2008 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard
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Tasting notes
(14.1% alcohol; 3.5 pH; aged in barrel for 18 months): Medium red. Aromas of dark cherry and licorice plus a light stemminess. Plush, concentrated and ripe, offering strong flavors of dark fruits and cranberry liqueur; still a bit youthfully musclebound in spite of its fine grain. The 2007 is more refined but this wine should evolve nicely as its tannins come into balance. Finishes with slowly mounting perfume and hints of citrus fruit and wood spices. Following the severe spring frost that cut the potential size of the crop by 25%, the team eliminated the second set of buds; the growing season also featured extreme heat at harvest time.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
From another famous vineyard, the 2008 Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard is light ruby, with stemmy, earthy, spicy notes that are autumnal and vegetative. Lean, austere, and lacking generosity, this wine seems underwhelming for Williams-Selyem. With thirteen separate Pinot Noirs, Williams-Selyem has something for just about everybody. Eight of these Pinot Noirs hail from relatively well-known sites in the Russian River and three come from the Sonoma Coast, while the two outliers are the Weir Vineyard from Yorkville Highlands and the Ferrington Vineyard from the Anderson Valley. Three well-regarded vineyards of the Sonoma Coast comprise part of this impressive Pinot Noir portfolio from Williams-Selyem. With eight Russian River bottlings, the two with the largest availability are the Eastside Road Neighbors and Westside Road Neighbors, which are blends from different fruit sources. The most underrated wines in the entire portfolio are the Zinfandels that come from winemaker Bob Cabrol. Tel. (707) 433-6425; Fax (707) 433-6546
Bright medium red. Far more energetic than the Flax, showing assertive red berry and floral character, along with notes of orange zest and dusty minerals. Sharply focused and pure, with bright strawberry and raspberry flavors underscored by Asian spices and candied rose. Weightier and more masculine on the finish, which features lingering notes of black raspberry and smoky minerals. According to Cabral, these vines were planted in 1970.
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.