Freddy R. Troya

9.5

Williams Selyem – Pinot Noir – 2022
Luella’s Garden Estate Vineyard – Russian River Valley – USA 🇺🇸

Overview
A sophisticated, micro-lot Pinot Noir from the Luella’s Garden Estate Vineyard, one of the most intimate and expressive sites in the Russian River Valley. The 2022 vintage shows remarkable purity and finesse, highlighting a delicate, silky interpretation of RRV Pinot shaped by meticulous farming and a minimalist winemaking approach.

Aromas & Flavors
Welcoming aromas of ripe cherry, raspberry, and strawberry compote with gentle hints of rose petal, tea leaf, and a whisper of baking spice. The palate echoes the aromatics with seamless fruit purity and quiet complexity.

Mouthfeel
Extremely silky and smooth, with fine-grained tannins and lifted natural acidity. Medium-bodied but feather-light in texture, gliding across the palate with elegance. The finish is clean, refined, and softly persistent.

Food Pairings
Duck confit, wild mushroom pasta, cedar-plank salmon, roast quail, or mild creamy cheeses.

Verdict
A terroir-driven masterpiece, delicate, silky, and precision-focused. This micro-lot from Luella’s Garden showcases the beauty of a specific corner of the Russian River Valley, expressed with extraordinary grace.

Did You Know?
Luella’s Garden is one of Williams Selyem’s smallest and most cherished estate parcels. Its unique exposure and meticulous vineyard care contribute to fruit of exceptional finesse—perfect for crafting ultra-polished, small-production Pinot Noir. — a month ago

Denise

9.1

Light enough to drink with anything. Easy drinker. — 10 months ago

Sam Wood

9.1

Simple Merlot Lagrein Blau blend but I’m not sure why it’s so compelling. Delicious. — 3 years ago

Pooneet K

9.1

Very solid zin. Definitely more on the elegant side, though still over 14.5%. Haven’t had before and enjoyed. — 2 months ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.3

Everything about this wine is DARK. Deep ruby/purple color bordering on black. Aromas of black and blue fruit, Asian spices and coffee. Flavors of cooked black berry/plum/currant fruit, bakers chocolate, tar and espresso. Hint of black pepper on the long, lingering and silky finish. Extremely concentrated with lively acidity. Tannins are firm but in harmony. This is a wine you quickly take notice of. Probably at (or just past) its peak. Thanks for the wonderful gift, Petey P! — 10 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

First, if you haven’t had this producers wines at 15-20 years of age, you’re missing some spectacular juice. I bought this at auction for $38-$40 a bottle and because I was unaware of its storage, I was prepared to short decant it. Well…until I pulled the cork, smelled it and saw the color. This nearly 20 year old bottling is still big but with nice integration & evolution. I would say it has another 5-8 years of good life in it.

The palate fruit is ruby, ripe and lush; blackberries, boysenberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, black plum. Mid berry cola, dark chocolate to pudding, mocha powder, wet clay, light, black pepper, Asian spice, dry-ish tobacco, black licorice, some dry herbs-sage dominate, limestone, dry top soil, dry brush, used leather, sandlewood, fresh to slightly withering, dark, purple, red florals set/framed in violets and lavender. The acidity is near perfect. The well balanced, structured, knitted finish is excellent and lingers minutes. Steal for the price. Another excellent gourmet burger wine. Beef Patties from El Salchichero. — 2 years ago

Steve Mitchell

9.3

Paired well with our steelhead trout and salad. — 5 months ago

K L

9.3

Really nice Pinot. Matt liked. — 6 months ago

with Matt

Austin Blackwell

9.3

Bigger wine from P&H. Kirsh, black cherry, and some black fruit notes with plush tannins. — a year ago

with Angelina

Andrew Schirmer

8.9

Soft fruit, some bacon, smoked meat, & herbs. Not very complex. Lovely BBQ wine. Unlike many WA syrah, not an alcoholic fruit bomb. However, terrible QPR for the level of vinous complexity on offer. — 3 years ago

with Alsu