Sign In

2016 Williams Selyem Williams Selyem Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir

Removed from a temperature and humidity controlled wine cellar

Ends Sunday, 7pm Pacific

RATINGS

96The Wine Advocate

...boysenberry and blueberry jam, rose petal, garrigue, perfumed earth and orange peel with notes of prosciutto and salted licorice. Light to medium-bodied, it offers great intensity of perfumed fruits, softly framed by finely grained tannins and juicy freshness, finishing long and energetic with oodles of floral perfume. This is so pretty it’s intoxicating!

96Jeb Dunnuck

...exotic notes of Bing cherries, wild strawberries, spring flowers, rose petals, and candied citrus. Medium-bodied, ethereal, and elegant on the palate, it has a light yet precise texture, beautifully integrated acidity, and a great finish...it's pure class.

94Vinous / IWC

... Silky, perfumed and yet wonderfully deep...incredibly appealing right out of the bottle. Orange zest, spice, crushed red berries, mint and blood orange are some of the many notes that run through this mid-weight, super-expressive Pinot.

94Wine Enthusiast

Smoky, toasty oak plays a stellar background role to this wine's succulence of black cherry, raspberry and blood orange. Acid-driven on the palate, it presents plenty of secondary characteristics that lean into savory tones of black tea and cardamom.

93Burghound.com

A discreet application of wood sets off the cool, pure and very spicy red berry fruit aromas that are trimmed in notes of violet, lavender and tea. The suave, vibrant and seductively textured medium weight flavors that possess a beguiling inner mouth perfume, all wrapped in a dusty, intense and solidly structured finish that both firms up and really fans out as it sits on the palate.

PRODUCER

Williams Selyem

Williams Selyem was founded in 1981 when Ed Selyem and Burt Williams, friends who shared winemaking as a hobby, decided to make a commercial vintage. The men were neighbors in the Russian River Valley with full time jobs that were unrelated to winemaking. Nevertheless they purchased grapes and made Zinfandel, then single-vineyard Pinot Noir. Williams Selyem Pinots quickly earned a cult following. In 1998 the founders sold the winery to John and Kathe Dyson, former customers with backgrounds in wine production and business. The winemaker is John Cabral. Though the estate is best known for Pinot Noir, it also makes Chardonnay and Zinfandel. Says Robert M. Parker Jr: “The overall style of Williams Selyem Pinots remains one of elegant, high-acid wines that can age….”

REGION

United States, California, Sonoma, Russian River Valley

Russian River Valley AVA is named for the river that meanders from Mendocino County in the north until it finally runs into the Pacific Ocean north of San Francisco. The AVA is cool thanks to its proximity to the northern California coast and the river, and grape growers must learn to deal with regular fog. Nevertheless in recent decades the AVA has become one of the best in the state, meaning that its wines often earn excellent reviews and have considerable cachet. The AVA status was awarded in 1983 and today the appellation has 15,000 vineyard acres. Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape though Pinot Noir has also been very successful in recent decades. Russian River Valley Pinot Noir are known for being rich, lush and filled with concentrated fruit and berry flavors. Russian River Pinot Noirs are today considered some of the best domestic Pinot Noirs.

TYPE

Red Wine, Pinot Noir

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.