Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Always one of Williams Selyem’s top Pinot Noirs, the 2007 is a spectacular wine. The vines are the closest to the river in the famed Rochioli vineyard, and the resulting wine always has an elegant structure and fruity accessibility that make it drinkable at a younger age. Showing rich flavors of cherries, red currants, cola, bacon, anise, Asian spices and smoky oak...
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Connoisseurs' Guide
From the first sniff of its vital red cherry fruit to the complex hints of dried violets, sweet, nutmeg-scented smoke and creme brulee to its supple, velvety but still firm entry texture, this brilliant Pinot Noir hits every lovely note expected of the most outstanding examples of the grape. It is deep, balanced and polished on the palate with an uncommon sense of grace, but, its one failing is that invites drinking too soon, when, in fact, it is likely to become so much more interesting over time as its youthful energy takes on a mature glow.
While the Russian River Valley is a large appellation with multiple climate zones and soil types, it is best known for cool-climate varieties, with Pinot Noir as the most celebrated. The grapes benefit from a reliable late afternoon flow of Pacific Ocean fog through the Petaluma Gap and along the Russian River Valley that ensures slow and steady ripening and the preservation of grape acidity. Today many of California’s most highly regarded Pinot Noir vineyards are in the Russian River Valley, along with its sub-appellation, Green Valley.
Historically Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs had bright red fruit and delicate earthy, mineral notes. But changes in viticultural and winemaking practices have led to stylistic changes in some of the region’s wines. Adjustments to canopy management, among other techniques, have resulted in riper fruit and bolder wines as well. These show flavors of black cherry, blackberry, cola, spice and darker, loamy earth tones, accenting traditional Pinot Noir notes of strawberry, raspberry and light cherry.