I just returned from a wonderful 9 day trip that included 4 days in San Francisco and 3 in Sonoma County. The highlight and main reason to make this journey was an invite to do a private tasting at Williams Selyem Winery that had been offered to me soon after Burt passed in December, 2019. They had previously acknowledged reading my reviews of Burt`s wines that have been posted online for many years and my longevity on the mailing list, but it was my Celebration Of Life writeup that stimulated the invite.
It was only appropriate that Burt`s daughter, Katie, join me and they were more than happy to add her to the tasting.
As Katie and I walked up to the modern, high tech winery that was completed over 10 years ago, we were greeted by the vice president in charge of sales and marketing, Mark Malpiede, who was responsible for making this happen. We then walked up to another amazing facility, a luxurious hospitality building, that would be our tasting room for this occasion. It had a magnificent view overlooking the nearby estate vineyards as well as out and over the Russian River Valley and other vineyards off in the distance. The tasting room had already been set up with quality stemware and a personalized greeting sign for Katie and me. Classy.
Jeff Mangahas, vice president and director of winemaking also joined. I’d met Jeff a few times in the past at Burt`s Morning Dew Ranch and at the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival and I was happy he could break away from his busy schedule to be a part of this.
Burt was very fond of him and was highly complimentary of his capabilities and hands on vineyard management skills as evidenced by his frequent visits to the vineyard to coordinate management of the vines allocated for WS fruit with the Morning Dew Ranch vineyard manager.
So, this promised to be a stellar experience and it was just that and more. We began with a lovely palate cleansing 2019 WS Chardonnay, another well thought out, classy move.
2019 WILLIAMS SELYEM THREE SISTERS VINEYARD SONOMA COAST CHARDONNAY- the nose had an entirely different profile than the taste, both were inviting and good; aromas of menthol, licorice, minerals and lime started things off and then on the palate came glorious lemon and lime along with ultra bright acidity; it had elegance and charm and was super crisp and clean, palate cleansing type.
We moved on to the flight of 3 Burt made WS Pinots:
1988 WILLIAMS SELYEM ROCHIOLI VINEYARD RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- the color was a faded browning red; the nose was first replete with a musty, dusty component before a nice hit of tertiary red fruit came in to help get further into it; also, as with so many older wines, there was a bit of sweetness to the red cherry fruit that prevailed on the palate; this was definitely on the downside of the spectacular place it came from as I’ve enjoyed many a stellar bottle, even one as recent as a year ago and have one bottle remaining that needs to be opened soon.
1995 WILLIAMS SELYEM RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- the color was a quite viable medium red; the nose gave enticing and encouraging aromas of toasty, ripe red fruit and now I know there’s some savory tastes forthcoming; and as to not disappoint, it had spicy and toasty strawberry and red cherry that hasn’t moved too far away from the initial profile; it was medium bodied and held on for a consistently fine showing with everything still in place over the entire time of the tasting. Fabulous. Jeff interjected that some of the fruit came from Olivet Lane and Rochioli.
1997 WILLIAMS SELYEM COASTLANDS VINEYARD SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR- as with the first two bottles, I’d had this a few times previously, the last bottle being in 2018 and as I recall, it was epic; this came close with a couple of new nuances; in addition to the spicy cinnamon accent, this one also had a streak of unexpected white pepper to compliment the wondrous red raspberry and red cherry fruit; it was medium to full bodied, had a smooth texture and a nice sustained finish. Jeff stated some characteristics of this and other Sonoma coastal vineyard cool climate Pinots having tree bark and forest floor notes and sure enough, it was there.
I had mentioned I’d had the 96 Olivet Lane the night before and it had red cherry and cranberry notes that Ive found so typical in that wine over the years Burt designated it. Jeff said it is a low pH {around 3.4} that contributes to those notes; he also stated that this lower pH is much more conducive to a brighter red color whereas a higher pH leads more toward blue and purple color. This is Burt like info and so mindful of so many times when Burt would expound upon details about wine and I would just listen, absorb, appreciate and make note.
And after these wines, there was more as Mark set up another flight of 3 Pinots from their revered 2014 vintage:
2014 WILLIAMS SELYEM BURT WILLIAMS` MORNING DEW RANCH VINEYARD ANDERSON VALLEY PINOT NOIR- made using about 25% whole cluster, this wine took its time to open up and once it did, it had lots to give; fresh and bright red cherry/ berry fruit accented with a vein of spice made for a lovely aromatic and taste treat; there’s a touch of forest and herbs in this full bodied beauty that kept expanding well after the initial taste; at the end of the tasting, I went back to revisit it and it had reached another level on the pleasure meter with more of everything.
2014 WILLIAMS SELYEM ALLEN VINEYARD RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- it had a brilliant red color; the nose included pretty notes of strawberry and red cherry which continued on to be joined by a touch of rose petals, talc, clove and red raspberry that stayed in the background; it had marvelous mouthfeel and loads of finesse and stately elegance; Jeff mentioned they used only 50% new oak for this wine as opposed to the more usual 60%. Of the 3 wines, this was my fav and my last thought was I’m going to have to get more.
2014 WILLIAMS SELYEM COASTLANDS VINEYARD SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR- as with the Allen, the perfume on this was super enticing with rose petals and spicy red raspberry most noticeable; once tasted, I also got wild cherry/ berry fruit and now that Jeff has mentioned the coastal accents of forest floor and tree bark, I`m getting those notes as well plus another nuance he interjected, tea leaf; this is a truly good Coastlands and as with the other 2, IMHO, they really need more time to evolve, like 5-7+ years.
This wondrous event was really about a tribute to Burt Williams and the legacy he left not only through his wines, but his self learned search, discovery and passion to consistently make great wines. I loved the commitment to carrying on the torch as it were still prevails with the stewardship of those now in charge.
I`m very grateful for this experience and for Mark and Jeff to make it happen and to be able to share it with Katie.
And as it turned out, there was more to come.
When I returned to my hotel in Healdsburg, I saw Mateo Granados who was one of Burt`s closest friends and considered Burt a second father. We spent the next 2 hours reminiscing about old times and special moments with Burt through lots of tears and laughter. It was the perfect culmination to the tasting and contributed to making this trip so extra special.
As already stated, I`m very grateful for these experiences and shall always treasure them.
Cheers,
Blake
