Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Alban is name of first child. what a nose, gamey, stoney, granite, loess, amazing nose. so so sick. red fruits. raspberry coulis. olives, leather, some funk, some barnyard, some horse. wow this nose. wow, so silky, so elegant, big and refined, but juicy and so so elegant. Amazing purity. So open and wide. Coulis. red fruit, so fine, so much velvety tannins, sleek and refined. polished classicism. precise dense deep and lots of material. Drinking so well now. — 9 months ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

This is 50% from The Rocks and 50% from the surrounding hills. Both basaltic rock-based terroir, but the it’s wind-eroded loess in form in the hill and the famous galets-like round stones in the river plain that is known as The Rocks. And, unfortunately, I got an email a few months ago saying this winery is shuttering. Sad, because their wines were excellent, if under-publicized. The nose on this is wonderful, with dense, vibrant dark berry fruit, a bit of fresh beef blood, and smoky gravel. In the mouth, it’s got dense, low-toned flavors that are contrasted with penetrating acids, which is not the norm in Walla Walla. It seems a little tightly wound but the tannins are well contained. It’s a beautifully balanced wine that seems a couple of years away from peaking, but is damn tasty right now.

I actually lucked into buying this bottle. When my wife and I visited, we wanted to taste it, but they said it was sold out. We tasted and talked and bought some other excellent wines (the GSM was terrific), and just as we were leaving someone came in with a case of this that was being returned for some reason. So we lucked into this bottle! Shoulda bought more! — 2 years ago

RJ Stefanski

9.0

So much flavor wrapped up in a bright, almost too easy to drink package. No mistaking this for anything but Riesling with an exuberant nose of tangerine, petrol, and pool toys. Great body with supple fruit and mouth watering acidity. Delicious now but sure to cellar well for at least a decade.

More info: the Tesch single plot wines are always spatlese trocken (usually around 12.5%), with around 4 g/l of RS and 7.8 g/l acidity, with no oak.

Krone vineyard: south east facing slopes, dry site with soils ranging from loess limestone to weathered sandstone. — 3 years ago

Aaron Tan

8.9

Part of the still cider section in our cider study. Off-dry so pretty nice. As mentioned in previous notes, I found out that I prefer some bubbles and sugar in my cider from this study. Notes lost, so here are some online ones:

Semi-dry - fruit, seasoning and finesse! Orchard fruits collected very late from ancient high trunks - at St. Martin 2020! Mood on foggy autumn days with sunny lunchtime hours!

In the heart of the original Wetterau - a still wildly romantic area with wooded hills, grazed lowlands and rustic villages - the ancient high trunk apple trees of our Demeter colleague Wolfgang grow on the slopes on rugged rock and fertile loess. In his memory, the fruit trees have always been large and full! The traditional wine varieties thrive there - above all bean apple, winter rambour, prince apple, rose apple and other forgotten varieties. On three days late in autumn in wintry temperatures, we collected them by hand and spent our apple treasure home, gently squeezed and expanded with a lot of time and love. After almost a year of storage in the large tank, this wonderful essence of the orchard was bottled. — a year ago

Wulf Losee

9.6

2018 opened Oct 2021. Red raspberries and thyme on the nose. Dried currents on the front that are almost immediately balanced by some flinty notes that tingle on the front of the tongue. On the mid palate it continues with mild red-fruit flavors that are offset by some delicate high notes—that remind me of the smell of the loess that that gets blown off the Horse Heaven Hills on dry summers days. It has a slightly tart finish that lingers—but the satiny tannins offset this zing, and they hold this wine together from beginning to end. I’d want to call the tannic structure “heavy” except that they never come to dominate the tasting experience. This wine is lush and zaftig from start to finish, but its tremendous sophistication offsets any heaviness.

BTW, the fruit (which is subtle to begin with) fades after an hour of decanting. The tannic body opens up (i.e. it gets even smoother and fuller) but some harsh high notes begin to dominate on the finish. Frankly, I like this wine best a half an hour out of the bottle. If an increase in intensity is OK for you, go for a longer decanting. I like it better with less oxygenation. The fact that it gets a bit more intense with decanting makes me wonder if this vintage won’t lose some of its subtlety with aging. I’m not going to be able to resist drinking up my limited allocation, so, l’ll never be able to perform the aging experiment. — 3 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.6

The ‘Loess Vineyard’ was planted to Bordeaux varietals nearly 20 years ago just due east of the winery. Weighing in at 14.7% alcohol, layers of toasty oak aromatics are woven together with violets, Turkish coffee and shades of huckleberry liquor on this gorgeous nose. The palate is fresh and impeccably balanced. Ripe dark cherries combine with cigar ash, Turkish coffee and shades of blueberry compote on this deep and luxuriously textured wine. Sinfully good to enjoy in its hedonistic youth, the 2017 ‘Loess Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon will enjoy drinking enjoyment for many decades to come. Be sure to give this a long decant if enjoying in its nascent phase. Drink 2020-2040- 96 — 4 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.0

As I recall, this was a little wild but filled with energy. Notes and info online:

Sweet - with a full bouquet, it presents itself elegantly in the glass. Its fine acidity vibrates and invigorates. Diverse play of aromas flatters the palate. The 2019 vintage stands out in youth with a special Cassis note. Apple can be so wonderful! His maturity potential: 20 years and more!

Wildlings on loess is our flagship. 21 unfinished apple seedlings stand wild and root-fast on a 1/2 morning most fertile loess, based on rock. Each tree counts over 90 Lenze and is a genetic individual - with its own growth and diverse aromatic fruits. The orchard is characterized by a very wild herb-rich flora and species-rich wildlife. The unique terroir is wonderfully reflected in this top cider. In 2006, we sowing freely from these ancient wildling trees - just like the many generations before us! 40 young wildlings on loess trees now enrich genetic diversity in Nieder-Erlenbach. From year to year, they are increasingly fruity. Wildlings on Löss 2.0 is the first wine made from fruits of both layers. — 2 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.3

Quartz, granite, loess soils. Fermented in oak with native yeast. 14 months elevage in barrel 25% new 75% 3rd and 5th fill.

Terpene driven florality, sweet apricot, Christmas spices (from oak), wet stone. Mouth filling texture. A beautiful example of Condrieu. — 2 years ago

Enebro Avila

9.0

Muy bien para su precio, 10 eur — 3 years ago

Austen Ito

8.9

Red spicy fruit, eucalyptus, mocha, sweet spices. Velvety however a bit hot at 14.5%. Medium+ body, tannins, medium acidity and finish. — 4 years ago