Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.2

Nose of slate, mineral, Meyer lemon, herbs, even Rainer cherries. Really nice. Very clean and very pure with racy acidity and terrific energy. Lovely lime/mineral finish. Nice mouthfeel, excellent balance and really refined. Long finish. Salty. Great. — 2 days ago

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9.0

Smoky struck flint wreaths, white peach, fig and lime on the nose. The palate impression is glossy and lusciously-fruited, with a bittersweet, crunchy hint of cassis berries adding to its appeal. The residual sugar is supportive, yet not perceived as outright sweetness. Hints of smoke persist intriguingly in a lingering finish. This lovely example of “hidden sweetness” in Riesling – coincidentally harboring the same 17 grams of residual sugar as its vintage 2016 predecessor – weighs in at slightly higher alcohol (exactly 12%) but preserves a nice sense of lift to accompany its animating juiciness. The source this year is half from Hexamer’s Schlossböckelheimer In den Felsen and half from a nearly adjacent portion of Schlossböckelheimer Mühlberg owned by a semi-retired grower whom Hexamer says farms conscientiously and is proud of the grapes he sells. (David Schildknecht, Vinous, April 2019) — 6 days ago

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9.1

This bottling was reduced in volume not only directly by frost but also by Schneider having utilized some of the fruit from his “Kabinett” parcels in this year’s dry Klamm bottling. But he says he might do the same thing another year, because demand for Kabinett, indeed for sweet wine generally, continues to fall-off at his estate. Apple and pear are wreathed in honeysuckle on a fetching nose, and the palate displays correspondingly luscious fruit juiciness as well as wafting inner-mouth perfume, both reinforced by judicious sweetness. There is an impressive sense of extract-richness despite the wine’s sense of lift. A bright, zesty influx of fresh lime lends refreshment and tang to the lingering finish. (David Schildknecht, Vinous, April 2019) — 6 days ago

Ryan Vento

9.2

Guys night out at The Tasting Room.
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Super delicious and refreshing with lively citrus fruits, slate, river rocks/minerals. — 15 days ago

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9.1

As usual, this is the one dry Hexamer wine to perpetuate the tradition of Prädikat, and that is done solely to satisfy the Norwegian importer who takes all of it. (All to one country, yes; but this has become a high-volume cuvée by estate standards.) The fruit comes from the Eisendell as well as from a site known as Grosser Stein for the huge stone that marked the boundary between the holdings of the Rheingrafen (counts) and those of the Disibodenberg monastery. Picked nearly a month earlier than was the highly-impressive 2016, this weighs-in at 11.9% alcohol, and that shows in an attractive sense of levity and spring vis-à-vis Hexamer’s other dry Rieslings of this vintage. Fresh lime, apple, piquant aromas as well as a juicy, crisp-edged and pip-tinged presence on the glossy palate serve for penetrating. Subtly bitter but cooling and stimulating notes of melon rind compound the sense of crunch and piquancy while lovely, bittersweet inner-mouth perfume adds allure. The combination of vivacity and refreshment with floral and mineral intrigue renders the buoyant, bell-clear, seriously-sustained finish next-sip compelling. (David Schildknecht, Vinous, April 2019) — 6 days ago

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9.5

The nose is dominated by intimations of red currant, red raspberry, lime and grapefruit; though, to be sure, there are also intimations of marine salinity and crushed stone. Once the wine hits your palate, there is a near-electric spark and a rush of bright juiciness allied to mouthwatering salinity and invigorating crystalline stony impingements. There’s also a suggestion of bittersweet inner-mouth florality more typical for Frühlingsplätzchen. A sense of tightly-coiled energy is allied to silken texture and a sense of buoyancy improbable for such a palpably extract-rich wine of around 12.5% alcohol. The vibrant, refreshing, multi-faceted finish delivers tingling, crunchy fresh fruit and myriad mineral notes, tugging not just on the salivary glands but on the cheeks and mandible. (David Schildknecht, Vinous, April 2019) — 6 days ago

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9.2

From mature stands of vines, largely in the Stromberg, this was harvested around a week ahead of the corresponding Grosses Gewächs. Crushed stone is suggested already on the nose, along with pit-tinged peach and zesty grapefruit. The palpably dense palate displays strong piquancy and palpable stone suffusion to complement its rich, generously-juicy fruit. The bright finish, in typical Schäfer-Fröhlich fashion, really gets a purchase on the salivary glands. (David Schildknecht, Vinous, April 2019) — 6 days ago

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9.2

This smells intensely of sage and sage flowers, along with passion fruit, grapefruit and elder flower. (“I am Scheurebe, hear me roar!”) Given such a resounding opening gambit, the wine proves (relatively!) discreet on the polished palate, turning in a coolingly minty and melony direction while preserving such luscious fruit as well as herbal pungency as the aromas promised. The terrifically-sustained finish is infectiously juicy, exhibiting overt but perfectly-integrated and supportive sweetness. Sage, grapefruit zest and smoky black tea accents serve for invigorating counterpoint. On occasion, the Rumpfs have demonstrated that these vines in the Dautenpflänzer can yield Scheurebe capable of playing in the Pfeffingen or Müller-Catoir league – and this is one of those delicious occasions. (On the heels of this beauty – on November 2, 2018 – I tasted a dry 2018 Scheurebe trocken, from fruit harvested in mid-September, that was already improbably delicious; but the Dautenpflänzer Scheurebe grapes from 2018 had been picked only a few days before I visited!) (David Schildknecht, Vinous, April 2019) — 6 days ago

Douglas Braun

9.2

Wow really pretty nose spiced apricot so intense rose petal dried and high acidity — 4 days ago

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9.5

White currant, grapefruit, almond, struck flint and sea breeze aromatically anticipate the combination of bright citricity, mouthwatering salinity and smoky accents that inform a palpably dense palate. In addition, a sense of crushed stone suffusion and a raw oyster-like animal, mineral and herbal savor add to the dazzling complexity and salivary gland-tugging insistence of this bell-clear, vibrantly-sustained vinous tour de force. (David Schildknecht, Vinous, October 2018) — 4 hours ago