From another famous vineyard, the 2008 Pinot Noir Allen Vineyard is light ruby, with stemmy, earthy, spicy notes that are autumnal and vegetative. Lean, austere, and lacking generosity, this wine seems underwhelming for Williams-Selyem. 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

A joy to drink now, and will develop over a decade or more. A dry, pure, focused wine whose intricately detailed cherry, cola and cranberry flavors are enhanced by minerally things from the earth and a near-perfect application of oak. Changes by the second in the glass, ever fascinating.——S.H.(2/1/2011)—— 96