Williams Selyem, Pinot Noir Rochioli, Russian River Valley

Man, Blake continues to dig up and share these gems with us. 25 years old, the wine hasn't (at least to me) faded at all. Distinct cinnamon note, even what I thought might express as cinnamon red hots candy, although this wasn't a cloying feel. Plum, cherry RC cola (the kind we had in the can as kids). Wish I could have retasted today but all gone. Thank you Blake for continuing to share these treasures with us.

1997 WILLIAMS SELYEM ROCHIOLI VINEYARD RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- I brought this as a backup, but just had to open it as this is considered by Burt to be one of the best wines he ever made and besides, I knew it would be appreciated; Burt laughed when I told him it was a backup; it had never before ever been treated as such, in fact, it had usually been a headliner; I`ve had many a bottle and all …

Blake Brown in the OC (Broadway, Laguna Beach, CA) : Oh my... This is something special, thanks Blake for both '97s. This has so much complexity for a pinot, superb. The combination of Blueberry, raspberries, cedar chips, and spicy jalape�o with a ferrous mineral based. Incredible wine. Tannins were soft and fluffy.

Damn, this was good. Opened and right to the glasses to enjoy. We put it next to the 1997 WS Ferrington, and while that wine was good, this Rochioli outclassed it. My notes say fresh, pure, showing blackberry and plum. There is acidity here and in my opinion, it's aging ever so slowly. Just lovely, like it was bottled 5 years ago. 20 years old? Genius.

1997 WILLIAMS SELYEM ROCHIOLI VINEYARD PINOT NOIR- I`ve had so many wonderful bottles of this wine both in magnum and 750 ml formats and thankfully, this shined as high and lustrous as those before it; with a deep dark purple colour, the aromatics were replete with spicy red and more black fruit followed by a taste profile of black cherry, blackberry and blueberry; it was complex and had considerable depth and length; it was beautifully balanced and seemingly has the …

The wine was amazing. Multiple layers of dark fruit, beautifully integrated.

absolutely stunning! nose and palate of burnt rubber and smoked cherry bubble gum! loads of time ahead of this wine.

Delicious, medium-bodied, smokey cherry fruit with earth and bacon flavors, excellent structure, beautifully aged, good finish

Delicious, a step up from the 1997, but not quite to the level of the 1995. Lovely nose of red and black cherry, baking spice, and flowers. In the mouth, caressing and refined, with great power behind it. Confidently rolls across the palate, with expansive fruit, excellent complexity, bright acidity, and a confident finish. Really excellent. A-/A

from magnum. stemmy, earth, spice, blackberry and cherry.

Wow...absolutely phenomenal! Fully integrated tanins have given way to an absolutely beautiful pinot. Notes of earth, graphite, black cherry and cola dominate this tremendous Cali pinot... No need to wait any longer if you are holding...