Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.4

Tons of floral, wild dark berries and spice on the nose. Mid season cherry. Palate is so good. Rich, elegant, deep, gritty and nimble. Some nice amplitude in the mid palate and great tension and red fruits on the finish. Needs mega air so I can only assume score goes higher tomorrow. — 5 months 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

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

Ely Cohn

9.3

This is Grade A Gamay manufactured right here in the USA. Tamed, cool to touch. No stemmy crunch, no VA. Elegant and dialed in, expressive fruit and soft comfortable blankety textures to snuggle right into.

Blatant black cherries, tiny wild strawberries and raspberries all the way down to a balanced bed of acid. — 4 years ago

with Cody

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

Tree Kilpatrick

8.9

Cute and classy label. Darker color than a lotta pinot noir out there. Aroma is nice. Ripe berries from cool places (say coastlines and mountain tops). That classic cherry cola of Pinot. Flavors are nice and bright. Tincture of medicinal plants (echinacea and\or elderberry), iron in red meat served rare, pie cherry, or even choke cherry. Nice long finish with some of that woods after a forest fire or peat bogs in the sun. It’s a very nice, dry and balanced Pinot with elegance. — 6 years ago

Rodney Miller

9.5

Beautiful! Elegant with cherry and spices. Light in color and medium body. — 7 months 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

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.3

Planted in 2016. Awesome nose. Round. Vanilla extract (not from wood). Minerals. Very mineral. Super floral and so elegant and pretty aromas. Juicy and textured with luscious stone and citrusy fruits. Complex and alive with engaging acidity and a lemon/lime finish with great acidity and wonderful palate presence. Superb inner mouth aromas. Man the acid and intensity is top notch. Like Pernand 1er Cru. — 3 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

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.5

13.5%. 35% whole cluster. Very Burgundian in style. Herbaceous from the clusters, hint white pepper, very earthy, bark, big time elderberry, touch black cherry, dried black currants, quite tannic. Coiled. Needs to integrate. Very nicely done probably a benchmark Pinot for Oregon in 3-4 years. Highly recommended if you are getting out of Burghs. Congrats Lyle. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

A very good modern Chardonnay from the Margaret River. Smoky Leesy Flinty Mealy , struck match aromas. Lean to medium weight palate with mainly citrus and ripe grapefruit flavours. Barb thought nectarine notes as well. Still quite delicate but with great length and persistence. This Chardonnay won the James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge in 2014 from 680 entries and 98 points from James. — 5 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

It is not close. This is the best domestic Cabernet Franc I’ve ever had. Insane nose. It smells like if Foillard made a Cabernet Franc. Sick florals. Like OMG florals. Gorgeous berry fruit and lovey hint of wonderful sweet herbs. It is such a deep and enveloping aroma that it is almost too intoxicating. Just a total wow nose. Truly amazing. You can sniff so so hard and more and more aroma arrives in your nose. Just stunning. 9.6 nose. Really stunned. Confectionary as well. Palate is so refined, so elegant and so juicy. Just extraordinary. It’s medium bodied and insanely fresh, with such refined, ripe and substantial tannins. So pure. What balance. 40% whole cluster. Loess soils. What a long incredible finish and the fruit just sticks to the back of the palate. A truly brilliant wine. — 6 years ago

Seth Masterson

9.5

While I love my local Chardonnay this guy is the hands down best domestic Chardonnay I've had in 2025. It has everything you could ask for - elegant fruit, balanced acid, silky texture without being insipid, and deep stone and mineral like you just dunked your head into a glacial stream. This is awesome stuff and I recommend you seek it out. — 8 months ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.0

10 years old | rich smell with nuts and currants, well balanced — 2 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. — 3 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

Seth Masterson

9.4

I smell apricots, honeysuckle and a touch of a wood refinishing shop where an old man has been rubbing turpentine onto ancient woods. The smell of this Manzanilla makes my mouth water and I didn't want to take my nose out of the glass.
On first taste it has a bit of an 'Uh oh what have so gotten myself into' kick in the pants of your pallete. As the sherry warms in your mouth let it explore of the crevices and you will find flavors in corners of your mouth that I you have not encountered before in any bottle of non fortified white wine.
The freshness of this when served chilled and the amazingly long aftertaste make it one of the few wines that I prefer to drink on their own but it pairs great with simple salty food like premium organic fries tossed sea salt!
A steal at $16 for a half bottle at Little Death. (I've paid $13 for a three ounce pour of this at a tapas joint) — 4 years ago

Ely Cohn

9.3

The good whites of Burgundy, aka crack cocaine, are what they are because of great blending - in this case, Pierre Benoist of DRC.

This is special not just for the florals, the woods, the citrus, the spice, but for these things together.

Lemon chamomile and a cedar lined drawer. Vibrant and young with a sturdy back and all the confidence in the world. — 5 years ago

Chip Habegger

9.0

Nuts, dried fruit, little burn. Finish lingers. — 6 years ago