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. — 25 days 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. — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Gorgeous on both days. The 2019 Grumello “Rocco de Piro”pours a brilliant, ruby color with a transparent core and a slightly watery rim; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of cool, fresh raspberries, roses with babies breath, Alpine herbs, cedar chest, and rocky earth. On the palate the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and the texture is silky. Such a beautiful and elegant expression of Chiavennasca. Drink now through 2034. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 5 months ago

Angelo Casagrande

9.3

Light, rust colored; some bright fruit, light tannins, and pure cherry fruit. Quite quaffable! Went well with orecchiette, sausage and rapa. I do love Valtellina neb. North meets South with this dinner. — 6 months ago

Morgan Reese

9.6

Really nice. Andrew can’t place nose. Did we buy at Pogos’s? — 9 months ago

with Andrew

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. — a month 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 ;) — 3 months ago

Jason Sliwa

9.1

Really elegant and a nice surprise find - never had Sforzat before. — 5 months ago

Matthew Cohen

9.7

Effed up on pop and pour. Needs an hour. Then it’s Magic.

Nose: dusty pink roses. 90 minutes in - black truffles. Liquid sex.

Palate: sweet pink roses. Savory. Juicy. So good.

So distinctive. A must own.

Fass selections — 5 months ago

Chip Habegger

9.2

Love it. Dusty, rose petals, and cherry. Easy to keep drinking glass after glass. — 7 months ago

Angelo Casagrande

9.2

Such a nice wine. Maybe I was a little too excited about it last year when I gave it a 9.7. But my comments still stand. What kind of a tool would rate this 8.8?? ( see below for the exciting answer). — 2 years ago

with Tom and Douglas

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. — 2 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

Marc Karetsky

9.5

Love this maker. Classic Nebbiolo. — 3 months ago

romo

9.2

First bottle three years ago had more energy. Went sour on day 2. — 3 months ago

Seth Masterson

9.2

Delicious Chocolate over dried fruit notes with nice dry floral notes. A very nice nebbiolo without face ripping tannins- a good sipper but also would pair well with the lighter side of Italian foods. — 5 months ago

Phil Kessling

9.2

These are some of my favorite Mountain Nebbiolo. ArPePe actually ages the Riserva before releasing. — 6 months ago

Evan Roberts

9.0

Wow what a surprising and interesting wine. Done in amarone styling this wine must be very intense on release. At 24 years old it was still punchy but very drinkable. Layers of flavors and aromatics was actually great with the rack of lamb — 7 months ago

John W

9.6

I’ll stand by my June 24, 2021 rating. Consistently great. — 4 years ago