1997 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Precious Mountain Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The medium ruby-colored 1997 Pinot Noir Precious Mountain reveals a sweet, expansive, black cherry nose intermixed with floral notes, smoky, toasty oak, and herbs. Expansive in the mouth, with fine richness, less intrusive acidity than some cuvees, and light tannin in the finish, it should drink well for 5-7 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
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Good medium red. Aromas of roasted red berries, black cherry, red licorice and pepper. A creamy mouthful of exotic wild berries and spices. Quite concentrated and firm-edged, with rather high but harmonious acidity. Very firm finish hints at pepper and green tea. Idiosyncratic but fascinating pinot, less evolved at a similar stage than the '96 was a year ago.
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.