peter michael les pavots 2019 750ml

Every one of our wines, regardless of varietal, is stamped with the image of a California poppy as an affectionate tribute to the orange flowers that covered the hillsides when Sir Peter first stood on this land. Many vineyards have roses planted at the end of the vineyard rows. We have wild poppies throughout.

Les Pavots is our flagship blend, and the wine Sir Peter had in his mind’s eye when he started his search for a vineyard site in 1976. It is made from grapes grown in the vineyard of the same name on our home estate. While the blend varies from vintage to vintage, it is typically two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, with the remainder roughly equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and a final soupçon of Petit Verdot. We enjoy this refined Cabernet blend with its signature blueberry notes, hint of herbs de Provence and its wonderful expression of the full spectrum of red Bordeaux varietals.

VINTAGE NOTES

Ample rainfall in the winter of 2019 ensured a full water soil profile to begin the growing season. Variable weather from budbreak to veraison resulted in less fruit setting than normal and one of the smallest crops in the last twenty years for Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot at the Knights Valley Estate. The summer was mild with a long ripening period of moderate heat, which helped deliver wines of extraordinary elegance and suppleness.

WINEGROWING NOTES

Grown on the slopes of Mount Saint Helena in Knights Valley, the distinctive aromas and flavors of our proprietary blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot display their hillside origins. Rocky, rhyolitic soils created through volcanic activity millennia ago contribute a mineral richness and add to the wine’s complexity. Spanning 46 acres, the red Les Pavots blocks ascend to an elevation of nearly 1,400 feet. Merlot and Cabernet Franc are grown on the cool upper slopes, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot below.

WINEMAKER'S TASTING NOTES

The brilliant ruby-garnet 2019 ‘Les Pavots’ showcases an olfactory symphony of blackberry, dark chocolate, black cherry, and vanilla aromas, with supporting notes of tobacco, violets, and garrigue. A refined, elegant entry leads to a broad,  graceful mid-palate with silky, fine-grained tannins, hints of black tea, blackberry pie, caramel, and cocoa powder, with a long, lingering finish. Although approachable in its youth, the 2019 ‘Les Pavots’ will reward four years of cellaring and continue to blossom for two decades.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

JS99, James Suckling

"it is very perfumed with blackberry and pine-cone aromas, as well as raspberries and black cherries. Full-bodied with firm, velvety tannins that are tight-grained. Creamy and beautiful. Currant and graphite flavors come through. Lightly chewy at the end. 60% cabernet sauvignon, 21% merlot, 14% cabernet franc and 5% petit verdot. Drink after 2025."

JD98, Jeb Dunnuck

"The 2019 Les Pavots is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and the remainder Petit Verdot. It has unfolding layers of dark minerals, with graphite, boysenberry liqueur, and fresh leather. The palate is expressive of its mountain fruit, with more gripping structure but no harsh edges."

WS93, Wine Spectator

"Delivers a big blast of seductive fruit, including crushed blackberry, boysenberry and mulberry, along with lively bramble, licorice and singed cedar notes before ending with a hint of dark earth to keep everything honest. A showy style, but very well done. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot."

750ml Bottle