Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Initially restrained on the nose, with faint tar, roses, chestnut, macerated mid-season cherry and a touch of classic Nebbiolo funk. The palate is already beautiful, silky, sweet and elegant, with tremendous purity, juiciness and vivid cherry fruit. Late-breaking Nebbiolo tannins build steadily across the palate, while the finish explodes with intense mid-season cherry and remarkable persistence. Aromatically still closed, but the finesse, balance and sheer length are already superb. — 18 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Soaring nose of crystalline cranberry and red currant, with sour cherry, spice and beautiful limestone energy underneath. The palate is gorgeous, elegant and almost weightless, with mid-season cherry fruit, a touch of richness, explosive tiny-berry intensity and tremendous purity. Juicy and luscious, with wispy, perfectly ripe tannins and a long limestone-driven finish that wildly overdelivers for a sub-$30 Pinot. — a month ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Wide open and immediately compelling. Gorgeous nose of sauvage and macerated cherries with that full chord progression of early, mid and late season fruit, plus a touch of black cherry, huge spice, sous-bois, wet moss and earthy minerality. Milk chocolate develops with air and makes the nose even more enveloping. The palate is juicy, fresh and complete, with premium mid-palate opulence, terrific concentration, restrained sweetness and dynamite inner-mouth aromas. Classic Champans. — 2 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Brilliant showing. So much energy and unreal inner mouth perfume. Nose is all roses and tar. Cherries will develop. Drinking perfectly. Huge concentration and depth. Awesome mid season cherry fruit and a terrific finish. — 5 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Amazing nose. Mid to late season very ripe cherries, cranberry bog, white chocolate, and some citrus rind. Gorgeous. Spice and violets as well. Palate is rich and tense at the same time with gorgeous sweet cherry fruit and unreal purity and freshness. Super silky and sweet with great acidity and mineral sweet cherry finish. Now with air there is gorgeous blackberry and black raspberry. Unreal red cherries and spice. Really lifted nose. Palate is much redder than the nose lets on and has really engaging minerality. So pure and well made. Almost a 9.5. — 2 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Nose is all mid season red cherries, cherry flower and so so pure. Mulberry, cranberry bog and so much more. Lipstick like intensity and just so focused and clear. Insane nose. Unreal limestone and depth but also it’s like it’s vibrating on its own plain. Wow what a palate. Juicy and structured with just silly good cherry fruit of the early to mid season style and unreal clarity, focus and linearity. Unreal concentration and depth. So stunning and like a squeegee on the palate. Now some violets on the nose and unreal concentration and sorry but light and ethereal. Stunning beyond belief.After air it gets more supple and textured. All red fruit on the palate. — 2 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Wow this is singing. Stunningly deep floral/cherry nose. Mid season cherries that are perfectly ripe and juicy and so clear. Unreal spice and tweed jacket as well. 9.5 nose. Blown away. This drinks so well with 5-6 years on it. Palate is just heaven. Juicy and so decadent with good weight and luscious black cherry and late season red cherry fruit. Sapid and deep. Mineral finish. Outstanding showing. Unreal balance and freshness. It’s a 9.5 right now. Tannins need to smooth out so maybe even a 9.6 with air. — 3 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Gorgeous, classic Burgundy nose of red cherry, sour cherry, spice, sous-bois, wet earth, fresh moss and desiccated leaves. The palate is opulent yet remarkably light on its feet, with terrific concentration and density, that beautiful 2023 progression from sour to mid-season cherry, and barely sweet, velvety tannins. Pure, clean, juicy and wonderfully balanced, with real depth despite the featherweight feel. Just a terrific, immensely drinkable Pinot. — 14 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Absolutely stunning out of the gates, with a deep, creamy nose of mid-season cherry, dark cherry, black cherry, raspberry spice cake, leather and a faint birthday-cake sweetness, all framed by beautifully integrated wood and a very clear limestone signature. The palate is a nuclear detonation of tiny-berry fruit, with extraordinary clarity, juiciness, freshness and energy, plus velvety, beautifully articulated tannins and outrageous inner-mouth aromas. There is an almost holographic intensity to the wine, as if every liquid molecule explodes with fruit and mineral detail. The sweetness and freshness are in remarkable balance, the finish is long and limestone-driven, and this has enormous upside potential toward 9.7 or even 9.8 as it continues to open.

After about 75 minutes this moved higher. The finish is epic, nearly two minutes long, with beautifully hierarchical layers of dark cherry fruit, limestone and serious, perfectly articulated tannin. Tremendous clarity, intensity and structure, with the fruit still absolutely detonating through the finish. Remarkable wine with easily another decade ahead of it. 9.6 to 9.7. — 15 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Very cool-toned Pfalz Pinot from a great site. Nose of cranberry bog, mid-season cherry, sour cherry, raspberry and beautiful minerality. Palate is all tangy cranberry, sour cherry, freshness, structure and acidity, with velvety tannins that still have bite. Almost Swiss in its restraint. Closed down a bit after air, but serious, pure and site-driven. — 3 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Gorgeous nose of stoniness, sour cherry, herbs, limestone and some mid season ripe cherry. Really potent fruit aromas just jump out of the glass. Terrific stony and grippy Pommard structure. Really dominated by structure out of the gates. But it’s all there. Some deep cherry licorice after some air. On the nose and palate. Unreal fruit and concentration but anchored by freshness and energy. What length. Wow. This is insane. — a year ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

What a drop dead stunningly profound wine. Just so brilliant. Nose is all elite plum, black raspberry, mid season cherries, sour cherries, black cherries and lovely tree bark and a hint of herbals. So complex and so pure. There is a delicacy and elegance to the nose that is stunning. Also some citrus top notes. Palate is at once round and but also has terrific energy from what seems like stem inclusion. So nimble and pure. This has serious structure and the fruit in the palate is sweet but also high toned and cooling and one can tell this is a cool vintage wine. What an epic finish and such refined tannins. This also needs to breathe. And it will improve and wow what a wine. Let’s see where it goes. — 2 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Super expressive nose of chestnut, mid season cherries that are ripe and super juicy. Some tar, some florals and terrific lift. Intense and deep nose. Palate is so perfect. Juicy and compact with perfect balance and stunning Nebbiolo sweetness. Velvety and sweet tannins. Long. Drinking so well now. Lots of spices in the midpalate and the finish. Incredible tannins. — 3 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

Over three hours this opened beautifully, gaining depth, flesh and amplitude while keeping terrific freshness. The nose became increasingly brambly and spicy, with damson, moss, forest underbrush and deep cherry fruit. The palate filled out into a velvety, juicy, richly fruited expression, with the classic 2023 chord progression from sour cherry through sweet and mid-season cherry, substantial ripe tannins and excellent acidity. Forward and generous for Fichots, but still unmistakably structured and site-driven, with a long, tangy finish and real depth. Delicious now with air, but clearly built to evolve.

Day two and this has fully arrived. The tannins have melted into the wine and become beautifully textural, while the fruit is now deep, luxurious and completely seamless, with terrific freshness keeping all that richness alive. Gorgeous amplitude, purity and balance, with the classic brambly, spicy, woodland Fichots character still underneath. I gave this 9.5 back in May, and after day two I see no reason whatsoever not to put it right back there. — 3 days ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Gorgeous, refined nose of cherry flower, glazed cherry, spice, earth and subtle florals, all delivered with tremendous silkiness and restraint. The palate is more closed than my last bottle, but still beautifully elegant and nimble, with sweet and sour mid-season cherry fruit, very high acidity, laser-like precision, excellent delineation and a long, energetic finish. Clearly beginning to shut down, but the material is all there.

Much more open this morning, with the nose largely holding its beautiful cherry-flower, spice and earth profile but feeling a touch more integrated. The palate has transformed, now decadent, silky, sweet and intensely juicy, with gorgeous texture, excellent freshness and a much more complete sense of harmony. 9.5 to 9.6 overnight. — a month ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Spice, mineral, red fruits, early-season raspberry, and compote. Really aromatic and so pretty. Elegant, architectural, generous, with fine tannins and a long, wispy, dissipating finish. Elegant fruit and real length. — 3 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Nose is ripe with late season red cherries. Spice, earth. Wet earth and tweed jacket. Really spectacular fruit on the nose. Almost a cola like intensity but it’s all Burg fruit. Terrific aromas. Really nice layered spices beyond that. Almost middle eastern. Juicy and so concentrated with such sappy and pure fruit. Man what amazing fruit here. So long and slippery. Really open now but will develop. More 22’s I taste more I have to pat myself on the back for making the call these would be open when they landed. Not one closed 22 so far. Fantastic wine. — 2 years ago

Tori Smith

9.0

Refreshing, apple notes, light and easy drinking, perfect for a hot patio season. We love it, but prefer a bit more mineral finish. 9 for Vika, in the 8s for Gio — 2 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Oh this is glorious I am gaga over 2021 red burgs. All bangers all the time. Deep aromas of early to mid season cherry, spices and lots of. dried rocks like limestone. Big time limestone. This is ultra transparent. Some fresh pink rose petals as well. Wow. What a palate. Nimble and ultra refined but substantial tannins. Wow this is fantastic. Palate is all early to mid season cherry fruit with silky and furry tannins. So juicy. Needs air but it is all there.

Now after air the nose is an intoxicating perfume of roses and early season cherry. Stunning palate with gorgeous sweet fruit and so linear. 9.3 to 9.4. — 3 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

10

Stunning, spice, mid season cherry, wonderful. Lacey and transparent and a slight opulence along with melty tannins. Perfection. — 3 years ago