08` Cristal and 96` Williams Selyem Allen Pinot

To celebrate the lovely woman, we enjoyed another wonderful dinner at our local fav, the Stonehouse restaurant located in the classic luxury resort, San Ysidro Ranch.

Over many years, we have our fav table and fav servers and on this night, neither and it still was a treasured evening. Part of the joy came from the 2 outstanding wines we took, 08 Cristal and 96 Williams Selyem Allen Pinot.

Re the 08 Cristal, I’ve been scolded numerous times by friends for opening up way too many bottles of this before its time which it still is; Im embarrassed to say I’ve now had at least 6 bottles {5 from my cellar} and yes, all have been way too young, mostly tight and partially shut down with hints of exceptional brilliance; disregarding using any scrutiny, I just had to check in again thinking that some day this will actually live up to its high accolades and maybe I’ll hit it when its closer to sharing more of its class and charm, so lets just find out; lo and behold! Wonder of wonders! it’s moved up a notch or three with everything being so much more expressed as relates to the aromas, taste profile, feel, body, layers of complexity, length and acidity; it’s really good now and yes, it has a long ways to go to reach its apogee.

2008 LOUIS ROEDERER CRISTAL BRUT- most distinctly noticeable was the honeyed and ginger laced lemon oil in the taste and texture along with some serious increase in body; the assemblage is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, but the latter seems to be more prevalent in the taste as orange peel and lime also join in as well as some golden delicious apples, strawberry and white peach; we tasted it over the course of the evening and it held its place and stayed committed to pleasing its indulgents and we were indeed pleased at the same recognizing there’s a lot more to come. How long will it take and when do I pop another one? Don’t know about the first, but I’m sure I’ll visit one again within a year or so.

Oh and BTW, I did take 2 Sophienwald Grand Cru champagne stems as I’m so spoiled by the amazing enhancement this glass provides to most all bubbly, I just had to pack a couple for 08` Cristal and they formed a perfect relationship.

1996 WILLIAMS SELYEM ALLEN VINEYARD RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- consistent with our MO, we take a Burt Williams made Pinot along with a fine bubbly for this dinner and the 96` Allen was the choice for this evening and it was stupendous; it had all of the characteristics that I was hoping for that I’ve experienced in the past which includes lots of spice and cinnamon accents to the red raspberry and strawberry fruit {although some bottles of late are giving more red cherry as a result of the maturation process}; it had medium weight and body and amazing balance; it is also known for having a cinnamon red color which is what we had here as well; this is truly outstanding new world Pinot at age 24 with so much more left for years to come just like me and my sweetie.

Cheers,
Blake

I forgot to add some ID to the Cristal as the back label has a code that can be deciphered. In this case for the 08`, it was allowed 20% ML with 20% vinified in oak casks, then bottled aged 8 years prior to disgorgement in 2017 and then aged at least for another 8 months after disgorgement where it was dosed at 8 gpl.

You didn’t even need to put your name on this post, everyone would have known who made it. Cristal and Burt-Williams-era WS pinot? Just another day in the happy life of Blake Brown.

Last year of Burt’s direct winemaking, no?

Thought it was 1997 (The Legacy of Burt Williams & Williams & Selyem Pinot Noir Keeps on Giving | The PinotFile: Volume 10, Issue 28)

Yes, 1997 was the last year.

Right you are!

Blake, I remember the 96 as being the last great W-S Allen in a long line of great ones. Don’t remember 97 being in line with the prior ones, but maybe it’s my memory?

For what it’s worth the 2005 Allen I opened this weekend was lovely and reminded me quite a lot I. Style of Burt’s wines. Perhaps a touch softer but a lot of similarities.

Hi Chris. Yes, I’m guilty as charged. Having good friends like you contributes to the happiness.

Barry et al, yes, this was Burts last year for WS as he sold in March of 1998 and even though he had a 5 year consult agreement, he just could not intervene and basically just appeared and encouraged, Obviously, all of his 97 harvest was in barrel and most of the work had been done by the time the sale was consummated. The 97 were really good, especially the Rochioli and the Allen was pretty good too. IMHO, the 95 Allen was the best of all.