1996 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast)

By now, virtually all fans of this pinot noir specialist are aware that the winery was recently sold to a group headed by John Dyson, the owner of Millbrook Winery in the Hudson Valley and other properties in California and Italy. Under the terms of the transaction, winemaker Burt Williams will stay on for at least two years as a consultant, ensuring continuity of style. The new owners have reportedly signed contracts for fruit from current suppliers, except for Olivet Lane and the Rochioli West Block vines that have produced several of the greatest Williams & Selyem wines over the past decade (the new owners will continue to get fruit from the young Rochioli vines, which have been bottled as Riverblock since the 1994 vintage). Burt Williams considers both '97 and, especially, '95 to be better vintages than '96 for pinot noir in the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations. The '96s, says Williams, are more tannic than the '93s, but seem softer due to their lower acidity. In this hot year, all the vineyards were harvested within two weeks.