2009 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard
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Tasting notes
(13.7% alcohol): Good full red. An element of musky reduction to the aromas of plum, raspberry and smoked meat. Wonderfully plush and mouthfilling, with its red fruit flavors complicated by dried flowers, straw, spices and herbal tones. Nicely balanced, highly nuanced wine with no rough edges. The longest of these wines to this point, finishing with perfectly integrated tannins. Rounding into form now but evolving very slowly. Winemaker Jeff Mangahas noted that many '09 Pinots from the Sonoma Coast "are a bit too grippy and backward to taste now," but this wine is seamless. The crop load was lower than average in '09 due to cooler temperatures at flowering.
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2009 Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard wafts from the glass with dried flowers, spices and sweet red fruit. There is a fragile, forward quality to the Allen that suggests the wine is best enjoyed over the next few years.
The 2009 Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard wafts from the glass with dried flowers, spices and sweet red fruit. There is a fragile, forward quality to the Allen that suggests the wine is best enjoyed over the next few years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016. I tasted a dizzying array of Pinot Noirs from Williams Selyem and winemaker Bob Cabral. Yields were down in 2009 because of bunch-stem necrosis, a condition that can occur because of weather/humidity extremes or mineral imbalances. Otherwise, it was a pretty regular vintage with an even set and a harvest that took place beginning in early September. Tel. (707) 433-6425
Deep red. Explosive perfume of wild strawberry, raspberry, incense and Asian spices, along with a sexy floral undertone. Deeply pitched but very fresh red berry flavors are lithe and precise, with a rose pastille quality gaining strength with air. At once powerful and graceful, finishing with excellent lift and persistence. Outstanding clarity here.
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.