1997 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast)

Winemaking responsibilities here are now firmly in the hands of Bob Cabral, who spent several months as assistant to Burt Williams after having served as winemaker at Hartford Court. Although Williams is still within radio contact, he essentially out of the picture now, following the sale of this winery to Pebble Ridge Vineyards and Wine Estates, a group that also owns Millbrook Vineyards in New York's Hudson Valley, Villa Pillo Estate in Tuscany and considerable acreage in California's Central Coast.x000D The spring Williams-Selyem pinot releases are something of a mixed bag, but my early look at the best vineyard-designated bottlings from the '97 vintage, most of which will be released in the fall, turned up some potentially impressive wines. This harvest provided an abundant crop of sugar-laden grapes: several '97 pinots carry alcohol levels in excess of 14.5%. According to Cabral, acidity levels remained stubbornly high in several Sonoma Coast vineyards from which Williams-Selyem buys grapes, and it was necessary to wait for more thorough ripeness. And once harvesting began, unexpectedly high crop levels quickly filled the fermenters. It remains to be seen whether the new owners of this winery will ultimately use the Williams & Selyem label on wines made from their Central Coast vineyards.