2017 | Williams Selyem | Precious Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir

Brooding and mysterious, the 2017 vintage is a blockbuster of a wine. Dark fruited at the core, there is a tea and dried herb quality that adds layers to the aromatics. The heavily concentrated palate is a result of the struggle that the plants experience on top of the Sonoma Coast range. Berry flavors transition to elements of Russian Caravan tea and finish with a robust, but refined, tannin structure.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 2017 Pinot Noir Precious Mountain Vineyard is pale to medium ruby-purple and youthfully shy, very slowly giving up cinnamon stick, warm blackberries, black and red cherries, pipe tobacco, prosciutto, earth and black tea leaves. It's light to medium-bodied and spicy but somewhat shy in the mouth, with a firm frame of chalky tannins and juicy acidity, finishing very long and spicy. This needs more time in bottle! 291 cases were made.

• Wine Spectator: Rich, featuring cherry and red currant flavors, backed by zesty acidity. Cocoa powder accents show midpalate, with a lively and well-spiced finish that reveals minerally nuances. Drink now through 2024.

Producer Information

Williams Selyem is a Californian winery that has achieved cult status through small productions of high-quality, single-vineyard Pinot Noir. It began in the late 1970s, initially as a garage project by Ed Selyem and Burt Williams in Forestville, a community in Sonoma County. In 1981 the pair – who were neighbors – officially named their project Hacienda Del Rio and established it as a legal winery. Two years later, the release of their first commercial vintage (1981) coincided with a cease-and-desist order from Hacienda Winery, leading them to change their name to Williams Selyem. Williams Selyem found its success buying and bottling single-vineyard wines, with Pinot Noir as the focus. Single-vineyard wines were not new to California, but the first for Williams Selyem was its 1985 Rochioli Vineyard Pinot Noir. Released in 1987, the Rochioli immediately received critical praise, winning the Sweepstakes Prize at the California State Fair for best red wine. In the same year, the demand for Williams Selyem's wines exceeded supply and a waiting list was created to fill orders. The 1990s saw the modest production double to a still-limited 8000 cases in 1998, with the wait-time to get on the mailing list averaging two years. This success in the early '90s saw Burt and Ed become full-time winemakers, and their 1991 Summa Vineyard Pinot Noir become the first California Pinot to retail for $100. In 1998, they sold the winery to John and Kathe Dyson, who established the first estate vineyards. Williams Selyem now has two estate vineyards in the Russian River Valley AVA, the Williams Selyem Estate Vineyard (formerly Litton Estate) and the Drake Estate Vineyard. A third vineyard, Vista Verde, is located in the San Benito AVA, inland from Monterey. While Pinot Noir dominates production, Williams Selyem also makes a small amount of Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and a Port-style fortified dessert wine. These offerings vary in production from year to year but many also carry single-vineyard designations.

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