Williams Selyem Westside Road Neighbors Pinot Noir 2009
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Connoisseurs' Guide
The release of this wine along with Williams Selyem's appellation bottlings might suggest that the winery sees it as one of its early maturing wines, but if that be the case, then we must respectfully disagree. This wine is slow to unfold in the glass, and despite the sweet, ripe character that emerges, it is also a wine that falls in distinct sections at this point. Its pulpy fruit reminiscent of dried cherries and raspberry preserves leads to an initially mouthfilling, viscous impression but also to flavors that are more than a little on the tight side and demand time in the cellar. Be patient; the wait will be rewarded.
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Wine Spectator
Very complete, complex and balanced, with subtle cherry, plum and raspberry fruit that's supple and graceful. Medium- to full-bodied, gaining depth and richness on the finish, where the flavors linger. Drink now through 2020. 968 cases made.
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Wine &
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Williams Selyem Winery began as a simple dream of two friends, Ed Selyem and Burt Williams, who pursued weekend winemaking as a hobby in 1979 in a garage in Forestville, California, and made their first commercial vintage in 1981. In less than two decades, Burt and Ed created a cult-status winery of international acclaim. Together they set a new standard for Pinot Noir winemaking in the United States, aligning Sonoma County's Russian River Valley in the firmament of the best winegrowing regions of the world. Today John and Kathe Dyson, who purchased the winery from Burt and Ed in 1998, carry on the passion for Pinot Noir winemaking without compromise. As for the wines... they just keep getting better and better.
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.