On Sun, 17 Sep 2006 23:45:07 -0400, Mark Lipton >
wrote:
>
>2003 Williams-Selyem Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
>Christophe belatedly tells us of his fondness for Burgundy, so we pull
>out this to further his education re CA Pinots. It's a wine of medium
>body, silky texture, smoky, earthy, just a hint of oakiness and filled
>with bright red fruit. No one will ever confuse this for Burgundy,
>especially with 14.1% ABV (not at all noticeable until we try to stand,
>though) but it's a very pretty example of a CA Pinot Noir that doesn't
>try to be Syrah.
>
>Mark Lipton

I had to check what I've got in the rack for vintage, since I'm a
newbie to Williams Selyem ownership. Turns out I've got the most
recent release, which is the '04. Here's what I said about it:

>Dark burgundy color. Nice aroma of dark cherry and nutmeg. Warm toasty mouth feel with good black fruit flavors. My style of PN.

Dunno if the '03 was lighter and brighter, but so far I've found the
W-S Pinots to be more toward a Burgundian style than a lot of Oregon
iterations of the varietal. I like the dark and brooding ones and
really don't get into what I call the Strawberry Kool-aid toned,
textured and taste pinots.

Interestingly enough, I also checked the W-S Sonoma County (vice
"Coast") from '04 and found this:

>Thin, bright red color. Sweet cherry notes. Slight bitterness. Very much in the Kool-aid style of PN.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com