Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

The second vintage and wow this is stunning. Leaps and bounds better than the 19 and the 19 was a great effort. Nose is buttery and confectionary with stunning mineral depth. Smells almost chevalier or batard like. Hoisted up by its own Batard. Dazzlingly pure and my goodness this is just so ultra refined. Really penetrates my nostrils like the aromas are almost solid objects. Unreal. Palate is deep, rich and bracing. Wow the acidity on this is brilliant with icing on a cake texture and just so refined, classy and long my goodness this is long. So pure and so sappy. Amazingly clean. Just an awesome bottle of St. Aubin. Nose develops wet stones, fresh sea air and lemon drop. The balance here is exceptional. Treacly and elegant. Serious and playful while also being incredibly long. The length here is not to believed. This is one of the finest St. Aubins I’ve ever had. I can’t imagine why this is not a 9.7, but want to see what air can do to this.

Wow the cotton candy confection is just off the charts. Stunning. So clean. So airy. This is what white burgundy is all about. Fruit is coming around. Superb citrus and Meyer lemon. Some lime as well. Rieslingesque. — 13 hours ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.2

I drink a lot of White Rhone and that’s been one of my favorite things about the past 9+ years of Fass Selections. I didn’t before and now I realize that I have a passion for them. Nice to find a new wine category late in your wine drinking life one loves. Anyway this is beautiful. Nose is ripe yellow fruits, beeswax, gorgeous compactness and minerals. It’s really refined as well. Palate is ripe, unctuous and juicy but I’ll admit off the bat it’s showing it’s alcohol but it will integrate. It’s only 13% but that’s why you let white Rhone breathe. For the alcohol to integrate. Luscious and juicy. Deep but I’ll be back for when it’s integrated. It’s a solid 9.0 now but the finish, texture and depth suggest this will be wonderful in an hour.

9.0 to 9.2. Alcohol almost fully integrated in 10 minutes. Custardy now. Great length and terrific minerals. — 4 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Stunning nose. So tangy with early to midseason cherries. Spice and limestone galore. Really vibrant with incredible lift. Heavy cherryness. Ripe. Gorgeous. Palate is round, juicy and very tangy. Salty and pure. Lovely freshness. All tangy mid season red cherries and wonderful brightness. A summer Pinot. A beautiful lipstick like intensity to the nose. Gorgeous fruit density and texture. Unreal juiciness. Just explosive. A brilliant Tschuppen. — 6 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Lovely. Super mineral and precise. No formal notes. Cooking dinner wine. Really long. Will update tomorrow.

Today it’s super minerally with amazing depth of aroma. Still lean but man does it have breadth. Juicy and clean. Like a Riesling razor. 9.2 to 9.3. Juicy, luscious and lime infused finish. — a day ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Have not had in 5 years. Young as ever. Eternal. Smells like a 17 or 16. Super slate, Granny Smith apple flesh, woodlands, pine, apple skins, so lean and classic. The slate aromatic expression is wonderful. Awesome texture like icing on a cake and superb balance and freshness. What a finish. The unsung Prüm. Really compelling wine. Best showing ever. Such a huge core of fruit and mineral and the finish! This will last 25+ more year and this is my last bottle. What a great bottle. This is last of 4. I tasted this wine with Bert Selbach at the estate and was floored. Now the estate is sold and doesn’t exist anymore and Bert is retired. He was a great winemaker and if you ever find any of his stuff buy it. His Himmelreich and Domprobst stuff is top class and with age they transform . — 3 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Nose is so unique with lavender, tobacco, flowers and lots of minerals. Some deep black and red plum as well. Palate is super juicy, with extraordinary concentrating and purity. Explosive tiny plum and berry fruit. Really gorgeous fruit that is clearly defined. What purity the nose really starts to get perfumed but still needs time to open. The palate is really the showstopper here. Superb structure and tannins. Wow is this juicy and just ridiculously delicious. The finish is so long and framed just so perfectly. Wonderful wine. As this airs the structure becomes more serious but the tannins are extraordinary and perfectly ripe. Dazzling length and finesse. World class wine. — 5 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Oldest one I’ve ever had. Dizzying and complex nose that defies its age. Mandarin orange that has slight torrefaction. Unreal caramel, bitter sweet cocoa, elegant and constantly unfurling. The citrus fruit is crazy on the nose. Wonderful airiness. Minerals galore. Ocean breeze. Unreal complexity and so graceful. Wow. 9.8 nose. Just insane. Complex and concentrated with wake you up acidity and just lovely salty/caramel freshness. Elegant and refined and just so complex. Had some dental work this week and man my gums are reminding me after a sip of this. Unreal finish and coats the palate but lively and so salty. This is genius! With air the nose gets so honeyed with God’s caramel.

9.6 to 9.7 overnight. Just so elegant, refined and long. Infinite complexity. This is harmony that only comes with being 43 years old. — 2 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.2

Big, ripe and opulent nose. Peach, melon, bursting and super ripe but not over the top. But at the edge. Gorgeously balanced and high toned. Honey, custard. Lovely. Palate is ripe, concentrated and the acid is just barely ok. Right at my personal edge. But it’s still fresh from intense minerality. Citrus, peach and minerals on the palate. Superb concentration. The mineral freshness gets more and more intense with air. Makes up for the just ok acid. Lovely stuff. Super long finish. Almost a 9.3. — 3 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Stunningly deep nose of cassis, tree bark, spice and wild mint. A scene in nature. Plum. Such pure fruit. Also violets. Super floral, but darker flowers. Crushed rocks and wet earth. As classic as it gets. The first growth of Cahors. Palate is silky and textured with amazing depth. Superb sap, power and concentration. Such class and finesse. So refined and elegant. Ripe and substantial tannins and but again so refined. Amazing length. Brilliant wine. Unreal freshness. Sappy and deep. Has the guts to go 35 more years. Profound.

As this opens it gets so velvety, so sappy, so elegant. Just a brilliant bottle. — 5 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

I love 2018 in the Mosel. If you nailed it it’s as good as 15. If you didn’t, well there’s always 19. Nose is quiet and closed. Some slate, honey, wild mint and hints of tangerine and peach flesh. Hint of vulcanized rubber. Palate is dynamite. Good acidity but so complex and deep. The depth here is more than the 15. A fresh, tangy honeyed richness just takes over the palate. It’s nimble and racey as well. What a mouthfeel and that icing on the cake texture. So delicious and awesome. — 6 days ago