Williams Selyem Foss Vineyard Pinot Noir
WHY WE LOVE IT
- The Foss Vineyard sits above Eastside Road in the Middle Reach region of the Russian River Valley.
- With a fine, clay loam soil type and a temperate microclimate, this site is extremely well drained and therefore an excellent site for Pinot Noir.
- Planted to Pommard, Swan, and Mt. Eden, together they offer a rich and complex palette to draw from in blending this incredibly rich and complex wine.
Varietal Composition: 100% Pinot Noir
Elaboration: Barrel aged 16 months, 61% new, 39% 1 yr-old barrels.
Tasting Notes: Fresh berry and cedar box aromas combine into a complex, earthy undertone. Asian spice notes add to the wonderfully layered nose. Hints of Costa Rican coffee further add to the brooding aromatics. Supple and round, the sensation of the tannins is quite elegant and polished. The acidity in the midpalate lifts the berry flavors and carries the wine to a balanced and polished finish.
PRESS
2019 – 95 Wine Enthusiast
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Willams Selyem Winery was founded almost by accident. In the 1970s, a grower gave a few tons of free grapes to Burt Williams. He and his friend, Ed Selyem, decided to make their own wine – a Pinot Noir.
The partners only wanted to make wine for themselves but, as fate would have it, they were very good at it. Soon, their wine developed a cult-like following among those they shared it with. Ultimately, their experiment elevated Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley to among the best wine-growing regions in the world.
Once Burt and Ed decided to start a serious winery, they vowed to make handcrafted wines that would set the standard for excellence. Burt, a veteran newspaper pressman, made the first labels using an old letterpress and hand-mixed inks. Today, the philosophy at Williams Selyem is to respect the grapes. Their wine has been served at the White House and their 2007 Estate Pinot Noir was the first to score a perfect 100 in a major wine publication.