New release: 2021 Williams Selyem RRV Vin Gris of Pinot Noir

WINE TALK
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Announced today:

2021 Russian River Valley Vin Gris of Pinot Noir ($26)
The release of the Vin Gris of Pinot Noir always marks the start of spring. With its beautiful salmon and copper color, it invites summertime sipping with small bites on the deck. Aromatically, the wine showcases stone fruits, guava, and strawberry tones, along with highlights of flowers. The palate is round and rich but maintains a freshness due to the low pH. Citrus and floral notes on the palate combine with lighter red fruit flavors. Whole cluster pressing, barrel fermentation in neutral French oak barrels, and sur lie ageing make for a wine that is delicious when young but also has the ability for short-term ageing. - VP, Director of Winemaking Jeff Mangahas

This wine is available for shipment only, for a limited time. The available quantity is very small and, as usual, available on a first come, first served basis.

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Thanks Blake. Had a chance to try it at the winery last week. It is simply outstanding. Best Rose I have had in a while. Much more depth and a longer finish than most domestic Rose I have tried.

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Great. Thanks for the first hand feedback.

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Was this emailed only to the “preferred” mailing list members?

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I do not know. The email just referred to the offer. I am on that preferred list.

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Any idea how getting on the preferred list happens? I order a decent amount every offering. My cousin gets all these offers but doesn’t know how as he orders slightly more (maybe 6 bottles more)

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why would this wine be considered a “vin gris” and not a rose? is that just a “thats what they chose to call it” thing?

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Jeff and Matt: I just sent an email to the VP in charge of Marketing for answers to your questions and will get back when I hear back.

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I just received the response from WS:

Re The List:

" There isn’t an actual preferred list for this particular wine. The reason some people get the offer and others don’t is that we have a limited amount of it. That said, who gets the offer is both planned and a bit arbitrary. In some cases it’s repeat buyers who have asked to buy the Vin Gris, in other cases it’s geography. At this time of year we can’t ship to a lot of hot areas so we choose members based on area and time on the list. It’s not a perfect method by any stretch of the imagination. Thankfully if someone didn’t get the offer and does want it, we do hold back quite a bit of the wine to deal with issues like that."

Re The Naming of the wine:

"As for the name, the below was from the Wine Spectator:

Vin gris is a term that can be used for rosé wine just as the words “blush” and “pink” can be used. The French expression—which translates literally as “grey wine”—traditionally refers to a wine made from red wine grapes, but with white winemaking practices.

Choosing to name it this way predates me, so at this point the rationale would just be a guess.

Please let anyone know that they can reach out to me directly and I’ll do my best to help."

This comes from Mark Malpiede, VP of Sales & Marketing in case any have need to contact him. Phone: (707) 431-4861/ mark@williamsselyem.com

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I can also be found lurking here from time to time. Thanks Blake - I missed this one while traveling.

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