2008 Williams Selyem San Benito County Pinot Noir Vista Verde Vineyard
Well, if you’re following our wine writing at all, you must know that I simply adore Williams Selyem. They’re one of those handful of producers that put California pinot noir on the map. A lot of folks are aware of this already, which means that the wines aren’t that easy to find. Fortunately, I’m on their list now.
This particular wine is a bit of a curiosity since it hales from San Benito County. That’s south of San Jose and nowhere near the Russian River Valley. No matter. Hegui and I love the name and the wine.
The name is especially fascinating on a personal level. H has a sister in Brazil named Tinha, which is short for Benedita, which sounds vaguely like the female version of Benito (sure, sure, it probably should be “Benedito” but really, romance isn’t logical). Plus she lives in a neighborhood in São José dos Campos called Vista Verde. Imagine that! What a strange coincidence.
The Vista Verde was not green, but a deep red to purple in my glass. We detected a pleasing aroma of berry, horse manure and cherry cough syrup. Don’t let these descriptions put you off. It was a great smell. This was a sleek, medium bodied jewel with raspberry, cherry, some mineral, pepper and earthy notes at the finish. Even David, not known to be a fan of reds, had a second glass.
Hegui's elegant sister, Tinha