreal purity, length and delicacy. — 8 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

This was rich, full bodied showing great intensity & purity. Lemon & grapefruit citrus green apple, acacia flower with wet rock & oyster shell. Precise & mineral driven. — 8 years ago

Alexa Karstaedt

9.5

Excellent. Great structure. Juicy with dark fruit. — 9 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Soaring nose of clean minerals, alpine spice and the sound of music. Stunningly pure, deep and refined. Shouts and whispers. What I love about '15. Palate is hyper balanced and just dazzling. Wow. Only open 5 minutes and this is an insanely structured and dense ja ja. So clean. Such purity. Blows away 14. 15 is so special in the Savoie, especially Chignin. The balance is uncanny here. — 9 years ago

Peter Wassam

9.4

Smell like fucking fried chicken grease. Light CO2. Definitely carbonic. Gamey but still has that gamay fruit purity thing. Gamey/Gamay. The most caressing of tannins. Licorice taste slightly off putting. Is it growing on me or am I just getting drunk? — 10 years ago

Sébastien Burel

9.5

A wonderful vintage, crisp and dense at the same time. A wonderful contrast between concentration and purity. — 11 years ago

Michael Everett

9.0

Really like this — 6 years ago

Shona Sanzgiri

9.5

Blueberries, licorice, cocoa, spice — instant smiles. — 7 years ago

Vijay Parikh

9.5

With a one hour decant the wine is classic! Aromas of smoked meat, dark fruits, a slight green olive long finish it is a beautifully balanced wine giving a lot of pleasure! Drunk slowly over two hours post decant. The purity and freshness is simply amazing! The second hour post decant the wine continued to unveil more complexity... — 8 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

what a wine. Gotta be most underrated estate for high quality white Burg from top sites in all of Cote de Beaune. Amazing nose. Meyer lemon, gorgeous defined minerality, so lithe and detailed. Smoke, nuts, butter. Palate is just as impressive if not more. Explosive concentration and purity with amazing detail, vivid fruit, sap, minerality and unreal length. Serious spine and structure here and a lovely sweetness you don't get in many white burgs. Wow. So juicy and clean. What a genius this kid is. Great acids. So fresh and so pure. — 9 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.8

If there were ever an archetypical Syrah, Jamet's Cote-Rotie would be a strong candidate. To me this is a pure expression of a classic Northern Rhone Syrah. It is not a single site, but a blend of terroirs, encompassing over 20 sites mostly from hard rock schist bedrock with little to no topsoil. There is NO Viognier in this wine like one might expect from most Cote-Rotie that might have 1-5% co-fermented.

Importantly, there is also a lot less of the oak character that can dominate and overwhelm many Northern Rhone wines. The oak maturation, while not short at 22 months, only uses 15% new oak with no trace of it on the palate as it is perfectly integrated. Grape bunches are whole cluster fermented and macerated for up to 3 weeks.

The 2007 we have here was drinking superbly for a young wine, showing lively and racy layers of peppercorn spice, roast beef, and warm blackberry and currant fruit from the hot 2007 vintage. While from a warm vintage, not a hair is out of place. Density and purity exude from the nose and hint at what a brilliant future this wine has. Perfect acidity and fleshy ripe tannin provide the backbone structure for father time to peel back the layers of this beauty. I will be chceking back in 5 years at the earliest. — 9 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.8

This was a great Barolo from a legendary producer! Tart cherry fruit, rose petal, licorice, dried herbs, porcini mushroom. Showing power, finesse, Burgundy elegance, great balance of fruit, purity with round tannins and good weight, concentration, velvety and silky texture. No rush, Still drinking young! — 10 years ago