Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

9.6. Stunning Hermitage. The nose is completely unhinged, with granite, blackberry, mint, dried leather, bark, crushed flowers, tar and this wild smashed-confectionery-rock quality that keeps getting more complex with air. The palate is silky, deep and increasingly velvety, with beautiful sweet 2023 fruit, tremendous purity, high-class tannins and real authority. Powerful without weight, brooding but elegant, with an amazingly long finish. Still young and coming together, but already a great wine. — 2 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Beautiful, classically styled Meursault. The nose opens with spicy oak, butter, green apple skin and a deep mineral streak, with the wood adding a lovely sweet, savory framing rather than dominating. The palate is silky, pure and impressively concentrated, with excellent texture, plenty of minerality and that naturally plump, slightly opulent Les Grands Charrons character. The acidity is very good, though I would love just a touch more cut, and the wine remains rich, balanced and elegant throughout. Long, refined and extremely well made, with plenty of room to open further with air. — 5 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.1

A very good bistro-style Cahors, full of expressive Malbec character. The nose is wide and high-toned, with loads of ripe berry fruit, macerated fruit skin, leather, a little funk and earthy dirt. The palate is rich, juicy and energetic, with plenty of amplitude through the middle, good freshness and toothsome rustic structure. Generous, vivid and packed with fruit, with lots of personality and plenty of wine in the glass. — 6 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Gorgeous young Boca with a spectacular nose of deep mid-to-late-season cherry, fresh roses, crushed dried roses, tar, loamy earth and a faint volcanic edge. The palate is pure, balanced and beautifully elegant, with powdery tannins, excellent freshness and increasingly intense tiny-berry cherry fruit. The structure is starting to emerge with air, but the fruit remains vivid and incredibly precise. The finish is extraordinarily long, mouthwatering and increasingly confectionery, with beautiful pink-cherry tones lingering through the end. Stunning wine already, and I’ll keep tracking it as it unfurls. — 12 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.0

9.1, flirting with 9.2. Beautiful, high-toned Malbec nose with dark berry fruit, chalk dust, wild mint, leather, spice and desiccated bark, plus a little animal, barnyard funk that adds complexity rather than detracts. The palate initially felt slightly out of sorts, but improved quickly with air, becoming juicy, ripe and energetic, with loads of macerated dark-berry skin character and terrific fruit intensity. Fresh, vivid and full of personality, though there is still a slightly awkward edge of heat and acidity keeping it below the Prestige for now.

Overnight it went to 9.0. Good not great. — 2 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Huge step up from the Tradition. The nose has much more concentrated and defined Malbec fruit, with blackberry, blueberry, wild mint and a deeper, more polished aromatic profile that still feels very true to the grape. The palate is rich and ripe but remarkably airy, with real finesse, elegance and tremendous concentration without any heaviness. Much more amplitude, depth and breadth here, with terrific grip, excellent freshness and beautiful fruit intensity. Complex, energetic and very complete, with the structure and material to improve further as the nose opens. Easily 9.4 upside. — 6 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.8

One of the best wines I have had all year. The nose is a complete confectionery freak show, with yellow fruits, a little gras, huge minerality and this airy, ocean-breeze quality that gives the wine tremendous lift. The palate is extraordinary: dense, juicy, silky and textured, with enormous dry extract, unbelievable sap and intensity, yet somehow it just floats across the palate. Incredible purity, elegance and balance, with a finish that seems to go on forever. As it airs it gets richer and denser without losing any finesse. Classic German Pinot Blanc at the highest level. Stunning complexity, stunning juiciness, and just ridiculously well made. — 8 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Unbelievably consistent wine. Classic Northern Rhône nose of blackberry, blackberry liqueur, granite, olive, meat and a little leather. The palate is silky, juicy and beautifully proportioned, with terrific freshness, purity and just enough richness around the edges. Clean, succulent, energetic and completely true to Saint-Joseph. Hard to believe how much wine is here for the money. Cannot wait to taste the 2025. — 4 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Took around two hours to really open, but once it did this became gorgeous. The nose blossoms with deep cherry fruit, roses, chestnut and layers of spice, especially cardamom, clove and cinnamon, with that unmistakably old-school Alpine Nebbiolo character underneath. The palate is incredibly juicy and beautifully balanced, with concentrated cherry fruit, excellent freshness and a very elegant, silky texture. Serious depth without heaviness, lovely purity and a long, increasingly expressive finish. Stunning Valgella, and flirting with 9.5 as it continues to unfurl. Stunning tiny berry fruit intensity and terrific length. High class tannins with a skoche of rusticity. — 4 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.2

Completely joyful wine. Huge, wildly aromatic nose of peach, apricot, citrus flesh and flowers, with that unmistakable Muscat perfume and just enough background minerality to keep things interesting. The palate is sweet in a Kabinett-to-Spätlese kind of way, but incredibly fresh, lively and easy to drink, with excellent acidity and beautiful fruit clarity. Tastes almost like a banana daiquiri crossed with a piña colada, but somehow stays bright and refreshing rather than heavy. Ridiculously delicious and dangerously drinkable. — 6 days ago