Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

A profoundly backward Jessie James that took a strange, winding path over several days. Initially reduced and giving maybe 10%, with matchstick, damson, sour and mid-season cherry, mineral and very little aromatic expression. The palate was completely discombobulated at first, but the material was obvious: beautiful velvety tannins, tiny-berry fruit intensity, tremendous depth and an extraordinarily long, persistent finish. After about ninety minutes it briefly opened into something spectacular, with deep, voluminous perfume, sweet and sour cherries, mossy minerality and exotic spice, the nose easily operating at a 9.7 level. Then it closed again, the tannins took over and both nose and palate retreated. Two days later it is much more composed, silky and elegant, with pure red fruit, sour cherry and beautifully refined tannins. Very good, serious and clearly built to age, but not at the level of the great 2021 or 2022 Jessie James. — 20 days 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

Kurt Schuster

9.1

Have you baked fruit I’ve only slightly accompanied, bacon, spices, more like a little bit of juicy and fatty tannins that complement more than blend. Gives a good structure, so the whole thing doesn’t end up too jammy. Woods beyond oak like cedar, cigarbox, Cedar, Pinion-wood, things like that. A little bit of forest floor mushroom.  — 3 years ago

with Denise

Eric

9.4

Bottle #2 of the night. Another winner from Ethan Martin. — 4 years ago

Eric

9.0

I’m not much of a rose drinker, so I have precious little as a point of reference. This wine had some effervescence to it in the mouth, crisp yet also decent mid-palate viscosity and richness. I’d call it a tart finish, not comparable to fruit I recognize. It was Memorial Day and the conveyance was a blue plastic cup. — 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

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. — 9 months ago

Turd Ferguson

9.2

Clean, bright, pure. Tastes like eating a bowl of red berries in a Pacific Northwest pine forest.

— 2 years ago

Joe DAscoli

9.4

First time trying this wine and HIGH expectations. Hit it with oxygen from winepro2 to start. On the nose, it just smells dark and brooding. First sip. Wild blueberries and I mean wild. Like right out of the forest. Good juiciness but also some grip and spicyness. I originally thought tobacco or bramble or even just I can taste the woods. My wife said it was spicy and had a kick. I thought it was super smooth. Did not notice the oak at all. Very fragrant with blue and dark fruits. Very dense. I almost couldn’t taste the seasoning of the food as if the wine overpowered the food. Kinda wild. Overall enjoyed this and was easy to drink — 2 years ago

Erik Longabardi

9.6

One of my favorite OR producers. Profound wines — 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

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

Bob McDonald

9.1

Lemon Yellow in colour. Muted nose initially giving a mineral and lemon note. Very lemony and citrus generally on the palate, eventually a stony, river pebble like minerality. Bracing acidity which will see this go on for a few more years. The following day a marine shell note. Preferred the 2013 Deep Woods Reserve Chardonnay for a quarter of the price. — 5 years ago

Chris Zitzman

9.3

Deep, rich ruby in color hinting that this wine is simply not messing around. Didn’t take much of a breathe for the goodness of this particular Martin Woods ‘Koosah Vineyards’ to come gushing out of the glass. Nose-coating, stewed cherries lead to a full-bodied palate that has a remarkable, lingering finish. Each dip into the glass will be subtly different, but there is no doubt at all of this wine’s caliber as well as its consistency. Rock star stuff. — a year ago

with Beth

Masafi

9.7

Tasted on Wednesday 14 May 2025: A wine that evokes the heart of a burning forest — old-vine Grenache and century-old Carignan conjure up smoldering earth, wild herbs, and dark berries. It’s raw, intense, and untamed, like fire licking through ancient woods.
— a year ago

B A

9.2

Exemplary Oregon Pinot. No surprises here but gets absolutely everything right. The slight percentage of new American oak pops up with some extremely pleasant vanilla notes — 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

Daniel Bloom

9.0

You know something special is afoot when this is the basic* juice.
N: Rhubarb, orange/red flowers, strawberry candy. You could smell this for days…or nights.
P: It’s crisp and cool,forest fruits and paired with Hen of the Woods and creminis, polenta, we’re in the pocket. There is that subtle sous-bois , or underbrush to it that matches so well.
Delicious stuff. — 4 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Love this wine. Nose is a bit reduced and sulfury but that will blow off as I’ve had this bottle before. So JD on the nose for now. Palate is so bright and elegant with pitch perfect fruit and density. So clean and mineral. Wonderful minerality, brightness, texture and length. So compact. Super mineral and not at all like Austrian GV. Such nice acids and freshness. This is terrific. Almost tannic on the finish but in a white wine kind of way. Long. I’ll be back for the nose.

On day 2 the nose is so good. Candied lemons, white pepper, vegetables, just sick. Palate is focused, rich, clean and mineral. Salty and long 9.2 to 9.3 overnight. — 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! — 5 years ago