Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Tough vintage only means that Aligre transcended the vintage even more than normal. Killer nose. Such pure fruit. Rhubarb city. Strawberry, plum skin, cassis, but barely cassis and gorgeous light mid to early season cherry. Smoke, mint and more. Stunning fruit clarity on the attack and terrific concentration and depth. Chewy and tannic and finish is clipped for now but just opened and needs much time to unwind but good bones. So juicy and pure. Wow. The tannins are a combo of very 13 and very aligre. I love them so much. So sappy, dry, noble and pure. This has 50 years ahead of it. — a month ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of 90 minutes. The 2012 pours a deep ruby/purple with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of Montmorency cherry, blackberry, dill, toasted coconut, olive, zatar, and a touch of vanilla. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This only got better with air and might be my favorite young Tondonia since I first drank the 2006 vintage. Really good stuff already! Drink now with some patience and through 2042. — 4 months ago

Aaron Tan

9.9

One of the best evenings of wine I’ve had this year, and it was just focused on this duo. Opened as inspiration for this year’s red pick at Miao Lu (a name to remember for those reading. I’ll say it here first - some of the best Pinot’s and Chard’s in the world will be coming out of this project high up in Yunnan!), and they both gave great context to the task.

When I harvested with Klaus-Peter in 2017, the vineyards bore the scars of hail, every last one of them. The damage was manifest in what we came to call "hail berries" (misshapen berries). To my untrained palate, they tasted perfectly fine. Naturally, I asked KP why we were discarding them, and his response, while not entirely unexpected, was still astonishing (paraphrasing of course): "I don't need to know precisely what they do," he said, "but if there's even a chance they might diminish the wine by 1%, they're gone. And these? They look capable of much worse."

That unyielding spirit of his was, I must admit, my torment at Abtserde, the vineyard hit hardest by the hail. We spent an entire day sorting and picking a single row - granted, the rows were long, but the pace was glacial. The true enemy, though, wasn’t the relentless sorting, but the wasps. Those little demons made an already grueling task even more daunting, dodging their stings as we plucked berries one by one, like selecting pearls from a troubled sea. What we ended up with were, quite literally, tiny gems - "caviar" berries of purity. By day’s end, the sight was something to behold. Despite the torment, the hard work was unquestionably worth it. The 17’ Abtserde is my wine of the vintage.

I’ve had the 17’ Abtserde on numerous occasions but this takes the cake as the best (note to self: best to decant a young Abtserde hard). It is a marvel of purity and depth, with its nose evoking Meyer lemon, iodine, chalk, and flint. These aromas reappear on the palate with a nearly overwhelming intensity, blending piquant brightness and mineral-rich concentration. With more air, a floral, bittersweet herbal note very typical of the vineyard appears (smells like the place even). As the evening unfolded, the wine seemed to grow younger, each glass more lively than the last. The final sip was almost painfully austere, like drinking pure limestone, its explosive palate held together by sharp acidity and a palpable, phenolic grip. The finish seemed endless. One of my best Keller experiences this year. — 9 months ago

Pooneet K

9.2

Last had this vintage a couple years ago. These obviously have a long life ahead of them. With some nice air, this does open up. Wonderful dark fruit and earth aromas. Tannins are quite present and a bit bitter (not in a bad way at all). Excellent acid on the finish. Delicious pairing with kinderhook pork chops with tutto porchetta seasoning. — 2 days ago

Darren Dittrich

9.4

Perfect right bank, Merlot dominant. Yes, a baby... but with an hour or two of air and the right food, really lovely. — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Part of a Chateau Mouton Rothschild vertical from 1988-1990. This was my second time enjoying the 1990 vintage and, much like my previous experience, this was rather quiet early and then came on with the business, late. As before, a mix of red and black cassis, ripe and desiccated cherries, tobacco leaf, cedar box, old leather, damp earth, some mushrooms and baking spices. After two similar experiences, I believe this vintage needs a lot of patience and a lot of air to wake up. Without either, it will be misunderstood. Drink now through 2040+ — 8 months ago

Christian Fischer

9.0

Last bottle. Time to drink is now, don’t think this will improve from here. Needed a bit of air to come together, but overall remained somewhat muted. — a month ago

Andrew Shaheen

9.1

Always excellent. Young but beautiful with an hour of air — 3 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

The new vintage! Yay! Just a stunning nose that is at once confectionary, opulent and chiseled. Just insane. It has that aromatic roundness that very very few wines get. Like an orb of Cassaneas. Lime zest, sea salt, green apple skins. Unreal clarity. What a palate. Concentrated and deep but showing a bit of shock (arrived 5 days ago) and seems a bit clipped on the mid and finish. But man the length tells me this will expand like a peacock’s tail. Unreal density and concentration but is light as a feather. So juicy and acid is very good but it’s no 22 or 21. Think 19 or 17. Nose is so saline. Man the energy and almost tannic grip on the palate is brilliant as it fleshes out. This will be tracked tonight. Wow with a few hours of air this is like a better 18 Cassaneas and that’s the best one ever. This now has an icing on cake texture and outstanding purity, depth, texture and freshness. 9.6. Wow. On Day 2 this is even more elegant and is so close to a 9.7. What a wine! — 4 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Gorgeous and best JJ ever. Nose is full of mid season cherries, spice, gentle wood shavings from woodshop when one was a kid. Really aromatic and alluring. Really huge spice. So so aromatic and casts a spell on you. Palate is so juicy and full of life. Sweet and sour cherry fruit and big time acids and wonderful structure and purity. This needs mega mega air. The sweetness on the finish and mid is to just die for and then gets tamed by the incredible acidity and mineral spine. — a year ago