Tasting of the Week: Williams Selyem Pinots at the Wine Country

The Wine Country in Signal Hill has one of the most robust wine tasting programs around. Wednesday night, the 20-year-old shop is holding a Williams Selyem Pinot Noir tasting that’s been long in the making.

Rarely available retail, these wines are sold almost entirely to the winery’s mailing list and to a few select restaurants, so it’s taken quite some digging to find this many bottles for a tasting. The wines are all from the 2012 vintage. And since longtime winemaker Bob Cabral made his last vintage in 2014, the tasting is especially timely.

Founded by two friends, Burt Williams and Ed Selyem, in the ‘70s, Williams Selyem quickly became one of the first cult boutique wineries, and Burt Williams’ single vineyard bottlings are among the most coveted in California.

In 1998 the two partners sold their winery to a New York politician, John Dyson, and that’s about the time Bob Cabral came on as winemaker.

Organized by domestic wine buyer Reid Kinnett, the tasting of Cabral’s 2012 Pinots is from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The cost is $55 per person, by reservation only.

The lineup of 2012 Williams Selyem Pinot Noirs includes bottlings from Bucher Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, Vista Verde Vineyard in San Benito County, Ferrington Vineyard in Anderson Valley, Eastside Road Neighbors in the Russian River Valley, Foss Vineyard from the Russian River Valley, Hirsch Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast and finally a 2012 from the estate’s own vineyard.

The shop will have five out of the seven wines for sale from $74.99 to $159.99.

The Wine Country, 2301 Redondo Ave., Signal Hill, (562) 597-8303, https://thewinecountry.com/.

Follow @sirenevirbila for more on food and wine.