2023 Williams Selyem Estate Vineyard Chardonnay

Winemaker Notes

Initial aromas immediately capture the senses with a melody of jasmine flowers, stone fruit blossom, and hints of musk melon. Layered and complex, notes of lime and stone fruit mix with tangerine and rose oil. Oily and rich on the palate, the wine is compelling with incredible precision and weight. Flavors of passion fruit mix with tangerine and melon. The underlying tannin structure offers nice closure to the palate. Planted to 18 different Chardonnay clones in the same field, this wine pays tribute to old field blends often seen in old vine Zinfandel vineyards, which lead to wines of stunning complexity.

About Winery

Like most good stories, the history of Williams Selyem owes much to serendipity. If a grower with an abundance of fruit hadn’t given Burt Williams a few tonnes of free grapes in the 1970s, Burt might never have discovered his love and flair for winemaking. And if Burt and his partner Ed Selyem had been able to afford the French Burgundies they both favoured, they might never have tried making their own pinot noir.

The two friends didn’t set out to produce wines for anyone but themselves. And they surely never imagined that their humble experiment in home winemaking would spawn a cult-status winery of international acclaim. Together, Burt and Ed set a new standard for American-made pinot noir, and elevated Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley to among the best wine growing regions in the world.

Now considered Russian River Valley royalty, Williams Selyem are responsible for some of the most sought-after handcrafted expressions of pinot noir across both the New World and Old.