Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
One sip is all it takes to be blown away by this Pinot's beauty. It's exquisitely crafted, a testament to both the vineyard and the winery's oenological talent. The palate is bright and tangy with acidity, and incredibly complex flavors of wild berries, mushrooms, balsam, cola and Asian spices. It's dramatic now, but will continue to improve for at least 15 years.
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Tasting Panel
Bright and elegant with lovely acid structure and pure cherry and raspberry fruit; stunning style and vivid flavors; long and exquisite.
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Wine & Spirits
Williams Selyem's 2011 Hirsch is a strapping wine, bursting with dark blue and purple fruit tones and showing a lot off cocoa-scented oak. It's somewhat primary right now, but there's a lively earthiness to the tannins that predicts the complexity. with air, the wine's full power and length begin to show, suggesting that this deserves some time in the cellar.
The Sonoma Coast AVA is large in area but, not counting overlapping regions like Russian River Valley, only has a few thousand acres of grapevines—and it’s no wonder. Much of the region is rugged and not easily accessible. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean’s fog and cool breezes limits the varieties that can be cultivated, but it proves to be an ideal environment for high quality Pinot Noir.
Since fog is a frequent fact of life here, as are heavy marine layers that sometimes bring rain, the best vineyards are wisely planted above the fog line, on picturesque ridges that capture enough sun to provide even ripening. That, with the overnight drop in temperature that reliably preserves acidity, results in fine expressions of Pinot Noir that often receive tremendous critic and consumer praise alike, and are often in high demand.