Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

Insane wine. Dried cherry, spice, road tar, dried roses and that haunting alpine Nebbiolo perfume that only Arpepe seems able to deliver. The palate is nimble, precise and unbelievably balanced. Yes, there is tannin, but Arpepe processes tannin through its own lens. Everything feels refined, transparent and perfectly proportioned. The architecture is stunning. There is a slight stretch on the back end right now, but the underlying balance and purity are undeniable. Already 9.6 and just getting started. — 8 hours ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

10

This was perfection. Full stop. Ten points, 100, A plus, whatever scale you want to drag into the room, it all collapses under the same truth: it does not get better than this. The 2016 Ar.Pe.Pe. Sassella Rocce Rosse Riserva was so achingly beautiful, so complete, so internally right, that halfway through I stopped even trying to “evaluate” it and just gave in. What makes it unbearable, in the best way, is how nothing sticks out and yet everything glows. The wine has lift, detail, soul, delicacy, authority, all of it moving at once, all of it perfectly proportioned. It just stands there in complete command of itself, and the longer it sits in the glass the more it seems to reveal that perfection and grace are not opposites. They are partners. Words really do start to fail with a wine like this, because the whole point of the experience is that it reaches past language. — 2 months ago

Pooneet K

9.2

Likely too young and not served in ideal conditions - limited air, bit too warm, but at the price at a roadside restaurant in Emilia Romagna I couldn’t resist. Beautiful color and aromas, perfect pairing with a delicious porchetta. — 4 days ago

Timothy Eustis

Wine Director, Red Lion Inn

9.4

Bright acidity. Replay few tannins. Way more an Irish. Tart cherry. 2019. An herbaceousness that is v compelling. Lovely. — a month ago

Marc Karetsky

9.5

Love this maker. Classic Nebbiolo. — 2 months ago

Jason Sliwa

9.1

Really elegant and a nice surprise find - never had Sforzat before. — 4 months ago

Matt Perlman

9.3

This is, as expected, the more structured between the Sassella and the Grumello of the same vintage, but on this night actually preferred the latter. — 2 months ago

Matt Perlman

9.4

More open knit than the Sassella, total deliciousness and high toned elegance — 2 months ago

Fabio Franchella

9.3

Wieder mal ein Sforzato. Dies, nachdem ich mich bei den letzten etwas „sattgetrunken“ hatte. Dieser…ist….anders. Harmonisch, elegant balancierend zwischen klarer himbeerfrucht, leicht animalischen noten und….alk (16%!!). Traumhaft gut eingebunden. Also…den hier…würde (nicht nur) ich auf eine insel mitnehmen ;) — 2 months ago

romo

9.2

First bottle three years ago had more energy. Went sour on day 2. — 2 months ago