Williams Selyem Winery began when Ed Selyem and Burt Williams started making wine as a hobby in 1979 in Forestville, California. Their first commercial release was in 1981, and in less than two decades they created a cult-status winery of international acclaim. Setting a new standard for Pinot Noir winemaking, they put Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley at the forefront of the best Pinot Noir regions in the world.
Today, John and Kathe Dyson, who purchased the winery from Burt and Ed in 1998, work with winemaker Jeff Mangahas to carry on the passion for Pinot Noir without compromise. Other varieties bottled at Williams Selyem include Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Chenin Blanc.
This wine is comprised of fruit entirely from the Vista Verde Vineyard, located a couple miles south-east of Hollister, California, near the small town of Tres Pinos in San Benito County. This wine uses the younger vines from Vista Verde Vineyard allowing the more mature vines to be bottles as a single vineyard designate.
Crimson in color. 13.9% ABV. Savory nose of red fruits, iron and forest floor. Medium body with tremendous acidity. Smooth and silky with earthy fruits. Cherry, cranberry, black tea and earth on the palate. Nice length on the finish. Really well made appellation Pinot Noir that I purchase year in and year out. Best over the next 2-3 years.
My rating: 91 points.
Williams Selyem can periodically be found at retail, but the mailing list is highly recommended. The 2022 version of this wine was released earlier this week at $49. I’m a buyer!
I wrote about Williams Selyem previously in Reflections on Two Days in Russian River Valley