TN: 2015 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Ferrington Vineyard -Awe

[brigcampbell]

WS should get more love here. A friend has quite a selection and has busted them out over the last couple of years and every bottle was very enjoyable. This bottle was incredible.

• 2015 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Ferrington Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (11/13/2017)
  What color is this? Fascinating. Warden walks by and say “magenta”. Yup, it’s a unique and intriguing magenta. Beautiful describes the color and the flavors as this showed as one of the better CA PN I’ve tasted. No decant, straight into the glass and firing on all cylinders. Modern style but well balanced. Dark red fruit and berries, light oak, and an umami quality. Super stuff.

Posted from CellarTracker

[Anton_D]

Wow, you guys “Pobega’d” that bottle.

I will go through my shipment and try to make a companion note!

[Josh_H]

I also wonder why WS doesn’t get more attention here.

[Frank_Murray_III]

Here is my TN on the same bottle. Brig and I are aligned here, this is a helluva wine.

• 2015 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Ferrington Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (11/13/2017)
  First TN on this wine? Yikes. I expected to see more…I’ll go first. This bottle was from a friend’s cellar. I don’t think it was decanted. This was a gorgeous bottle of CA PN, truly classy. Beautiful red neon, purplish color. The balance and seductive fruit…one of those wines that got me to stop and pause, and really appreciate what was here. This was more modern in style, with a texture and purity that drank super, without any overt oak or alcohol I should add, as well. What a treat to drink.

Posted from CellarTracker

[William_Kelley]

@Josh H

I also wonder why WS doesn’t get more attention here.

I think that would be because once you’ve tried Burt’s wines, it’s hard to get excited about Bob’s.

Of course, now the guard has changed again, so I definitely need to check in and see how the style is evolving.

[Anton_D]

OK, notes in the morning!

[Anton_D]

Alternated tasting the 2015s, never made it to the 2004.

Ferrington: Opened and ran around the house for a few minutes and when I came back, perfume in the room.

My wife declared, “Framboise!!”

If anyone ever needs to know what the platonic nose of the grape is, this is your bottle.

Bright light purple edges in the glass and a sensation of “pure fruit” when tasting. It gives form to the old saying, “I let the grapes speak for themselves.”

It has upper medium acidity that makes the fruit pop, but it’s not a fruit bomb and doesn’t come across as over-extracted. It has a top palate light sour cherry sensation and a longish finish that is a prototype for saying “red berries.”

My wife summed it up: “Very good pinot.”

Nanny and my niece were mainly interested in whether or not there was more!

_

The Coastlands was a wine of a different color, more like an ink. It had more “body,” with darker flavors…dark berries vs. Ferrington’s red.

Perhaps there was a touch of CO2 ‘spritz,’ but that quickly dissipated.

It had pomegranite and maybe a teeeny bit of cranberry. It evolved more over time than the Ferrington, maybe having some ‘leafy’ characteristics, as well.

The two were different enough that it was hard to think about tasting and not “choose one.”

This wine reminded me a great deal of the SV Rochioli pinots. I think you could sneak it into a Rochioli line up and pull it off.

So, this was the more brooding of the two. The Ferrington was the bon vivant.

Brig, thanks for starting this thread. I wouldn’t have thought to Pobega these and I am glad I did.

(The Ferrington hurt because I only had 2, the Coastlands was less painful, I have two left.)

[Jason_Hagen]

@William Kelley

@Josh H

I also wonder why WS doesn’t get more attention here.

I think that would be because once you’ve tried Burt’s wines, it’s hard to get excited about Bob’s.

Of course, now the guard has changed again, so I definitely need to check in and see how the style is evolving.

Agreed. I had to drop off the list pretty quickly as the post Burt wines were all over the map, generally hot, and way too pricey. I hope to try some of the new stuff.

Jason

[Blake_Brown]

Accolades from Brig to Frank to Anton= a really good wine.

I love Ferrington all vintages especially those from Burt, 97 and older. Also have the 15 but put it away for my self imposed 7 year “open and have a look” window I exercise. Now, I have more to look forward to.

I even have had some really good Ferrington Pinots from other producers. A few years ago at the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival, I tasted through every Ferrington being poured and they were hands down the best wines of the day from all winemakers/ vineyards with the WS being tops.

Brig/ Frank. I can bring a 97` when we meet if desired.

[Frank_Murray_III]

Anton, you lived up to your word…good work. Pure fruit and red berries is a fine description of the 15 Ferrington.

I recall another terrific bottle of WS I had with Brig, at the same friend’s house 2 years ago…that one was the 2012 WS Peay PN. I still remember that bottle and would love to try it again sometime, too.

Blake, I hope we will get to meet you soon. Enjoy your posts and contributions here.

[Anton_D]

@Frank Murray III

Anton, you lived up to your word…good work. Pure fruit and red berries is a fine description of the 15 Ferrington.

I recall another terrific bottle of WS I had with Brig, at the same friend’s house 2 years ago…that one was the 2012 WS Peay PN. I still remember that bottle and would love to try it again sometime, too.

Blake, I hope we will get to meet you soon. Enjoy your posts and contributions here.

Thanks, man.

I greatly prefer joining a tasting note to creating one. I don’t know why.

Collaborative tasting is awesome.