Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

I adore Buffet’s 17’s and this is drop dead gorgeous. Black cherry, licorice, late season red cherries, smoke, superb minerality, we got 100+ year old vines here and this is the top wine of the estate. Floral and so pure. Only been open 10 minutes. So good. Will only get better. Raspberry. Really impressive. But a firm background of intense minerality. Palate is a dream and so so elegant. This is very very well made. Juicy and clean. Concentrated and so fresh. This is like 85% closed at the moment but I’ll be back once it opens. Very solid 9.4 now.

UPDATE: 9.4 to 9.5.

Gorgeous nose. Blackberry, black cherry, so pure, so deep and so vivid. Lipstick like intensity. So so aromatic. Much more open and expansive than yesterday. Palate has painful intensity and wonderful black and red cherry fruit. Elegant and fresh with really lovely energy. 9.4 to 9.5. — 8 days ago

Philip Deibel

9.2

Ok Burgundy, I think I’m starting to understand you. Recommended by Matt Arnold at WineFeed, this is an elegant wine. There is a grounded etherealness to it. Is that a word? Anyway, the delicate cherry, raspberry and orange peel maintains weight with an almost sappy quality that never gets close to being cloying. Faint earthiness in the background. Good depth but is impressive through balance and drinkability. — 14 days ago

Benoit Duhamel

9.4

Excellente bouteille qui nous fait voir que le producteur est l’élément le plus important en Bourgogne. Un simple village qui sort aussi grand. Bouteille achetée au Mouton rouge à Megeve. Au nez c’est gourmand, des fruits tropicaux, une touche de miel. En bouche c’est suave, avec une belle acidité qui revient en rétro. Une longueur digne d’un grand cru. Pas un bon RQP mais assurément un grand vin ! — 5 days ago

Matthew Cohen

9.5

Gorgeous out of the gate.

Nose has tempered richness. A hint of wood. Some iodine. Intense almost perfumed not not in a floral way. Gorgeous.

Palate is salty mineral some richness. Awesome balance. Crunchy. Crisp. Just a hint of top notch clean butter.

As this opens a hint of apricot.

Very delicious.

Bought from fass selections. — 7 days ago

Aaron Tan

8.9

First experience with Launay-Horiot. While I've heard lots of good things about this rising star in Burgundy, the 15' Chaponnières was just underwhelming. Sure, there's balance and depth in the wine, but I expected a little more freshness and fineness from the domaine. Tasting notes from the professionals seem to indicate the prevalence of the vintage's warmth in this wine. Rich and earthy would best sum it up. Bouquet of cherry brandy, earth, mushroom, and graphite. The palate is muscular and smokey, balanced by well-judged acidity. Nice chalky tannins and finishes with a savory tang. A miss here for me especially for the price, but at least there wasn't any marmalade notes which I detest in Pino. Will seek out Xavier's wines again, but probably 16' onwards first. — 2 months ago

Matt Lasater

9.2

So much SO2 at first, this needed a full day open to blow off. Subtle nose of wet stone, some pomaceous fruit, SO2. You could argue its flawed given the perceptible sulphur. With air and vigorous aeration it slowly unwinded and blew off. Palate is gorgeous though, it is taut with a defined sensibility to it. Lemon peel, orange zest, ripe pear, white peach, orchard blossom, crushed flint and chalk, hazelnut, popcorn, and an ever so slight touch of vanilla and spice on the long finish. A thread of reduction no surprise there. Plenty of top-of-the slope character with racy acid and mineral backbone. I find it rather finessed all in all. Would love to revisit in 5-8 years. — 5 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Superb aromas. Lemon curd, lime zest, minerals on minerals, spiced apple, some pear, some hints of funk. Like the good BO. BO after sex kind of BO. Palate is elegant, grippy and superbly made. Elegant, complex and just delightful. Has that 14 tensile nervousness but also shows that 14 while having acid does not have depth of 17 or 18. Long. So well made with lingering lemons on the finish. — 3 days ago

Manny Abascal

9.3

Complex nose with earth and rose, red fruit on palate, pretty, silky tannins, in a great place and no rush to drink. — 16 days ago

Austin Hohnke

9.1

Bright, red fruits. High toned acid. Earth. Touch of barnyard. In a great spot, particularly if you’ve got pork loin and mushrooms hanging around. — 22 days ago

Mario Vaillancourt

9.5

Very complex, elegant and rich flowery nose with some white fruit, some new oak too a little bit as well with those hints of mint and that light smokey side. The palate is absolutely magnificent with a roundness on the attack, giving the palate a soft smooth rich and classy enveloping texture, yet lively vibrant acidity adding energy and backbone with some saline minerality, ending with a very long magnificent finish. Might be even better with 2-3 years in the cellar although excellent right now.

Un nez complexe, élégant, riche de fleurs blanches, fruits blancs, une touche de bois neuf au nez aussi avec des arômes légèrement sur la menthe avec un petit côté fumé. La bouche est tout simplement magnifique, attaque ronde donnant une impression de richesse, ample avec du gras mais sans excès, texture veloutée et caressante mais aussi avec une acidité vive, vibrante, donnant tout ce qu’il faut comme colonne vertébrale, beaucoup d’énergie, un côté salin et minéral aussi, avec une très longue finale savoureuse. Sera encore meilleur avec 2-3 and en cave. Superbe bouteille. 94-95 — 11 days ago