Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Pinot Noir Westside Road Neighbors opens with chocolate-covered cherries, pomegranate and fragrant earth notes with hints of Provence herbs and rose water. Medium-bodied with a great core of vibrant red berry flavors and firm, ripe, grainy tannins, it has just enough freshness and a nice, long, mineral-laced finish. 946 cases produced.
Rating: 93+ -
Wine Enthusiast
Showing just a touch of reduction, this wine is bright, crunchy and explosive on the palate. The palate shows a mix of raspberry, cherry and cranberry that's full of flavor. Seductively smooth, it should continue to evolve and expand with time, as the wine is just beginning to unravel its complex notes of baking spice, vanilla and tea.
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Wine & Spirits
This annual blend pulls together pinot noir from historic vineyards near Williams Selyem’s Westside Road winery, including Allen, Bacigalupi and Rochioli. In 2015 it offers a warm, open embrace of soft fruit, velvet-rich and delicious, like mulberries fresh off the tree. For all its richness, it feels remarkably pristine and bright—a satisfying pinot noir that’s pure Russian River.
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.