2021 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
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Tasting notes
Fruit sourced from Terra de Promissio, Flastaff, Putnam, Starkey and Drake Estate. Aged 11 months in 40% new, 60% one-year-old French oak. pH 3.42, TA 6.3 g/l. Pale ruby in colour, with a purple hue. Gorgeous nose – cherry-rose compote with well-integrated vanilla oak notes and a dried tarragon character. Elegant and silky. Bit of rocky dustiness, spice and cola. Fine, super-silky tannin. Lengthy finish. Certainly New World in style, but elegant and classic, not too brawny – well balanced. (SCJ)
Critic scores
Average Score
Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
Nicely packed, with a core of raspberry, blackberry and mulberry notes that are structured, defined and lively. Picks up black tea, singed wood spice and sous-bois accents through the finish, where the fruit lingers steadily, thanks to latent structure. 2,777 cases made.
The ruby 2021 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is lifted with fresh aromas of wet stone, pepper, and fresh cherry. Medium-bodied, it offers a more linear feel, with a spine of bright acidity, and is balanced with blue and black berries, dusty earth, an angular texture, and a fresh lift. I love this for its snappy, crunchy fruit and nice balance. Drink 2024-2030.
A tight and intense pinot with wet earth, oyster shell, and seaweed. Dried herbs. Medium to full body. Tight and framed. Four square. Long and structured. Excellent now but better in a couple of years.
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.