spring 2026 Release
A Vintage Earned Through Care and Craft
The Spring Release arrives with the 2024 vintage — a year of challenge met with patience, precision, and the quiet confidence of method.
This release is now closed. The Fall 2026 Release will be offered to members beginning in August.
Spring Release Overview
Release Wine Preview
Vineyard Highlights
Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, and Anderson Valley each pressed their singular identity into the 2024 wines. Russian River delivered even ripening and polished red fruit across the AVA’s varied neighborhoods. The Sonoma Coast, rugged and windswept, yielded darker, savory-leaning fruit with a structural seriousness earned from shallow soils and extended hang time. Anderson Valley’s wide diurnal swings stretched the season, building acidity and layered tannin alongside fruit that moves gracefully from red to black to blue.
FROM VINE TO GLASS
Vintage Personality
The 2024 vintage is defined by resilience. An early July heat spike — among the most intense in fifteen years — tested developing fruit across the appellation. Rigorous thinning passes and the shade cloth placed to guard the most vulnerable blocks tell the story of a harvest won through attentiveness. The resulting wines carry the vintage’s character honestly: concentration earned the hard way, with balance and freshness intact, and a capacity to reward those willing to wait.
CLIMATE
About the Growing Season
Winter delivered abundantly — nearly 36 inches of rain on Westside Road — arriving ahead of a cool, unhurried spring that postponed flowering into late May. The delay proved fortuitous: fruit set was excellent and canopy development even throughout. What followed was a season of accumulating warmth that culminated in a multi-day heat event in early July. Careful canopy management and selective fruit thinning preserved integrity through harvest, ultimately yielding a vintage of genuine depth and site-true character.
Happenings
What’s New in the Cellar
For the winemaking team, the 2025 harvest marked a significant milestone: the inaugural crush at Williams Selyem’s new Healdsburg winemaking facility. Designed expressly for our approach — dairy tanks, gravity flow, and gentle handling throughout — the space pairs contemporary infrastructure with the traditional methods that have always guided this program. Aging and bottling remain at the Estate on Westside Road, preserving the unbroken thread of craft from vineyard to bottle.
Vintage Summary
The 2024 vintage asked something of the growers and winemaking team, and they answered with discipline. From an abundant winter through a heat-tested summer, each decision — a thinning pass here, a shade cloth there — shaped what ultimately came to rest in bottle. These are wines of genuine place and honest vintage, built for the table now and the cellar later.
Counting Down to Our Next Release
Upcoming Release
Fall 2026
The Fall Release turns its full attention to the wines that require the most time and repay it most generously. Single vineyard Pinot Noirs, each a precise expression of the site that grew them, will be joined by vineyard-designated Chardonnays of uncommon depth and old-vine Zinfandels that carry decades of root memory in every glass. As Burt and Ed always said: patience is the final ingredient. The wait, as ever, will be worth it.
The Wine List
Only members have access to these wines.
Elegant Pinot Noir
2024 Sonoma County Pinot Noir
Cherry and strawberry notes abound in this delightfully aromatic wine. Sourced from a selection of vineyards within the Russian River Valley, the wine represents the diversity and unique character of the various neighborhoods in the AVA. Red fruits and forest floor elements with hints of anise are apparent on the palate. Tea-like tannins round out this elegantly styled wine with a wonderful medium finish. The Sonoma County offering will provide early enjoyment or can hold for the short term. It’s a perfect pairing for a casual meal.
Medium-Bodied Pinot Noirs
2024 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Hints of blue fruit and Morello cherry combine with darker mulberry notes to highlight the classic Anderson Valley Pinot Noir profile. There is a refreshing fresh herb component underneath the fruit elements, reminiscent of a bouquet garni, owing to the wild penny royal growing through the valley. Mouthcoating and serious at the entry, the weight of this wine is compelling. The long growing season and well drained soils create a wine with both intensity and refinement. Flavors of black cherry and wood spices meld into notes of Earl Grey tea. Beautifully balanced tannin and acidity offer a wine that is both enjoyable now and can age for the mid-term.
2024 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
The 2024 is another classic Russian River Valley offering in the making. Sourced from the full diversity of the AVA, the Russian River Valley is a panoramic view of the region. Highlighted with red cherry fruit and dried cranberry notes, the nose is further complexed with floral notes of rose and lavender. Cedar, citrus, and wood spices combine with fresh herbs, adding a different dimension. Beautiful red fruit flavors peak in the mid-palate and transition to a black tea-like sensation. Dried citrus flavors interlaced throughout the palate offer freshness.
2024 Martaella Vineyard Pinot Noir
Alluring aromas give a perfumed essence of Pinot Noir in this wonderfully complex wine. Red fruits mix with fennel frond and Earl Grey tea, beautifully counterpointed with wood spices. Further aeration brings notes of mulberry and blue fruit. Located in the Russian River Valley’s Santa Rosa Plain, the vineyard is planted to a higher density and competition between plants results in elegance and refinement on the nose and palate. The entry of the wine is rich and appealing, as red fruit flavors combine with citrus, transitioning to polished tannins and a tea-like finish.
2024 Westside Road Neighbors Pinot Noir
Red fruits and crushed rocks jump from the glass with the classic aromas of the Westside Road blend. Hints of hazelnut, earth, and sous bois belie the fruit and offer depth and complexity. Sourced from outstanding vineyards, this wine represents this amazing terroir along the rolling hills of Westside Road with elegance and class. Linear and focused in the mouth, the structure and minerals build on the palate with beautifully balanced acidity.
Full-Bodied Pinot Noirs
2024 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
Exotic and brooding upon first nosing, this wine transports you to a different place. The Sonoma Coast, with its rugged landscape and long growing season, produces wine tending towards savory notes with excellent structure. Black and blue fruits are counterpointed with hints of tarragon and dried thyme. Dark fruits and citrus the tannins build on the palate with a wonderful mineral driven conclusion.
2024 Olivet Lane Vineyard Pinot Noir
Earthy and dark fruited with notes of black cherry, this wine has a wonderful mysterious side, with intriguing hints of balsam, leather, and black tea. Planted in 1974, this vineyard has been in the Williams Selyem portfolio since the late 1980s. With aeration, a delightful perfume emerges with citrus, red apple and crushed minerals. Owing to the thick skins of the Martini selection, the wine has a penetrating tea-like structure and texture, requiring a little patience to reach its full potential.
Zinfandels
2024 Belloni Vineyard Zinfandel
A terrific second vintage of this old vine vineyard on the outskirts of Fulton. This true field blend is mostly Zinfandel, but Alicante Bouchet, Carignan, and Petite Sirah are also planted in the vineyard. Deep and brooding in color, the wine delights the senses with red, blue, and black fruit character. Potpourri with dried citrus and savory notes add a compelling depth to the nose. Rich and round on the entry, the wine expands on the palate with dark fruits predominating. Bittersweet chocolate and earthiness add to this wonderfully textured wine.
2024 Fanucchi-Wood Road Vineyard Zinfandel
Rich and exotic on the nose, this historic old vine vineyard is one of the oldest in Sonoma County. Boysenberry and blackberry notes are complemented by a surprising top note of apricot. The wine saturates the palate with blackberry compote and mountain blueberry flavors. The sheer density of this wine hides the powerful tannins while the acidity keeps harmony on the palate. Always a showstopping wine that is delicious today and can keep in the cellar.
2024 Papera Vineyard Zinfandel
A classic vineyard in the Piner-Olivet region of the Russian River Valley, Papera showcases red fruits with an underlying brambly, black fruit character. Hints of wood spices and anise complement the terrific aromatics. Refreshing on the palate, the wine showcases depth and brilliant acidity that keeps the wine balanced and lithe. Hints of grapefruit, anise and wood spices round out this classy Zinfandel.
Chardonnays
2024 Unoaked Chardonnay
Reminiscent of Meyer lemon skin, the wine is unmistakably Chardonnay. Hints of melon, pear, and quince round out the complex array of aromas, with an undertone of white flowers adding a whimsical character. Sourced from older vines, the Unoaked Chardonnay showcases both power and elegance. The wine is rich on entry but remains vibrant with hints of citrus and Kaffir lime. Streaks of minerals and saltiness on the finish round out the palate. With the older vine sourcing and sur lie aging in the tank, the richness is compelling for a wine without oak.
2024 Drake Estate Vineyard Chardonnay
Perfumed with the essence of Meyer lemon and chamomile tea, the Drake Chardonnay captures your attention. Hints of tarragon add a freshness to the delightful aromatics—the perfect complement to notes of fresh Brazil nut. Our Drake Estate Vineyard in Guerneville is the ideal spot for Chardonnay due to the long, cool growing season. Round and rich on the palate, the wine exhibits a spherical shape with a Zen-like balance.
2024 Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay
Situated at the nexus of the Russian River Valley, Green Valley, and Sonoma Coast AVAs, the Heintz Vineyard is a special place. Formed from an ancient, uplifted seabed, the site enjoys moderate temperatures and a well-drained sandy loam soil. Notes of Gravenstein apple mix with yellow apple and hints of the signature fresh pineapple and tropical fruits. Salty and minerally throughout the palate, the wine showcases brilliance and verve. Flavors of citrus and apple emerge, but this wine is about minerals, texture and structure. It can be enjoyed now with richer shellfish preparations.
Delve
Want to Read More?
We can speak at length about vineyards and farming, but the clearest expression of our work is always in the glass.