If you want to talk about the upper echelon, creme de la creme Pinot Noir producers from California, you simply cannot leave Williams Selyem out of the conversation. From the very first time Burt Williams and Ed Selyem made wine as a hobby, people flocked to the guys for a chance to buy their wines. The winery focuses on only the highest quality vineyards, and take the utmost care of the grapes upon arrival. Current winemaker Jeff Mangahas (who was formerly winemaker at Hartford), continues to focus on these exceptional vineyards, and had the know-how to bring out the best from each parcel. The Williams Selyem wines drink beautifully upon release, and we have opened up bottlings that were close to 20 years old that were magical! For years, we have received very small quantities of the Williams Selyem wines (often as little as 1 bottle of certain vineyard designations) but after a trip to NorCal at the start of the pandemic, our buyer was able to finally secure enough to offer these gems to a select few!
This Sonoma Coast bottling is comprised of fruit from Falstaff, Terra de Promissio, and Williams Selyem's own Drake Estate. Aged for 11 months in 40% new French oak, this is brooding and dark, with plum, dried herbs and savory undertones that complete the darker aromatic profile. Full bodied at the entry, the palate becomes saturated with flavors of plum and brambly fruits. The mid-palate weight is compelling, and the firmness of the tannins seem to melt to the extract of the wine. The palate is then refreshed with enough acidity that carries the wine to the finish with a lingering hint of a sous bois character.
WINE SPECTATOR 93 POINTS - "This sports delicious mulberry and boysenberry preserve flavors, offering dashes of fig, anise and licorice. Showy on the fruit, with tension on the apple wood–accented finish for balance. Drink now through 2031."
This Sonoma Coast bottling is comprised of fruit from Falstaff, Terra de Promissio, and Williams Selyem's own Drake Estate. Aged for 11 months in 40% new French oak, this is brooding and dark, with plum, dried herbs and savory undertones that complete the darker aromatic profile. Full bodied at the entry, the palate becomes saturated with flavors of plum and brambly fruits. The mid-palate weight is compelling, and the firmness of the tannins seem to melt to the extract of the wine. The palate is then refreshed with enough acidity that carries the wine to the finish with a lingering hint of a sous bois character.
WINE SPECTATOR 93 POINTS - "This sports delicious mulberry and boysenberry preserve flavors, offering dashes of fig, anise and licorice. Showy on the fruit, with tension on the apple wood–accented finish for balance. Drink now through 2031."
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