Williams Selyem Weir Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016

Great ripeness comes with great balance in this fruity, expressive and firm-textured wine. It is full in body but not flabby due to sinewy tannins and persistent acidity. Aromas and flavors run from cinnamon to black cherry to rhubarb, as hints of nutmeg and vanilla show a deft touch of oak. Best from 2022.
Cellar Selection

The Williams Selyem team farms 6.5 acres at Bill and Suki Weir’s vineyard in the Yorkville Highlands. Most of it is the original planting, dating to 1991, including plant material sourced from Domaine de la Romanée Conti as well as Wadenswil 2A; the newer planting, from 2000, includes Pommard and Rochioli selections. The vines rise from 850 to 1,000 feet in altitude, and some combination of that elevation, plant material and the rocky soils create a fruit character that’s recognizable in most vintages. It’s muscular and compressed into layers of dark, precise tannic detail, the flavor hinting at the skins of black cherries and the juice of small, red forest berries. The flavors are dynamic, spreading to include herbal notes of raspberry leaf and tobacco, always coming back to that earthy, compellingly drinkable fruit. While the complexity is already apparent, the wine will benefit from four or five years in the cellar; at that point, opening it will generate a quieter explosion.