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. — 20 hours 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. — 4 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Beautifully expressive Cabernet Franc nose of red currant, sour cherry, cassis, moss, lavender, thyme and an enormous amount of rosemary. The palate initially offers glorious, creamy red fruit, excellent purity, freshness and ripe, melting tannins, with remarkable precision for 2018. That first open-bottle preview is seductive, but air brings a firmer, chewier and more tannic structure, while a small alcoholic seam becomes increasingly pronounced. Still juicy, vibrant and unmistakably Cabernet Franc, but less seamless than the opening suggested.

Day two is the better showing. The nose is deeper, with more cassis and the same nervous herbal energy. The palate has rounded out, gaining a touch of opulence and a gorgeous creamy texture, while the alcohol has largely integrated and the balance is now excellent. Beautiful wine. — 7 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

A haunting, old-school nose that somehow combines 1960s Cantemerle with forty-year-old Roty Marsannay. Ash, charcoal, ancient wood spice, moss, cranberry bog, red currant, sour early-season cherry and strange purple florals all come together with remarkable depth. The palate begins stern and structured, with hard, old-fashioned tannins that recall mature Bordeaux crossed with the Marsannay and Fixin of thirty years ago, but air brings seduction, sweetness and increasingly gorgeous red fruit. Excellent concentration, entirely red-fruited, with cranberry and sour cherry carrying through an extraordinarily long finish. A true wine of terroir, brooding, feral and deeply compelling. — 10 days 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. — a day 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. — 6 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Quiet but very good nose of sour cherry, spice, flowers, a touch of reduction and something faintly like malted milk balls. The palate is where the wine lives, with huge acidity, tremendous tiny-berry concentration, real savor, density and all-red fruit. There is a Burgundy 2023-like chord progression to the fruit, with sweetness building through the mid-palate and a long, energetic finish. Powerful and impactful, almost GG-like in scale, but it lacks the finesse, polish, balance and purity of the 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Very good, but not one of the great vintages. — 10 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. — 2 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 — 4 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.8

The nose is utter madness and already operating at a perfect level. Lanolin, hand lotion, plantain, sweet lime juice, lemon zest, complex pear, apple, wild mint, birthday cake and an almost Northern Rhône-like richness, all filtered through the crystalline atmosphere of the Mosel. Unbelievably deep and complex, yet elegant enough to feel like vapor. The palate is stunning, with much more acidity and freshness than when I tasted it in summer 2023, along with tremendous purity, grip, juiciness, finesse and perfect balance. The finish is extraordinarily long. Still showing some inverted architecture and clearly needs time to fully open, but the raw material is monumental. The nose is a 10, perhaps more. The palate keeps the wine at 9.8 for now. — 8 days ago