Community Tasting Notes 13

• misterstarre Likes this wine: 96 points

  November 8, 2020 - Well, now, this was a surprise! Now, I'm a fan of this era of Williams Selyem, so it's not a surprise that I liked it. The shock was how much I liked it, especially in comparison to the other notes below. It was one of the better bottles of old WS I've ever had, right up there with some legendary Rochioli vineyard wines, though not as earthy or complex as the wines from that vineyard. This had a bright red look, darkening toward the middle into magenta. On the nose, ripe fruit, i.e. cherry, and more flowers than I expected, along with something earthy. On the palate, wow: beef blood - beef tartare, actually - sweet dark cherry, orange peel, and savory notes of mushroom. As it evolved, spice came out...clove and cinnammon. As is the style, this was elegant, but not delicate, and it is medium bodied. There's suppleness but not texture, so the mouthfeel was silky.

  1 person found this helpful Comment

• bobdobilina wrote: flawed

  March 5, 2020 - Faulty. Cooked, corked? Not sure.

  Comment

• Blake Brown Likes this wine: 89 points

  May 31, 2017 - 1996 WILLIAMS SELYEM OLIVET LANE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR- 14.9% abv.; a friend added this from his cellar to the mix; it was very typically briary with earth tones and some black fruit to compliment a lesser amount of red fruit; there was a little heat in the nose at first; some dried cherry/ berry notes came in by mid palate and finished off the wine.

  Comment

• RedLoverJim Likes this wine: 92 points

  January 25, 2017 - I'd purchased this bottle along with 2 bottles of 2001 WS Sonoma Coast PN, both of which were typical of a 15yo bottle of that type... nice, but tasting of an older wine that needs to be consumed rather quickly after opening. I fully expected that from this bottle, but was shocked at how good it was! Full, rich fruit flavors from the moment it was opened. I can't say how long it held up after opening, as with six of us it didn't last long. The only sign of age was that it needed no air to open up, where I prefer the younger WS PNs after they've had some breathing time. If I can find any more, I'd happily grab more of these.

  Comment

• docjer Likes this wine: 89 points

  July 12, 2014 - OPENED W BECKY AND RON 7/11/14. TASTED W MERRY EDWARDS PINOT 2001. BOTH WERE QUITE GOOD, BOUQUET SLIGHT, COLOR AMBER RED, TASTE FRUITY, LEGS SLIGHT. SO FAR MY W-S HAVE HELD UP VERY WELL.

  Comment

Pro Reviews 2

Wine Definition

• Vintage 1996
• Type Red
• Producer Williams Selyem
• Varietal Pinot Noir
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard Olivet Lane Vineyard
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Sonoma County
• Appellation Russian River Valley

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
• In Cellars 88 (50%)
• Consumed 87 (50%)

Food Pairing

Who Likes This Wine

More About This Wine