Williams Selyem: Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard 1987–2016

BY STEPHEN TANZER | JUNE 21, 2018

Whether a grand cru or a fine premier cru, Williams Selyem’s second flagship Pinot has established a 30-year record for individuality, longevity and consistency.

Back in the late 1980s, the earliest vintages of Williams Selyem Pinot Noir caught the attention of Burgundy lovers for their succulence and sweetness, as well as for their complex balance of sappy fruits, soil tones, spices and flowers, and their considerable early allure. I recall being blown away by the 1987 Williams Selyem Rochioli Vineyard Pinot, which I considered to be the sexiest New World Pinot I had tasted up until then, with the possible exception of the 1985 Ponzi Vineyards Pinot Noir, a wine that had memorably been preferred by a group of my Burgundy-loving friends in the late ‘90s in a blind flight with 1985 Morey-Saint-Denis grand crus from Ponsot, Dujac and Domaine des Chézeaux.

Allen Vineyard, with fog over Russian River

If there was ever a fear expressed by early buyers of the Williams Selyem Pinots, it was that the wines tasted so good early on that people wondered whether they could possibly age. As it turned out, these worries were unfounded. About a dozen years ago, I conducted a tasting of all of the vintages made by now-legendary winemaker Burt Williams from the original Rochioli Vineyard vines (1985 through 1997). The wines showed spectacularly and were full of life. Introduced with the 1987 vintage, the Allen Vineyard Pinot Noir was the second flagship Pinot in the Williams Selyem range. My experience with the Allen Pinot also dates back to its maiden vintage. This March, the winery and current winemaker Jeff Mangahas staged a spectacular vertical tasting back to vintage 1989 of the Allen Vineyard for me. I was able to complete the vertical by pulling the first two vintages from my own cellar. So, this time around, I tasted Pinots dating back a full 30 years.

Williams-Selyem's new winery

The Origins of Allen Vineyard