1997 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 1997 vintage was the last year made by Burt Williams, the founding winemaker for Williams Selyem. Allen Vineyard was one of his favourite sites and stands adjacent to the famed Rochioli vineyard, the first to plant Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley in the 1950s. At the request of his neighbour, Joe Rochioli Jr planted the Allen vineyard with cuttings from his Rochioli vines. While the Rochioli vines grow lower along the bench of the river, Allen slopes up the hill slightly with rockier soils. It generally offers a bit more substantial tannin compared with Rochioli’s silkiness, and a slightly more robust character. Burt Williams was known for his particular winemaking style, which shows here – around 30% whole-cluster inclusion and 50% new oak, both perfectly integrated in the wine. The 1997 Allen is impressively youthful. There is a little bit of bricking through the edges of the wine but the colour is still quite garnet at its core. The aromatics are subtler currently but the palate is vibrant, with lots of palate stimulation and length. At 22 years of age, the wine still carries pure red fruits. Spice, earth and forest notes add layers of pleasure. A subtle flavour component I can only describe as something like browned leaves hints at the flavours of the wine’s age. The tannin is nicely resolved here. Now is a very good time to enjoy this wine, though it surely has a few more years in it as well. Overall it is quite impressive to see the success of this wine at its age, a testament to the history of its region and winemaker. (ECB)
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
(13.8% alcohol; 24% vendange entier ; 3.58 pH): Medium red-amber; more saturated than the 1996. Inviting subtle perfume of strawberry, dried flowers, cedar and rooibos tea; this is rather Chambolle-like. Quite suave and fine-grained but penetrating too, with an herbal touch from the stems contributing to the impression of energy. Nicely balanced wine with excellent rising length. There's a lot going on here and this wine should continue to give pleasure for another decade.
The 1997 Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard (planted in 1972) exhibits a light ruby color, followed by an attractive, jammy strawberry and toasty oak-scented nose. Medium-bodied, with zesty acidity, and a crisp, tart finish, it should drink well for 5-6 years. 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. The 1997 Pinot Noirs possess light ruby colors, aggressive acidity, and copious quantities of the red fruit melange - kirsch liqueur, strawberries, cherries, and red currants. Tel. (707) 433-6425; Fax (707) 578-3882
Medium red. Complex aromas of strawberry jam, coffee, minerals and underbrush, with a floral topnote. Rich, sappy strawberry fruit complemented by oak spice. Good but not outstanding depth. Here the acids are nicely integrated. Firm, oaky finish. The alcohol is in the low 14% range, says Cabral.
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.