Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.8

Few wines fit perfectly into my wheelhouse. This is one of a few. I picked this up at Seavey last weekend. 1997 is such a historic Napa vintage and this wine lives up to every inch of it. It’s a wine that you want to slowly sip all night.

On the nose; very, ripe; blackberries, sweet & sour dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, huckleberries with slightly baked strawberries haunt the background. Mixed berry cola, vanilla, cherry liqueur notes, some black licorice, limestone minerals, very light clove, soft subtle dark spices, dry crushed rock powder, sweet tarry notes, saddle-wood, very soft leather, forest floor, blue flowers and dark fresh & withering flowers.

The body is gloriously soft, round and beyond elegant. Still has plenty of soft, round, slightly tarry tannins. The structure, tension, length and balance have hit its sweet spot with another 7-10 years of really good drinking left. It’s harmony on the palate. Ripe; blackberries, sweet & sour dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, huckleberries with slightly baked strawberries haunt the background. Mixed berry cola, vanilla, notes of caramel, cherry liqueur notes, steeped fruit tea, some black licorice, just a hint of herbaceous, limestone minerals, very light clove, soft subtle dark spices, dusty tannins, dry crushed rock powder, gritty volcanic minerals, dry clay, sweet tarry notes, saddle-wood, chewy soft leather, forest floor, blue flowers and dark fresh & withering flowers. The acidity is about as perfect as I’ve had. The finish is nothing short of astounding. It’s long, elegant, ripe, well balanced and doesn’t end. One of the more exceptional wines I’ve had in some time.

Photos of, Seavey Winery & tasting room, the stairs the lead up to Williams office and show that late 18th century architecture, Williams desk in his old office and their Estate vines with the hillside painting the background. — 7 years ago

Michael Gallegos

Sales & Hospitality Red Car Winery

9.0

Surprisingly fresh for being 14 years old. 🔥🔥🔥 Though at 16+%abv..breathing fire. Drink now if you have any. This is the epitome of California Zin. — 8 years ago

Erik Brown

10

We were fortunate enough to book a private tasting at their vineyard with friends this past summer. I love all of their wines, but this was a stand out. — 8 years ago

Doctor No

9.0

Burt's last year? A bit rich at 15.2 but aging really well with lovely secondary notes — 9 years ago

Jim Anderson

9.6

Extremely well balanced with amazing aromatics and depth of flavor. Bosenberry, wild raspberry, black cherry and lilac leaps from the glass. Lush, but some how restrianed, focused and elegant at the same time. You can tell this was made by a talented Pinot winemaker, can't wait to try this with some age on it. Not your typical Tommy Bahama shirt wearing, prune punch, grampa Zin here. Bravo! — 9 years ago

Mark Hahn

9.2

Outstanding California Pinot. My second favorite at Williams Selyem. — 10 years ago

Justin Mahoney

9.3

Perfect balanced Cali pinot where it's not as fruit forward as most, but not at taut as a burgundy. — 10 years ago

with Craig, Eric and 1 other

Kimberly Charles

9.2

Delicious. Featured at the 2015 #SherryfestNYC #Sherryfest — 10 years ago

with Alexandra

M. Ventre

9.2

Sexy tropical nose. Would not have guessed chard blind at all. Really enjoyed this.. — 10 years ago

with Nick, David and 1 other

Ron from VA

9.0

12 was a classic year - not too hot, not very wet. A good year for acid! So, the Franc leads with 41% followed closely by CS at 35%. This creates a very unique profile that is often not employed by Virginia wine makers – a dance of two cabs. We took this bottle to a restaurant for steak (aged New York strip) with a nice char. Indeed, spice edge from the franc and the tannin from the Sauv made for a powerful cleansing combo!! While food functional, I only give this a 9.1 because it lacked elegance in the mid-palate flavor profile. Of course I should have expected that from a classic vintage where the sugars weren’t elevated – creating an extra rich core. One bottle remains. — 7 years ago

P. Ivan Love

9.1

At aprox. 22 usd/17 gbp, this wine is a real garbain.
Mature, intense and concentrated with a great complexity ranging from honey, dates, treacle, glue, sultana raisins, nut meg and vanilla.
The alcohol is there, but mellowed with time, acts as a lift for the aromas rather than being a burden.
With a vivid acidity, it is a real show of elegance and power that does wonders in food pairing!
— 7 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Our monthly 4th Friday event at the storage facility. No requirements, just wine you want to share with others! Always an enjoyable time.

These older WS pinots epitomize for me Sonoma Pinot at its best. So much strawberry, rhubarb, cedar and black cherry. Not overpowering at all. Perfect texture. — 8 years ago

with Mark

Kevin Bohlin

9.4

Wow. One of my favorite WS so far. Still a bit young but after some air the deep Cherry qualities opened up to juicy citrus all held by a beautiful fine grained tannin structure and mouthfeel. I'll hang on to my other bottle another year at least. — 9 years ago

Pierre Costa

9.2

Great blend of vineyards. Fresh, fun and soft tannins. I had it at the winery. Full of strawberries and raspberries. — 9 years ago

Carl Rohling

9.1

Great fruit forward. Well balanced William Selyem. Picked up at Millbrook here in NY. — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

This bottle excels above the 8/15 bottle. The fruit is simply sensational. The raspberries are so fresh and ripe. Pomegranate, strawberries, cherries and just the right kind of chalky minerality. It's one flaw, still a little hot in the back of the throat. Better at 12.5-13.5% than over 14%. — 10 years ago

Judy Martin

10

5.99 with Eduardo at trader joes — 10 years ago

David Lee

9.6

Lovely wine ready to drink. Smokey on the nose at first but opened right up and is delicious — 10 years ago

Ray Sturm

9.5

Fantastic. Worried it'd be a fruit bomb but not at all. Subtle cherry flavors that really come out on the finish. Will definitely age well. — 11 years ago

Matthew Charles

9.4

Feature at Lamoreaux Landing in Lodi, NY — 12 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.4

On the Lawn at Tanglewood this evening with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Our full cast of conductors include Andris Nelsons, Christoph Eschenbach, Keith Lockhart, Michael Tilson Thomas and John Williams. The beautiful and vocally talented Audra McDonald is our host for the evening along with Midori on violin and Yo-Yo Ma on cello.

This will likely be an evening to remember for some time. Program notes from the BSO "Reflecting the season-long theme, The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood will spotlight Bernstein's wide-ranging talents as a composer, his many gifts as a great interpreter and champion of other composers, and his role as an inspirer of a new generation of musicians and music lovers across the country and around the globe. The gala concert will feature a kaleidoscopic array of artists and ensembles from the worlds of classical music, film, and Broadway. The entire first half of the program is dedicated to selections from such brilliant Bernstein works as Candide, West Side Story, Mass, and Serenade. Music from the classical canon very dear to Bernstein's heart-selections from Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn and music by Copland-plus a new work by John Williams, makes up a good portion of the program's second half; the finale of Mahler's Resurrection Symphony brings the program to a dramatic close."

We're revisiting some producer bottles from our late Spring France vacation earlier this year.

Nose of under-ripe tropical fruits, banana skin, light oak touch. Palate has yummy papaya, under-ripe peach, tangerine and sweet oak.

Photos of the Jadot (Update, Bouchard!) Chateau with its beautiful colored slate roof (to the left of the chateau its the conservatory where we had an epic lunch during our visit and they used to overwinter their citrus trees in here many, many years ago), pictures of the first room of the most amazing library cellar in all of Burgundy (the subsequent rooms are even more amazing) and our bottle of the evening.

24hr Update, sweet oak and fermented tropical fruits just stunning today, last bottle. ☹️

OMG Update: somehow I grabbed pics from our Bouchard visit, argh! The only Jadot thing in the collage is the bottle, so sorry! — 7 years ago

Bryce Bannatyne

New Jersey Sales Representative Martin Scott Wines, Ltd

9.3

2007, Pretty incredible. "Do we have another bottle of this? I'd like to take one home", said my sister. At its zenith right now. Beautiful. — 8 years ago

with Alexa

John Mckeown

9.0

At casa de Hawk — 8 years ago

Janelle Kellman

9.5

Creme de la creme - light and juicy at the same time. Gorgeous and well rounded. — 9 years ago

Michael Fiur

10

Amazing. At Kayne steak house. Nashville. With Jay Williams. — 9 years ago

Matt Sterr

9.1

Bonded EW. Rich and flavorful with a touch of sweetness. Hardly reveals its alcohol at all, even at 100 proof. A steal for the $$ and does just fine on the rocks. — 9 years ago

Nicholas Livingston

9.7

As one who loves candied ginger, lemon peel and this wisp of butter brittle, this swoons at the seams of every scent and once tasted haunts the palate with mirabelle, pear Williams, and a lightly baked tarte tatin with a hint of baking spice, coconut water and firm and fresh baked pineapple. 32 and strong. — 10 years ago

Steve Shepherd

9.3

On our 44th wedding anniversary, we opened this wine with our dinner at The Sea in Palo Alto. A classic of the WS Pinot Noir! Very lovely! This is a Morning Dew from Burt Williams estate. — 10 years ago

Maxence Guilluy

10

👃 honey! Candyish, fresh
👄 forest honey, fresh and dark, strong and light at the same time, very intresting beer, blueberry, blackberry, black current — 10 years ago

Michael Trainor

10

Bangin sherry. Does its job perfectly. This bottle's at least 25yo although no year on the bottle. Am I banned from delectable for saying I used it in an appletini. — 12 years ago