2005 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard
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Tasting notes
(14.2% alcohol; 62% new oak): Medium red; a bit less dark than the '04. Sexy, soil-driven aromas of strawberry, exotic spices, clove, nutmeg and earthy tea; this really explodes with aeration, making the '04 seem almost cooked by comparison (and it's not!). At once silky and concentrated, offering lovely density and definition to its complex flavors of cola, spices, smoky herbs, dried flowers and sexy underbrush. Very good palate presence here. Finishes quite long, with ripe tannins and a piquant note of Tellicherry pepper. This was a year in which the flowering was affected by cool weather--but much less so in Russian River Valley than at the coast, where the crop was decimated. Lovely wine.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The medium-bodied 2005 Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard exhibits plenty of tart strawberry and cranberry fruit intermixed with notions of rose petals, wet stones, and high acidity. It should drink well for 5-10 years. Tel. (707) 433-6425; Fax (707) 433-6546
Medium red. Potent raspberry, cherry, blackberry and mocha aromas, complicated by a seductive floral quality. A sweet, silky midweight with vivid red berry flavors framed by fine-grained tannins. A light dusty note appears on the finish, followed by an explosion of lush, almost jammy strawberry that lingers tenaciously. Utterly delicious pinot, with remarkably sweet and pure red fruit flavors.
About the producer
Williams Selyem is an iconic Russian River Valley winery best known for its Pinot Noir. Producing restrained yet classically Californian expressions of the heartbreak grape (as well as a host of other wines), the property has gone from pioneer to one of the region’s standard-bearers.