Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Tons of floral, wild dark berries and spice on the nose. Mid season cherry. Palate is so good. Rich, elegant, deep, gritty and nimble. Some nice amplitude in the mid palate and great tension and red fruits on the finish. Needs mega air so I can only assume score goes higher tomorrow. — 5 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

2005 vintage. Last tasted 11.23.23 (9.4), 11.15.19 (9.4), 06.01.17 (9.5) Last bottle. Respectable, low neck fill. Used a Durand and excellent cork. Decanted with sticky (to the bottle) sediment and not that much floating loose to navigate. Tasted after 30 minutes. Those inimitable, sexy Cos stylings. Medium/medium heavy (still!?) bod. Richness. Ample fruit. Slight amount of aged George Clinton/Bootsy funk. Highly restrained tannins. Woah. This. Did. Not. Suck. Time to reorder. 9.13.25. — 10 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

See previous note from 2 years ago in November 2022 - this covers it all. Dusty plum and black currant, herbaceous and intense - in some respects more SA than WA. An unbelievable Trophy Cabinet from Wine Shows around Australia. I won’t list them all - a few highlights are Best Cabernet and Best Red Wine at Royal Adelaide 2014; Best Cabernet or Bordeaux blend at Royal Melbourne 2014; Best Red Wine Royal Hobart 2014. This is just a cross section. This was the 2nd of 6 purchased. Will cellar through to the early 2030s. — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1996 vintage. Redonkulous, mid-neck fill and pristine cork (have had 17-20 similarly stored/performing bottles of different producers, varietals, regions from this particular cellar). Decanted with a mix of small chunk and coffee ground sed. Tasted immediately and over the course of two hours. That aged, silvery sheen in the color with a noticeable meniscus. Quiescent nose in the early going and showing. Took approx 30 mins of repeated decanted agitations to coax out a mix of herbs, orange zest/peel and slight beefiness. All this plus some American milk chocolate coalescing in flavor land. Light body. Still going strong after two hours. Likely another 7-10 years of drinking pleasure left from an above average vintage. 12.30.23. — 2 years ago

Daniel Ciolek

9.1

Consistency is good - see my notes from earlier vintage. Approachable on opening. Floral on the nose. Dense spicy raspberry and a touch of leather on the palate. Starting to show some mineral on a moderate long finish. Tannins show at the finish. Perhaps the vines are getting more mature as it seems as if the profile is moving towards an old world style that may need cellaring in future vintages. — 3 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

Tasted blind. Yellow gold in the glass, with similar notes as the 96 BBM and Batard next to it. Massive acidity. More floral than the other two. Very rich. This went neck and neck all night with the Batard as the best of the three. At first I liked the Chevy more but the Batard was right there too. 97+ — 4 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Gorgeous herbaceous nose. Beguiling mid to late cherry and a top note of an 18th century German Apotheke. Really fragrant, clear and vivid. Cola, cherry flower and loads of intense minerality. Really firing on all cylinders. Tree bark. Undergrowth. Just so complex. Palate is stuffed with structure, sappy vivid fruit and a banging long finish. Really long. Superb purity and density. But remains elegant and nimble. Wow this is long. Great inner mouth aromas and so juicy. This will get better with air but 9.4 off the bat. This ramps up the finesse as it gets air. Sweeter fruit as well but not too sweet. — 4 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I haven’t had a Bordeaux in a while. Especially, with a Ribcap. So, why not an 82? The vintage Robert Parker made his career as the only critic who called it correctly.

Very good 80’s Bordeaux were my first true wine love. Their style & 12-13% ABV will always be my cherished infatuation. Wished it had never changed.

Bought this Calon Segur on the secondary market several yrs ago. Tricky cork. Used my Durand. All good. Fill line perfect, no bottle neck tannin burn but plenty of velvety sediment.

If any of you ever wondered why there is a heart on the label. Here is the interesting reason…

It symbolizes the estate's deep-rooted history and the affection of its former owner, the Marquis de Ségur. Despite owning prestigious estates like Château Lafite and Château Latour, he famously declared, "I make wine at Lafite and Latour, but my heart is at Calon." His sentiment is immortalized by the heart emblem on the label.

Opened it and let it breathe from the bottle for 45 minutes. Tasted it and decanting it in stages. Then, stopped 1/2 way through and poured the bottom half of the bottle from the bottle.

82 is such a grand, classic vintage. For the most part, I drink Calon Segur’s too early, even at 20 yrs of age. I don’t want to say it is a long in tooth as its neighbor, Montrose, but it is close. This 82 is drinking perfectly w/ 41 yrs in bottle and will hold another 5 yrs. Such soft, perfectly darkish spices with elegantly ripe fruits.

This 82 glides over the palate. There is only beautiful elegance, nothing bites back. The fruits are older (not old or past their prime), ripe fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, both plums but lean plum vs black, dark cherries, crazy, outstanding, hoovering raspberries with notes of blueberries & shades of freshly picked rhubarb. Some black cherry cola, anise to understated black licorice, dark chocolate pudding, caramel, layered, gentle baking spices-nutmeg, clove, cinnamon & vanillin, touch of sun tea, old leather, dryish to fresh tobacco w/ash, charcoal, elegant graphite, dry limestone powder, dry river pebbles, black, rich earth w/ dry leaves, magical, dark spices, grey volcanics, dry stems, just a hint of dry herbs, dry top soil, fresh & withering dark, red flowers, red roses, grand acidity with perfect; balance, tension, structure and a grand, gentle finish that goes on & on and eventually lands on an amazing soft buffet of earthiness.

This is a wine that is technically a 94, but w/ evolution & style a 97. Amazing bottle that you don’t want to end.

$500 a bottle today through the app. Somewhere around $10 upon release. — 6 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

1995 vintage. Light-medium body. Opened but not decanted. High neck fill. Solid cork. Relatively light sed. Tasted after one hour. Dusty with velveteen notes up front and a gradual thinning of intensity on the finish. As per the LR style, no explosive characteristics, only a seamless quality evident. This will hold in place for 7-8 years. 8.16.24. — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1994 vintage. Incredible color for a nearly three decade, Napa cab offering. Decanted and tasted after 5 mins and 2 hrs. Threw an absolutely ridiculous ton of sed...1963 vintage ports are both envious and jealous. Tight meniscus...looked like a 5 year old wine. Drank with the combined passion of age and youth. Shocking amounts of richness and integrated fruit. That pleasant surprise mated with the anticipated, back door tannins. Acidity still on point. Neck and neck with the 1994 Chateau Montelena estate Napa cab as the best 1994 Napa cab enjoyed this year. This has miles to go before it sleeps. 10.19.23. — 3 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Super mineral nose with discreet framing oak. Lemon flesh. Some rainer cherries. Saline and iodine. Subtle yet focused and incredibly complex nose. Such nice earth and mineral tones. Smells like Burgundy of yesteryear. Palate is so lean, salty and concentrated with a lingering hint of complex sweetness from the wood on the incredibly persistent finish. So juicy and leaning on the palate and just laser focused. So long. This has much more to give and has closed down a bit since I tasted it last. But a stunner. I’ll be back as it airs.

After 4 hours this is a wonder and has opened beautifully. Clear barely ripe granny smith apple, stunning mineral breadth and some white flowers. Palate is so juicy and saline. Luscious. It’s loosened up quite a bit. Long, structured finish. Super juicy. Fantastic. — 4 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Been a while delectable family. Flu then covid and only 3 wines in that period. Well I am back and smell and taste are as they were before all of this. Nose has peach skin, some ripe peach flesh but not too ripe, confectionary aromas. Loads of wet stones and pulverized shale. Super aromatic. Like a cross between Pfalz/Alsace. Palate is lean and precise. Really clean, balanced and so pure. Fiercely mineral. Lovely peach flesh, skin and sap on the very long finish. Really juicy and engaging. Delicious! — 4 years ago

Daniel Ciolek

9.2

Solid vintage year for the reserve cab. It’s one of the better balanced mid-Atlantic cabs you can find. It has the density and complexity of a top tier cab you’d expect from.more acclaimed Napa vineyards - but without the the ‘in your face’ tannins. Nice job Penn’s Woods! — 4 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Out of this world. Insane inner mouth aromas and crazy ass confectionary aromas. Just a masterpiece. Palate is lush and juicy with no hard edges and top .01% elegance. Just unbelievably delicious. — 7 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1979 vintage. Last tasted 07.15.25 (9.4). Bottom neck/top shoulder fill. Employed Durand with cork (60% saturated) easily extracted. Decanted with a funnel + decently small screen. Godzilla-styled sed. Tasted immediately after decanting and 30 mins later. Light-medium/medium body. Initially reticent but started to blossom after 20 minutes. Chunkiness flowed to cocoa powder, spearmint and milk chocolate. There was a 10-15 minute period of subtle, raw green bell pepper that shook out. Wine was gonzo after an hour so no further developments noted *shrugs.* Great time capsule enjoyed with more than a few people that could appreciate the history and experience. 13.7 ABV. Haha that is a current Napa pipe dream. 08.15.25. — 10 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

What a nose, some VA, lipstick like intensity, mid season cherry, keynes vignes from 2016. Wow so spicey and earthy. Wow what a generous palate and meatiness and such lift and very sweet fruits. But wonderful minerals on the finish. So much aromatic nuance with alpine scents, herbals. Wonderful finesse, so delicate and lacey, like a Gevrey Cherbaudes/Goulots, wild mint on the nose, sassafras, what a nose, Wow, energy and complexity. So juicy and deep. Such fine tannin structure. Black tea tannins. Nose is so harmonious and so Koosah. After 8 hours all these wines aromas congeal to such a sense of place. Palate is just so supple and sweet with such decadence. Oh wow. my score is up to a 9.7. Such sweetness backed up by structure. And so much energy and depth. Man the freshness, acid and depth is just unreal. Stunning aromatic depth. Asian spices and perfume. Super pure and decadent with great cut and energy. Awesome acidity and sweetness. Still a 9.7 but developed a lot more overnight. — 2 years ago

George Chen

9.4

Damn…perfect cork, high neck, in my cellar maybe 2 decades! Had to move over 1000 bottles due to leak …found some fun stuff…agree with rest of pro comments…all there! — 3 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.3

Some pretty oak on the nose. Roses.

Palate is elegant cherry fruit. Really elegant. Great texture. Some hint of cherry licorice. Lovely sweet fruit.


As this opens it’s losing some verve. Interesting though. There is an impactful precision. Balancing bitterness.

Fass selections. — 3 years ago

John Pavlovich

9.6

A wonderful bottle of wine, that you usually don’t drink on a lovely warm July evening. But what the heck, why not. We don’t get many evenings like this in our neck of woods. From the first whiff you know it’s a serious wine. In its prime, deep colour, slight bricking at edges, dense and deep, earthy, definitely not a wimpy wine. A long and persistent aftertaste confirms that this is a serious wine. And highly enjoyable one, too bad I don’t have more. — 4 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.3

This is Grade A Gamay manufactured right here in the USA. Tamed, cool to touch. No stemmy crunch, no VA. Elegant and dialed in, expressive fruit and soft comfortable blankety textures to snuggle right into.

Blatant black cherries, tiny wild strawberries and raspberries all the way down to a balanced bed of acid. — 4 years ago

with Cody