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2005 Peter Michael Les Pavots (1.5L)
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Out of stock
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Vintage: 2005
Format: 1.5L
Wine Name: Peter Michael Les Pavots
Vineyard:
Designation: Les Pavots
Appellation: Knights Valley
Producer: Peter Michael
Varietal: Red Bordeaux Blend
Type: Red
Country: USA
Region: California
Sub-Region: Sonoma County
Tasting note: Shows gorgeous Cabernet purity, with a profound offering of ripe, fleshy currant, black cherry, blackberry, anise and mineral. Amazingly supple and harmonious, with tannins that are both gentle and tender and then just firm enough to let you know they're there. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2017. 3,600 cases made. (97pts. JL, Wine Spectator)
Tasted: Oct. 15, 2008
Score: 97
Drink: Now - 2017
Tasting note: Good deep ruby-red. Deep aromas of currant, raspberry, plum, tobacco, mocha and graphite. Sweet, lush and fat (the pH here is 4.02), with the rich, spicy red fruit flavors complicated by leather, mocha, licorice and cedar. The substantial tannins are smooth and harmonious and arrive late, allowing the subtle finishing flavors of cigar box, mocha and wild dry spices to expand in the mouth. This is 15.1% alcohol but boasts lovely physiological ripeness without any excess weight. (93+pts. Stephen Tanzer)
Tasted: May/Jun 2008
Score: 93+
Drink: N/A
Tasting note: The 2005 Les Pavots (3,600 cases of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot) is a sensational wine, with a style that suggests a hypothetical blend of a great St.-Emilion and Pomerol. Chocolatey cassis notes intermixed with incense, licorice, and a hint of black olive are present in this wine. When it hits the palate, it comes across as very Pomerol-like, with lushness, full body, and opulence. The tannins are sweet, the pH high, and the wine gorgeously full, pure, dense, and long. It’s a terrific example of non-interventionalist winemaking that has turned out a beautiful, silky-textured wine that should age effortlessly for 15+ years. Like so many 2005s, this wine has really put on weight since I tasted it last year.
This 121-acre estate with 114 producing acres of vineyard all located in Knight’s Valley continues to be at the top of their game and I can’t recommend the wines highly enough.
I was surprised when I showed up at Peter Michael to find both Nicolas Morlet, who replaced his brother Luc, and Luc Morlet himself, were at my tasting. It seems that Luc is still doing consulting work with his brother firmly entrenched at the winery. This is still one of the best-run wineries in the world, and one might quibble over the fact that there are so many different cuvees of Chardonnay, but they are all subtly different in style/personality. The Morlets proclaimed to me that essentially there is very little difference in the character of the Chardonnays in 2005 and 2006, except they thought the acid levels were slightly higher in 2005 and the 2006s were riper. In any event, these are sensational Chardonnays, and readers couldn’t go wrong no matter which one they buy. (95pts. Robert Parker)
Tasted: Dec. 2007
Score: 95
Drink: 2007-22
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