Peter Michael Winery Peter Michael Winery 'Les Pavots' 2021 750ml

This 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.

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. This is a remarkable wine to hold a few years and enjoy over the following two decades. (Audrey Frick)

Bright and energetic, with soaring aromatics, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Les Pavots is utterly captivating from the first taste. A rush of blackberry, crushed rocks, graphite, rose petal, mint, lavender and blue/purplish fruit builds in the glass. All the pedigree of Knights Valley is on display. The 2017 is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 14% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot. It spent 18 months in Taransaud and Darnajou barrels. The team opted to bulk out 40% of the wine, so production is down sharply. The wine that was bottled, well, it’s pretty special. (Antonio Galloni)

Love the sweet berries, black olives, tile and fresh herbs on the nose with floral undertones. Oyster shell, too. Full-bodied with round, creamy tannins that are beautifully polished and refined. Very long finish. All about finesse and wonderful length. 68% cabernet sauvignon, 19% cabernet franc, 10% merlot and 3% petit verdot. Drink after 2023.

More minerality, graphite, and scorched earth notes emerge from the 2018 Les Pavots. Full-bodied and uber-concentrated, it reveals building tannins, awesome mid-palate depth, and one heck of a great finish. It’s a serious, powerful, blockbuster beauty that also holds onto perfect balance and a beautiful sense of elegance. It will keep for two decades or more. (Jeb Dunnuck)

This is a powerful red with blackberry, black olive and a hint of mint. Some brown sugar, too. Full-bodied and dense, with lots of fruit and velvety, plush tannins. Crushed-stone and wet-earth character, too. The higher percentage of merlot (14%) and no cabernet franc makes this unique for Les Pavots. Give it three or four years to open. (James Suckling)

The blackberry and sage character comes through clearly, with some orange blossoms, graphite, dried tomatoes, green tobacco and stone. A rich and juicy red with lots of berry and chocolate character, with a full body and layered rich tannins. It’s flavorful yet hemmed in with firm yet rounded tannins. Muscular. 62% cabernet sauvignon, 25% cabernet franc, 7% merlot, and 6% petit verdot. This needs four or five years to come together and show its true self. Best after 2028. (James Suckling)

The 2021 Les Pavots is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot. It’s a beautiful wine you could drink now or stash in the cellar, with a concentrated, broody yet polished profile. It has pure scents of blueberry liqueur, lilac, cast iron, grilled meats and soy sauce plus hints of wild thyme and truffle. The full-bodied palate offers a structural balance of clay-textured tannins and bright acidity, deriving its power from its sheer depth of dark fruit, and it has a long, detailed finish. 2,769 cases were made, and the Les Pavots will be released in February of 2024. (Erin Brooks)

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Les Pavots presents a beguiling mix of Knights Valley savoriness and the more restrained style that is such a signature of the Peter Michael wines today. A dark, mysterious wine, the Pavots offers up an enticing mélange of dark cherry, gravel, spice, menthol, licorice, lavender, cured meats and scorched earth. There is plenty of virile intensity, but without the heaviness of some past years. The Pavots is in my view the Peter Michael wine that has undergone the most dramatic transformation in recent years, and that’s a positive. (Antonio Galloni)

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Les Pavots presents a beguiling mix of Knights Valley savoriness and the more restrained style that is such a signature of the Peter Michael wines today. A dark, mysterious wine, the Pavots offers up an enticing mélange of dark cherry, gravel, spice, menthol, licorice, lavender, cured meats and scorched earth. There is plenty of virile intensity, but without the heaviness of some past years. The Pavots is in my view the Peter Michael wine that has undergone the most dramatic transformation in recent years, and that’s a positive.

Located in Knights Valley, Sonoma, the Les Pavots vineyard is located in the oldest of the estate-owned sites, planted in 1989. It is situated at 1,000-1,400 feet and is quite steep in areas. Composed of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Les Pavots is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a fair bit of coaxing to unlock the intense scents of blackcurrant preserves, ripe black plums and boysenberries with touches of wild sage, tobacco leaf and pencil shavings. The full-bodied palate is densely packed and tightly wound with loads of black fruits, dried herbs and earthy layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and energetic. 3,255 cases were made. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

The 2020 Les Pavots is made up of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 3% Petite Verdot and includes fruit from some of the oldest vines at Peter Michael, planted in 1989. Unusually, there is no Cabernet Franc in the blend this vintage, as it was affected by the wildfire smoke. Deep ruby-purple in color, it is shy to begin, taking time to reveal pure red plums, chocolate, graphite, green bell pepper and tobacco leaves. The medium-bodied palate offers generous, alluringly herbal fruits, a luxurious, silky frame and seamless acidity, finishing long and latent. It develops dramatically in the glass, suggesting it will require a few hours in the decanter to show at its best. 1,910 cases were made; this will be released in February of 2023. (Erin Brooks)

The 2020 Les Pavots is 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and pours an inky red. It reveals a wonderful herbaceous profile of forest herbs, with a more mountainous feel and aromas of pine, menthol, ripe black cherry, and cedar. Full-bodied and more muscularly structured, with dark earth, turned forest floor, blackberry, and tea leaf, the tannins on the finish feel a touch drying at this stage but balanced out with sweet fruit to cushion it. Drink 2025–2040. (Audrey Frick)

The 2022 Les Pavots is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot from fruit harvested September 12 through October 14. It has pure, layered aromas of blueberry, blackcurrant, violet, iodine, chocolate and thyme. The full-bodied palate is concentrated and mineral-driven, its dark flavors laced with graphite. It’s structured by powerful, grainy tannins and juicy acidity, and it has a long, floral finish. It will benefit from several years in the cellar. A total of 2,397 cases were made, and the wine will be released in April of 2025. (Erin Brooks)

Composed of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Les Pavots comes from Knights Valley AVA. Deep garnet-purple in color, it leaps from the glass with vivacious notes of crushed black berries, Black Forest cake, blueberry compote and blackcurrant cordial with touches of camphor, lavender, tapenade and cigar box plus hints of mocha and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with muscular black fruits, framed by firm grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and savory. 2,050 cases were made.

From one of the smallest yields in the history of this Knights Valley vineyard, the 2019 Les Pavots matured in 70% new French oak. It’s a dark, concentrated effort, with straightforward aromas of black cherries, cassis, vanilla and dark chocolate, a full-bodied, plush feel on the palate and a long, velvety finish. A delicious blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, it should possess close to two decades of drinkability. (Joe Czerwinski)

This is marked by a core of lightly spicy cassis and plum fruit, accented by loganberry, mesquite and savory details. The structure is fine-grained, giving the finish good cut while an echo of violet curls around the fruit at the very end. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2022 through 2035. 2,050 cases made. (James Molesworth)

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. Drink now through 2034. 3,088 cases made. (James Molesworth)

Offers a rich, welcoming set of cocoa, singed vanilla, sweet tobacco and black tea aromas followed by mulled plum, boysenberry and black currant flavors that cruise through slowly, all carried by a velvety structure. Ends with hints of espresso crema. For the hedonist crowd. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2036. 1,910 cases made. (James Molesworth)

Dark and winey, with a fleshy edge to its core of boysenberry and blackberry compote, which melds with mocha, bittersweet cocoa and warmed anise accents through the polished and frankly toasted finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2035. 2,769 cases made. (James Molesworth)