Last opened over ten years ago, and obviously has not lost anything. Still deep in color with cherries, raspberries, licorice, currants, spice, and some earthiness in the nose. The flavor is very much like the nose. Medium to full bodied, nice complexity, and a long finish. Delicious!
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Who said that CA Pinot noirs can’t age. This one is a wonderful example of a perfectly aged Pinot. Some nice garigue on the nose, cherry and earthy. Long finish with some bracing acidity. Enjoyed this wine with grilled wild king salon.
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I reviewed this 7+ years ago and at the time it was one the best PNs I had ever tried. If anything I should have graded the 2010 version even higher (95 or 96) as few if any wines I've had since then have surpassed it. The 2018 version hasn't lost much, and it remains a delicious, interesting, and incredibly complex wine. It has has perhaps given up a touch of intensity on the attack (I remember a piercingly strong beam of strawberries) and a touch of acidity. You are lucky if you still own this, but in my judgment it is just a bit past its peak.
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Light crimson in color. Almost translucent. 14.4% ABV. Surreal nose of black cherries, cloves and forest floor. Medium body with tremendous acidity. Structure and power that belies eleven years of bottle age. Pomegranate, cherries, anise and baking spices on the palate. Everything is in the right place with this wine. One of the better Pinot Noir's I have had in recent memory. Drink over the next 2-3 years.
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Sweet and ripe like the WS pinots of this era. For fans of the style, this should be very attractive. I would prefer a bit more structure, subtlety, and complexity.
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Considering the circumstances we encountered at the restaurant we took this bottle to, it would be unfair to score it. Our server reported that he had a difficult time with the cork (which could be true) but I detected no cord in the wine. The manager came to our table and said that he had no appropriate glass in which to serve our wine as a bus boy had accidently tipped the rack holding many of their glasses. He offered sparkling wine flutes which did not work. Since service was slow, I ran home to get some legitimate glasses. It took a while for the wine to open up but it was enjoyed. I will score it after we drink our last bottle under more controlled circumstances.
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ABV14.4; medium body with nice fruit density; complex mixed red fruit, leaf mold, clean loam, a bit of menthol; in a really good spot right now--enough fruit and now secondary flavors. More savory than sweet, but still with RRV signature.
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Still has loads of fruit cherries, strawberry and some cola. well balanced maybe a little thin. Drinking well but I would still give it a couple of years.
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burnt red with orange hints in the color. earth, berry, smoke, cherry, spice, on the nose. vanilla, cherry cola, earth, spicy, on the palate. tart fruits, medium acid, on the finish.
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Bright rose red. Nose of cherries, candied plums, and a hint of strawberries & chocolate. Strong opening notes of cherry cola, chocolate, currants and earth. Finished with toast, strawberries and wet stones. Drinking beautifully.
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A big fruity and spicy nose immediately after opening. Lots of berry flavors on the palette. Well Balanced with a nice long finish. Drank with dinner at La Familia Italian Restorante in Reno. Really nice Pinot!
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W mackerel (soy, sherry, vinegar, maple syrup glaze). This was great. Nice color with some age showing. On the nose this was cherry fruit but had so e creme brulee and spice. On palate this is very balanced with lots going on. Very nice finish that keeps going. With air time this only got better altyough the tannins dried out a bit. I'd wait 3-5 yrs for a next try.
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Consumed over 2 evenings (Saturday & Monday). Rich color and hints of berries and spices on the nose. Very nice fruit on the palate. but not overly fruit-driven, well balanced acidity. Smoother on the second night. I have a couple more bottles which I won't rush to drink... plenty of time left with this '05 Pinot. Details: The 52 acre Flax Vineyard, owned by Phil and Toby Flax, was purchased from the actor Fred MacMurray in the late 1970's. It is located in the heart of the Russian River Valley on the hillside above Westside Road adjacent to the famed Allen Vineyard. Of the 52 acre Flax Vineyard, the Williams Selyem Flax is sourced from the Big West block (3.61 acres) and the South Hill block (3.02 Acres) which were both planted in 1996 to a Pommard Pinot Noir selection on 3309C rootstock.
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Drank alongside 06 Serene Bradford. This was more fruit forward, brighter fruit, but nice acidity, well balanced, still lots of time left. Bradford was more dark fruits, and I would not call it a fruit driven wine, and more complex in texture and flavor profile. Both good wines.
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Pop/pour. Sweet/sour pinot nose. More of the same on a relatively rich palate with a hint of cola resin on the backend. Smooths out, integrates with 30 minutes in the glass and gains a point or two as a result. In a pretty good place for current drinking.
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Popped and poured. Lovely nose of red and black fruits with a hint of sandalwood. Classic RRV velvet in texture with a lovely soft finish. Very nice and really at its peak.
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Opened for 4 hours prior to drinking. Exposure made this bottle much nicer than previous one. Powerful fruit mellowed out nicely. Still very fruit forward. Not a food wine. Keep in cellar for a few more years if you have it.
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Bright red in the glass. Power is definetely coming through in this pinot. Suave with a little spice. Finish was a little weak. Not as good as the '04. Still, a very good pinot and one of my favorites in the WS lineup.
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I'm a WS lover, but this one was a bit flabby and lacking in acidity. Had a regular RRV bottle earlier this week, and it was much brighter. Still a very good bottle
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I can't believe I didn't file a note about this bottle earlier as it was the best Pinot of the year. Got about a half hour of air before being served with Christmas dinner to 8 or 9 people, followed by a 04 1er Burg that I didn't write down. Not a fair fight. This was a very fine wine. Flavor notes like my June 2008 bottle more or less (from memory), a wine of quiet power. A gem.
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non-filtered appearing, dark raspberry color, some fruit on nose even though bottle was a bit cold from the cellar, medium body, moderate acidity, bit "hot" tasting and missing some fruit mid-palate, some bitterness on finish, didn't have as much fruit as some other Selyem wine you've had.
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Fairly dark purple for a pinot, just barely translucent. Didn't give up much on the nose initially. Decanted for 60+ minutes before drinking. The nose opened up and was a dead ringer for a bouquet of roses...very nice. The palate was very dark, in a blind tasting I would have guessed CdP, not RR Pinot noir. Game, blood, and mushroom overtones over dark fruit in layers and layers of complexity. Evolved wonderfully in the glass over the next two hours, with flavors like smoke, licorice, and cinnamon stick moving to the foreground and then receding. The kind of wine that makes you think, and demands to be discussed with your companions, and gives you plenty to talk about. Savor each sip, it's a gem. Drinking just fine right now, but I've got one bottle left and I'm going to wait 18-24 months to see how it evolves further.
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Wonderful nose and palate. Balanced towards heavy side, but that's what we were in the mood for. Drank over two nights with second half just re-corked in fridge over night. Great both nights, but better the second. Wine is in a great right now, but could age more with no harm.
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Popped and poured. Dark ruby red; initially a bit reticent on the nose. After an hour or so the nose has blossomed with lovely red fruits, raspberry, cherry, and a bit of an herbal note, with some sneaky tannins on the finish. The finish is intense with a little bit of heat as well as those subtle tannins. Hasn't quite come together yet and has the structure to last, as do many of the 05 North Coast Pinot Noirs. Will hold my last bottle for a couple more years.
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Nose: Amazing nose of spicy cherries in equal measure with gravel and loam. Hints of cola, mushrooms and sweet flowers in the background. Palate: Soft and rich but with contrasting acid and soft tannin keeping the unreal richness in balance. Flavors of cherry and cola with some spice following. The flavors are round and volumptuous. Other Tracker reviewers have said this is drinking great now...I would agree. My first Williams Selyem, and it is quite impressive. I can't wait to try my other WS Pinot which is a Riverblock vineyard.
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Light ruby, nice color. Nose of dusty berries, vanilla coke and maybe some spice. Palate was similar with a little earthiness to it. Reminded me of an August West in the very good years. Nicely balanced finish with moderate acidity and low tannins. Great with and without food. Note: I didn't want to like this wine since I rec'd such poor service and elected to drop off of THE LIST after being a longtime customer. Perhaps if I tasted this blind, it would have been a few points higher! ;)
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Just a beautiful bottle of pinot. Subtle earthiness, a lovely nose of spicy and dusty raspberry, smoke and vanilla, complex flavors of cherry, tea, cooked mushrooms and mineral. Splendid. Expensive but worth it.
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Review of 2006 Pinot Noir (Think Cafe Restaurant, Chicago, IL): Sight: Medium colored pinot noir of a high viscosity and a clarified wine Nose: Cherries - but somewhat muted. A tuft of romano making intermittent appearances. Once it opened up a little more in the glass some oak and vanillin notes came forward and made themselves very present. Taste: Cherry cola, cola nuts, some residual heat, lush, soft, caressing and smooth. Overall: 92 points. It's a really nice wine. Might have scored a 93 - I think it needed more decant/air time
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Cali Pinot at Think Cafe (Think Cafe, Chicago, IL): A fragrant, pretty nose that presents some faint blackberry but is mostly dominated by candied cherries. The front end gives a hint of dark fruit, a bit of dried flowers. The mid is slightly candied and reminds me of cherry bubble gum and that hangs around on the finish that has bits of dried spices in it.
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a few 2006 cali pinots(with a couple of 05s) (think cafe, chicago IL): nose: highly expressive nose filled with bright red fruits, perfumes, dark plum tones, lots of spices, and tones of violets start to creep in with more air. Beautiful and lush that just begs for your nose to stay in it
taste: great balance with classic RRV styled fruit of bright red fruits, perfumes, spice tones, and violets permeating on the palate. Expressive and pretty while still having a classic brightness to it
overall: while not my normal style of pinot, this just seemed to hit me just right. Well layered on both the nose and palate with a verve to it that just begged for more attention. This was demonstrating to me why Williams-Selyem is such a great producer even though they aren't the hot ticket anymore. Beautiful balance and fruit with a plush red fruited attack and lengthy dark plum and violet finish
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brooding earth and dried rose petal nose; classy dusty dark red fruit and earth; low to medium acidity and just a bit more oak than i personally like but there is more than enough fruit and complexity to hold up to it; has the density to stand up to bbq pork/apricots/fennel/onion; likely better with time
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Spontaneous pop and pour. Great spicy, complex nose with a cranberry core as well as sappy raspberry, forest floor, black cherry, walnuts and allspice. So far a little underwhelming on the palate in comparison. Plenty of purity and lift along with subtle grip -- but not enough density to take it to the next level. If this gains some breadth with aeration, this could be a tremendous bottle. 90-93? Should be interesting to follow for the next few days out of the bottle.
Update: indeed, this got better still with more aeration, fleshing out some while retaining its sappy precision.
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The nose had lots of cherry, a little pomegranate, a touch of pepper, and a bit of vanilla at the end. The palate was silky and sweet, and showed loads of pomegranate and sour cherry, some spice, and finished with hints of earth and oak.
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Popped and poured - Beautiful pinot color of dark garnet with medium transparency. Intense nose of red fruit (primarily cherries, raspberry and plum) with hint of mushrooms. A bit of alchohol which blew off quickly. Explodes on the palate with focus of berries, spice and chewy tobacco. Nice tannins and great lasting finish. Looking forward to seeing how this ages over time. Excellent to outstanding.
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very earthy style not as complex as i would have thought, there is some raspberry and strawberry on the attack but the finish is lacking.all in all i think this wine is overpriced for the quality, i was definitely underwhelmed
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3/22/2020 - Jdwinedrinker Likes this wine:
Drinking very nicely. Rich velvety fruit. Not over the hill to my taste. Bought on release
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3/10/2020 - jdhannah wrote:
On the down slope but it's still an enjoyable ride. I like past prime but if you don't y b ou won't love, and definitely drink up
Opened a 2007 ws rochioli riverblock last night and was just peak... Difference in intensity and complexity was pretty big
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8/25/2019 - buckeye76 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Last opened over ten years ago, and obviously has not lost anything. Still deep in color with cherries, raspberries, licorice, currants, spice, and some earthiness in the nose. The flavor is very much like the nose. Medium to full bodied, nice complexity, and a long finish. Delicious!
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2/7/2019 - Martysfo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Who said that CA Pinot noirs can’t age. This one is a wonderful example of a perfectly aged Pinot. Some nice garigue on the nose, cherry and earthy. Long finish with some bracing acidity. Enjoyed this wine with grilled wild king salon.
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3/23/2018 - Magnolian Likes this wine: 93 Points
I reviewed this 7+ years ago and at the time it was one the best PNs I had ever tried. If anything I should have graded the 2010 version even higher (95 or 96) as few if any wines I've had since then have surpassed it. The 2018 version hasn't lost much, and it remains a delicious, interesting, and incredibly complex wine. It has has perhaps given up a touch of intensity on the attack (I remember a piercingly strong beam of strawberries) and a touch of acidity. You are lucky if you still own this, but in my judgment it is just a bit past its peak.
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10/2/2016 - tomlee wrote: 94 Points
Light crimson in color. Almost translucent. 14.4% ABV. Surreal nose of black cherries, cloves and forest floor. Medium body with tremendous acidity. Structure and power that belies eleven years of bottle age. Pomegranate, cherries, anise and baking spices on the palate. Everything is in the right place with this wine. One of the better Pinot Noir's I have had in recent memory. Drink over the next 2-3 years.
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5/25/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote: 86 Points
Great fruit, but too sweet for real Pinot Noir.
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2/21/2016 - jerhardt wrote:
Sweet and ripe like the WS pinots of this era. For fans of the style, this should be very attractive. I would prefer a bit more structure, subtlety, and complexity.
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2/6/2016 - McMalbec wrote:
Considering the circumstances we encountered at the restaurant we took this bottle to, it would be unfair to score it.
Our server reported that he had a difficult time with the cork (which could be true) but I detected no cord in the wine.
The manager came to our table and said that he had no appropriate glass in which to serve our wine as a bus boy had accidently tipped the rack holding many of their glasses. He offered sparkling wine flutes which did not work. Since service was slow, I ran home to get some legitimate glasses. It took a while for the wine to open up but it was enjoyed. I will score it after we drink our last bottle under more controlled circumstances.
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1/15/2016 - dmitchell4 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Burgundian
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1/5/2016 - wabi47 Likes this wine: 92 Points
ABV14.4; medium body with nice fruit density; complex mixed red fruit, leaf mold, clean loam, a bit of menthol; in a really good spot right now--enough fruit and now secondary flavors. More savory than sweet, but still with RRV signature.
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5/31/2014 - RLP805 wrote: 92 Points
Still has loads of fruit cherries, strawberry and some cola. well balanced maybe a little thin. Drinking well but I would still give it a couple of years.
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4/19/2014 - gpatramanis Likes this wine: 93 Points
Berries/cherries, and a touch of cola and earth. Maybe mushrooms? Drinking beautifully. Probably at it's peak now. Outstanding Pinot!
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9/19/2013 - affordableCollector wrote: 90 Points
burnt red with orange hints in the color. earth, berry, smoke, cherry, spice, on the nose. vanilla, cherry cola, earth, spicy, on the palate. tart fruits, medium acid, on the finish.
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5/26/2013 - PDavisMarble wrote: 91 Points
Bright rose red. Nose of cherries, candied plums, and a hint of strawberries & chocolate. Strong opening notes of cherry cola, chocolate, currants and earth. Finished with toast, strawberries and wet stones. Drinking beautifully.
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4/30/2013 - davidn Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nice bright red fruits and a nice slightly sweet finish. Pop & pour. Maybe a couple of years left but I recommend to drink now.
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1/22/2013 - siloak wrote: flawed
Ugh... off bottle?... slighltly raisiny...worse day two....
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11/28/2012 - RAMwines wrote: 92 Points
A big fruity and spicy nose immediately after opening. Lots of berry flavors on the palette. Well Balanced with a nice long finish. Drank with dinner at La Familia Italian Restorante in Reno. Really nice Pinot!
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11/25/2012 - MichielV wrote: 91 Points
W mackerel (soy, sherry, vinegar, maple syrup glaze). This was great. Nice color with some age showing. On the nose this was cherry fruit but had so e creme brulee and spice. On palate this is very balanced with lots going on. Very nice finish that keeps going. With air time this only got better altyough the tannins dried out a bit. I'd wait 3-5 yrs for a next try.
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10/31/2012 - JS199 wrote: 93 Points
Exactly like previous note. The nose was absolutely ridiculous. Halloween pizza night.
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10/28/2012 - tfesmgk wrote: 93 Points
Fantastic, dark, dense, great nose. Even better the next day.
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10/22/2012 - RAMwines wrote: 93 Points
Consumed over 2 evenings (Saturday & Monday). Rich color and hints of berries and spices on the nose. Very nice fruit on the palate. but not overly fruit-driven, well balanced acidity. Smoother on the second night. I have a couple more bottles which I won't rush to drink... plenty of time left with this '05 Pinot.
Details: The 52 acre Flax Vineyard, owned by Phil and Toby Flax, was purchased from the actor Fred MacMurray in the late 1970's. It is located in the heart of the Russian River Valley on the hillside above Westside Road adjacent to the famed Allen Vineyard. Of the 52 acre Flax Vineyard, the Williams Selyem Flax is sourced from the Big West block (3.61 acres) and the South Hill block (3.02 Acres) which were both planted in 1996 to a Pommard Pinot Noir selection on 3309C rootstock.
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5/27/2012 - Edclr wrote: 92 Points
Drank alongside 06 Serene Bradford. This was more fruit forward, brighter fruit, but nice acidity, well balanced, still lots of time left. Bradford was more dark fruits, and I would not call it a fruit driven wine, and more complex in texture and flavor profile. Both good wines.
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12/29/2011 - dream wrote: 88 Points
A little sweet but a nice, delicate pinot with a lovely fairly complex finish.
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12/13/2011 - vanpe003 wrote: 92 Points
Pop/pour. Sweet/sour pinot nose. More of the same on a relatively rich palate with a hint of cola resin on the backend. Smooths out, integrates with 30 minutes in the glass and gains a point or two as a result. In a pretty good place for current drinking.
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11/19/2011 - paffy wrote: 92 Points
Nice pinot.. Big cherry coke, red fruit..Will continue to develop for another 2yrs+
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11/14/2011 - daCrusher wrote: 96 Points
great nose of raspberries, beatiful balance and flavors, one of the best Pinots i've ever had.
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11/5/2011 - rosenst1 wrote: 93 Points
Popped and poured. Lovely nose of red and black fruits with a hint of sandalwood. Classic RRV velvet in texture
with a lovely soft finish. Very nice and really at its peak.
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10/27/2011 - grapist wrote: 93 Points
Delicious with grilled tuna. A bowl of cherries and a lot more.
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10/15/2011 - vumansky wrote: 91 Points
Opened for 4 hours prior to drinking. Exposure made this bottle much nicer than previous one. Powerful fruit mellowed out nicely. Still very fruit forward. Not a food wine. Keep in cellar for a few more years if you have it.
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10/8/2011 - vumansky wrote: 85 Points
Overly sweet and a but cloying. Massively fruity. Not expected.
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7/10/2011 - JS199 wrote: 93 Points
Bright red in the glass. Power is definetely coming through in this pinot. Suave with a little spice. Finish was a little weak. Not as good as the '04. Still, a very good pinot and one of my favorites in the WS lineup.
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6/21/2011 - kgh wrote: 91 Points
Nice raspberry-cola flavors, with some smoke, leather, and spice. Medium weight and nice balance overall.
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5/20/2011 - Texas Jerky wrote: 92 Points
this wine is drinking well now. Silky and powerful.
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4/13/2011 - spotfin wrote: 93 Points
Delish, won't get better!
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4/12/2011 - dtirsell Likes this wine: 90 Points
blueberry, cherry nose, long finish, loved it!
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4/8/2011 - plitton wrote: 92 Points
A wonderful RRV pinot that comes pretty close to hitting the bullseye. Great structure and form. Should continue to drink well through 2014.
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4/2/2011 - blaine wrote: 88 Points
I'm a WS lover, but this one was a bit flabby and lacking in acidity. Had a regular RRV bottle earlier this week, and it was much brighter. Still a very good bottle
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1/8/2011 - 2loyal wrote: 93 Points
Smoothe, luscious cherry cola - yum! Not at all over-the-hill.
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12/25/2010 - silton wrote: 93 Points
I can't believe I didn't file a note about this bottle earlier as it was the best Pinot of the year. Got about a half hour of air before being served with Christmas dinner to 8 or 9 people, followed by a 04 1er Burg that I didn't write down. Not a fair fight. This was a very fine wine. Flavor notes like my June 2008 bottle more or less (from memory), a wine of quiet power. A gem.
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12/12/2010 - mike1234 wrote: 83 Points
non-filtered appearing, dark raspberry color, some fruit on nose even though bottle was a bit cold from the cellar, medium body, moderate acidity, bit "hot" tasting and missing some fruit mid-palate, some bitterness on finish, didn't have as much fruit as some other Selyem wine you've had.
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11/6/2010 - Magnolian wrote: 94 Points
Fairly dark purple for a pinot, just barely translucent. Didn't give up much on the nose initially. Decanted for 60+ minutes before drinking. The nose opened up and was a dead ringer for a bouquet of roses...very nice. The palate was very dark, in a blind tasting I would have guessed CdP, not RR Pinot noir. Game, blood, and mushroom overtones over dark fruit in layers and layers of complexity. Evolved wonderfully in the glass over the next two hours, with flavors like smoke, licorice, and cinnamon stick moving to the foreground and then receding. The kind of wine that makes you think, and demands to be discussed with your companions, and gives you plenty to talk about. Savor each sip, it's a gem. Drinking just fine right now, but I've got one bottle left and I'm going to wait 18-24 months to see how it evolves further.
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10/26/2010 - SUN-J wrote: 87 Points
drank a few months ago . . . over the hill. decent cherry fruit to this but zero acidity.
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7/27/2010 - shaneajohnson wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful nose and palate. Balanced towards heavy side, but that's what we were in the mood for. Drank over two nights with second half just re-corked in fridge over night. Great both nights, but better the second. Wine is in a great right now, but could age more with no harm.
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7/22/2010 - rosenst1 wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured. Dark ruby red; initially a bit reticent on the nose. After an hour or so the nose
has blossomed with lovely red fruits, raspberry, cherry, and a bit of an herbal note, with some sneaky tannins
on the finish. The finish is intense with a little bit of heat as well as those subtle tannins. Hasn't quite come
together yet and has the structure to last, as do many of the 05 North Coast Pinot Noirs. Will hold my last
bottle for a couple more years.
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5/23/2010 - HenryW wrote: 94 Points
Complex and well-balanced. Nose of tart cherries, cinnamon, and a hint of mushrooms. Palate had a lively acidity. Finish is long and elegant.
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4/27/2010 - BobS wrote: 89 Points
high alcohol, 14.4% gives this an edge on top of the muddy liquid
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1/18/2010 - pgruber wrote: 93 Points
Singing now
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10/10/2009 - dougie wrote: 93 Points
Excellent wine. Explosive fruit. no detractors. Smoothed out over 3 hours, but at the end, came on strong again. Beautiful.
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8/29/2009 - Mattshank wrote: 93 Points
Nose: Amazing nose of spicy cherries in equal measure with gravel and loam. Hints of cola, mushrooms and sweet flowers in the background. Palate: Soft and rich but with contrasting acid and soft tannin keeping the unreal richness in balance. Flavors of cherry and cola with some spice following. The flavors are round and volumptuous. Other Tracker reviewers have said this is drinking great now...I would agree. My first Williams Selyem, and it is quite impressive. I can't wait to try my other WS Pinot which is a Riverblock vineyard.
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6/12/2009 - oski wrote: 95 Points
Great example of a russian river pinot, spice cola and vanilla with a great nose. Excellent balance that delivered a great fulfilling experience.
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4/17/2009 - buckeye76 wrote: 94 Points
BIG RICH CHERRY AND RASPBERRY FRUIT WITH HINTS OF LEATHER AND LICORICE. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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2/16/2009 - SUN-J wrote: 92 Points
Light ruby, nice color. Nose of dusty berries, vanilla coke and maybe some spice. Palate was similar with a little earthiness to it. Reminded me of an August West in the very good years. Nicely balanced finish with moderate acidity and low tannins. Great with and without food. Note: I didn't want to like this wine since I rec'd such poor service and elected to drop off of THE LIST after being a longtime customer. Perhaps if I tasted this blind, it would have been a few points higher! ;)
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1/26/2009 - Mpoob wrote: 92 Points
Earthy and dust in the nose, deep cherry fruit with tea and smoke in the mouth. Drinking beautifully right now.
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11/25/2008 - IlonaN wrote: 96 Points
Just a beautiful bottle of pinot. Subtle earthiness, a lovely nose of spicy and dusty raspberry, smoke and vanilla, complex flavors of cherry, tea, cooked mushrooms and mineral. Splendid. Expensive but worth it.
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9/30/2008 - Claudio161 wrote: 92 Points
Review of 2006 Pinot Noir (Think Cafe Restaurant, Chicago, IL): Sight: Medium colored pinot noir of a high viscosity and a clarified wine
Nose: Cherries - but somewhat muted. A tuft of romano making intermittent appearances. Once it opened up a little more in the glass some oak and vanillin notes came forward and made themselves very present.
Taste: Cherry cola, cola nuts, some residual heat, lush, soft, caressing and smooth.
Overall: 92 points. It's a really nice wine. Might have scored a 93 - I think it needed more decant/air time
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9/30/2008 - cobbpa wrote: 89 Points
Cali Pinot at Think Cafe (Think Cafe, Chicago, IL): A fragrant, pretty nose that presents some faint blackberry but is mostly dominated by candied cherries. The front end gives a hint of dark fruit, a bit of dried flowers. The mid is slightly candied and reminds me of cherry bubble gum and that hangs around on the finish that has bits of dried spices in it.
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9/30/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
a few 2006 cali pinots(with a couple of 05s) (think cafe, chicago IL): nose: highly expressive nose filled with bright red fruits, perfumes, dark plum tones, lots of spices, and tones of violets start to creep in with more air. Beautiful and lush that just begs for your nose to stay in it
taste: great balance with classic RRV styled fruit of bright red fruits, perfumes, spice tones, and violets permeating on the palate. Expressive and pretty while still having a classic brightness to it
overall: while not my normal style of pinot, this just seemed to hit me just right. Well layered on both the nose and palate with a verve to it that just begged for more attention. This was demonstrating to me why Williams-Selyem is such a great producer even though they aren't the hot ticket anymore. Beautiful balance and fruit with a plush red fruited attack and lengthy dark plum and violet finish
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9/11/2008 - chaseh wrote: 94 Points
Drinking well at this age. I nice bowl of strawberries. Not too deep, would drink alone or with some light matches.
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7/14/2008 - wabi47 wrote: 90 Points
brooding earth and dried rose petal nose; classy dusty dark red fruit and earth; low to medium acidity and just a bit more oak than i personally like but there is more than enough fruit and complexity to hold up to it; has the density to stand up to bbq pork/apricots/fennel/onion; likely better with time
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6/6/2008 - silton wrote: 92 Points
Spontaneous pop and pour. Great spicy, complex nose with a cranberry core as well as sappy raspberry, forest floor, black cherry, walnuts and allspice. So far a little underwhelming on the palate in comparison. Plenty of purity and lift along with subtle grip -- but not enough density to take it to the next level. If this gains some breadth with aeration, this could be a tremendous bottle. 90-93? Should be interesting to follow for the next few days out of the bottle.
Update: indeed, this got better still with more aeration, fleshing out some while retaining its sappy precision.
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5/14/2008 - mmurry wrote: 93 Points
The nose had lots of cherry, a little pomegranate, a touch of pepper, and a bit of vanilla at the end. The palate was silky and sweet, and showed loads of pomegranate and sour cherry, some spice, and finished with hints of earth and oak.
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4/9/2008 - kanab ram wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured - Beautiful pinot color of dark garnet with medium transparency. Intense nose of red fruit (primarily cherries, raspberry and plum) with hint of mushrooms. A bit of alchohol which blew off quickly. Explodes on the palate with focus of berries, spice and chewy tobacco. Nice tannins and great lasting finish. Looking forward to seeing how this ages over time. Excellent to outstanding.
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3/15/2008 - Bunski wrote: 88 Points
Very low in fruit and complexity. Showed plenty of dirt and some undertones of leather and tobacco. Not great, not bad, easy drinker.
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2/14/2008 - daCrusher wrote: 89 Points
very earthy style not as complex as i would have thought, there is some raspberry and strawberry on the attack but the finish is lacking.all in all i think this wine is overpriced for the quality, i was definitely underwhelmed
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