Search for

Coming Events Past Events Reviews Recipes Archived Events Archived Reviews

The Wines of Williams-Selyem Wednesday July 10, 2002 Speaker: Mark Golodetz, Wine Consultant, Educator and Journalst A wonderful opportunity to taste a plethora of Pinot Noirs, rarely seen on retailers shelves, prohibitively expensive on restaurant wine lists, and whose ever lengthening mailing list, which, when you do eventually get on, the sought-after single vineyards are still not available. Should the ability of a wine to age, that is, improve with age, develop nuances and complexity, be a factor in determining a wine's "greatness"? Williams says, "It is deliberately my style to make accessible wines – for people to drink in a restaurant. Pinot Noir should be drinkable young." So what should we expect from his 12 year old wines? Wines are listed in the order of presentation. The 20 attendees were asked to vote for their three favorite wines in the tasting. Since the wines were purchased at auction and are currently unavailable, no prices are listed. Notes are a combination of the speaker and Kim Ginsberg's who is a well-known NYC based wine consultant and formerly a professor of wine education at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Pinot Noir Votes 1990 Sonoma Coast Cloudy appearance. Light dusky rose color. Lovely pinot fruit, strawberry nose, following through in the taste, which was sprightly acidic with good strawberries. After the tasting we went back to sample this wine and it developed more flavors and aromas, like old tea, but did not flesh out. Rather thin. 2nd-2 3rd-2 1991 Allen Vineyard From the famous Allen Vineyard in the Russian River, this wine is bigger-nose, deeper color, more alcoholic (13.6%) and more flavors. A very pronounced exotic Chinese spiced tea scents and flavors that mix well with the strawberry and cherry. From a drought year, which is perhaps what gives this wine a rather harsh, bitter finish. 2nd-3 3rd-8 1991 Olivet Lane This was the winery's fourth vintage from these 20 year old vines in the Russian River Valley. It is interesting to taste wines from different vineyard sites in the same vintage. It makes one wonder if the goal of making the best possible wines is really served by this separation. This wine had a deeper color, bigger fruit nose, better balance with an easier finish than the Allen vineyard, but it was not as interesting, varied, or exciting as the previous wine. 1st-1 2nd-2 3rd-2 1993 Sonoma Coast 1993 was a difficult year, often producing tough, hard, unpleasant wines. I am not certain if this was just an off bottle (it was not corked) or the vintage speaking. But it was problematical. 1993 Allen Vineyard From the same difficult vintage as the previous wine, but this wine tied for second place for the best Pinot of the evening. I found it unbalanced with acidity, leaving a sharp burn in the finish after a rather empty middle. The speaker enjoyed it better than I did and was able to find lots of charming cherries, and obviously the group found them as well. 1st-2 2nd-4 3rd-4 1993 Olivet Lane As the speaker pointed out, these wines thus far, pleasant though they may be, have a limited scope of flavors and aromas vis a vie Burgundy. Basically we found, to a greater or less degree, strawberry and cherry fruit flavors. This wine was the first to exude some of the naughtier scents that we look for in Pinot Noir. True to the previous vintage, this vineyard seems to produce bigger, fleshier wines. This one with a marvelous teasing sweatiness surrounding the darker cherry fruit. 1st-1 2nd-0 3rd-2 1995 Allen Vineyard These 25 year old vines offer richer flavors. The speaker enjoyed the licorice, anise, tea which blended well with the cherry fruit. The wine was brighter, fresher - a younger wine from a good vintage -- and 7 years is the age that the winery generally suggests for drinking their wines. 1st-3 2nd-2 3rd-2 1996 Allen Vineyard A great year in California for Pinot Noir. A fuller, fleshier wine with an interesting nose of sweet, jammy fruit. More varied flavors including a bit of mint. I found more dried tobacco leaves than mint,but this is still a fruit driven wine. This wine, with the other Allen vineyard, 1993, was tied for second favorite Pinot Noir of the evening. 1st-6 2nd-2 3rd-2 1997 Coastlands One of the newer vineyards for Williams Selyem wines, this high altitude site in Sonoma was planted with Pinot Noir in 1989. Though a bigger wine than we have had thus far, it was the first one that did not seem like Pinot Noir. Very uncharacteristic and though a bit harsh, the finish lingered longer than previous wines. 1st-2 2nd-3 3rd-1 1997 Riverblock Vineyard This wine is from a vineyard that is a part of the Rochioli site, but was recently planted. Previously the grapes went into the Russian River Valley wines, but are still not mature enough to be blended into the Rochioli Vineyard wines. A pretty rosey pink color belies the ugly, awkward wine and bitter finish. Flight II Zinfandel Votes 1992 Russian River Made with fruit from the legendary Martinelli Jackass Vineyard. Dense, jammy spicey, dried spices and black pepper, but with a hint of something burned in the middle, rotten, overripe fruit. Very pleasant, but sometimes less is more. No votes taken 1994 Mendocino Big, dark, enormous wine with raisiny flavors, also a rotten fruit taste and full throttle alcohol. No votes taken Top