1996 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 1996 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard was in an awkward stage, not young, but also not fully mature either, and just not showing all of its cards...yet.
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Average Score
Robert Parker
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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The 1996 Pinot Noir Hirsch Vineyard reveals the vineyard's high tannin, as well as high acidity, raspberry and cherry fruit, and an intriguing earthy/terroir-driven, compressed personality. I found it somewhat austere and acidic, so I am reserving judgment until I can see another bottle in several years. It appears to be a keeper, but the high acidity combined with the high tannin causes me to worry about the wine's balance. The eight Pinot Noir tasting notes in this segment represent about half of the available cuvees. All of the offerings revealed high levels of tangy acidity, a style that allows the winery to utilize extremely low levels of sulphur, a worthy objective. I tasted four 1996 Pinot Noirs,all of which has been sold out. They are bottled with no fining or filtration after only two rackings. These wines tend to be aged in Francois Freres Burgundy cooperage, with a high percentage of new oak. Tel. (707) 433-6425; Fax (707) 578-3882
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.