Plums, herbs, cherries, and earth jump from the glass of the medium ruby 2008 Pinot Noir Bucher Vineyard. Tart, angular, and sinewy, this is a style of Pinot Noir that seems to be very angular. It has good aromatics, but narrowly constructed flavors. Drink it over the next 5-7 years. With thirteen separate Pinot Noirs, Williams-Selyem has something for just about everybody. Eight of these Pinot Noirs hail from relatively well-known sites in the Russian River and three come from the Sonoma Coast, while the two outliers are the Weir Vineyard from Yorkville Highlands and the Ferrington Vineyard from the Anderson Valley. Three well-regarded vineyards of the Sonoma Coast comprise part of this impressive Pinot Noir portfolio from Williams-Selyem. With eight Russian River bottlings, the two with the largest availability are the Eastside Road Neighbors and Westside Road Neighbors, which are blends from different fruit sources. The most underrated wines in the entire portfolio are the Zinfandels that come from winemaker Bob Cabrol.Tel. (707) 433-6425; Fax (707) 433-6546

The acidity and dryness on this Pinot stand out. It’s not a blockbuster, but keeps its exuberance under tight control, offering tantalizing cherries, currants, cola and Indian spices, wrapped in a cloak of minerals. Very elegant, detailed and silky. Lovely now, with a good decant, and should develop complexity over the next 10 years.——S.H.(2/1/2011)—— 93