Peter Michael, L'Esprit des Pavots, Knights Valley

Opened but not decanted prior to dinner. Throwing a lot of sediment. Easily the best L'Esprit I've ever opened. Another example of a great bottle, rather than a great wine. It's difficult to talk about a $110 bottle being a value, but this is one of the best values in domestic Bordeaux blends.

2015 vintage

Decanted two hours. Paired with Wagyu sirloin smoked. Merlot really comes through. Excellent blend.

2016 vintage

A beautiful wine with great aroma and taste

2015 vintage

This time I decanted for 2 hours and it made a big difference. Depth of flavors - Cocoa, plum, tobacco leaf and soft mouth feel. Very nice!

2016 vintage

Très smooth. Silky. Raspberry, rhubarb, une touche boisée et mini vanille. Très peu tanique. Delicious.

2009 vintage

I decanted it and left it for 30 minutes before trying it. It needed another 30 minutes (1 Hour) to open up. Good color and body - Chocolate and plum from start to end. The finish was pleasant, not real dynamic but good.

2016 vintage

had to let it breath for an hour - than served with T bone steak - medium rare with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy sauce - what a sublime pairing...the wine is 53% Cabernet sauvignon and does have a higher than we like alcohol content of 15.3% - but still with the dinner - it was perfect pairing and the score reflects that...

2015 vintage

This was quite good. Floral, soft, red and black fruit. Beautiful wine

2016 vintage

Coravin pour at the amazing Avery restaurant & wine bar, San Francisco. Does this wine have a gym membership? Its corporal proportions are enticing at 34-29-28% (CabSauv, Merlot, CabFranc) and it has a near perfect left-right balance between Napa & Sonoma. And yet, it’s a barbell heavy on one side and rusty on the other. It is undeniably Napa in delivering its dense, hot sucrosity upon impact and undeniably Bordeaux in lifting its sea-cave end (saline finish). This is not …

2016 vintage

Really nice wine. Great nose. Layered complexity and excellent balance. Drink or hold. Yum.

2009 vintage

This wine remains very satisfying, notes of dark fruit, plum, cassis, damp earth with well integrated soft tannins. Well balanced with nice mouthfeel and long finish.

2009 vintage

Tasty. Big full wine

2016 vintage

In a great spot. Tannins mostly resolved, good balance, still leads with fruit.

2009 vintage

Short and not much to offer for the first three hours after decanting. Then the 16 L’Esprit des Pavots opened up with abundant blue fruits, cinnamon, spice, and everything nice including a long finish with modest tannins. Best to wait a few years before opening another bottle. If you have the time to treat this wine right, the QPR is quite good.

2016 vintage

Decent QPR. Drank over a couple days. Best on day 2. Nose opened up considerably with notes of violets, blue fruit, and dark blackberries. Good finish, not great. Can use a bit more time in bottle, but I wouldn't hesitate to drink now. I didn't realize how low the CS was in this bottling. This will be a crowd please for those who like Napa made Bordeaux style wines.

2016 vintage

Drinking smooth and easy at the 12-year mark and drinking it over two hours. Nicely integrated tannins, light smelling & tasting fruit, minerals, some earth & wood. Drink now.

2009 vintage

Terrific. Drinking very well now.

2015 vintage

A sexy hedonistic beast - loads of lush cascading black fruit, oak present but not cloying - more a light toasted coconut cave-y cedar-y element but there for sure. Nice

2016 vintage

Drinking well

2015 vintage

fully opaque violet, magenta rim, prominent tears; plum, black cherry, dark chocolate, coffee, leather, and cedar; dense, concentrated, juicy dark fruit, good length; full bodied, medium acidity, gritty tannins, no heat despite 15.3% ABV; made from blend of 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, and 9% Petit Verdot sourced from two estate vineyards with 59% of fruit from Les Pavots vineyard in Knights Valley in Sonoma County and 41% of fruit from Au Paradis vineyard in Oakville, aged …

2016 vintage

Enjoyable. Tannin soft. After taste was most notable and pleasant. Hits lateral and back part of palate mostly. Liked that there wasn’t much acid.

2009 vintage

Takes a bit of time for the nose to open up, but you are then rewarded with lovely blue and red fruits. These continue on the palate with a nice long leather and blueberry finish. Incredibly enjoyable journey.

2015 vintage

Roasted coffee beans, dark fruit, leather, and spice are all evident. It’s a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petite Verdot. This lovely second wine from Peter Michael is drinking well right now. 15.3% ABV. $110.

2015 vintage

Decanted for 5hrs, could have gone longer. Knew we’d drink something big that night but didn’t want it overpowering so went with LdP. Terrific black fruit - blackberry, cinnamon, currant - on the nose, but the tannins still need some work. Will hold out as long as i can on the remaining.

2016 vintage

beau nez fin, réglisse. En bouche, c est souple, les tanins sont fins, soyeux , chaleureux, agréable.

2009 vintage

So well made. Impeccable balance and integrated tannins. Perfect drinking window!

2009 vintage

Decanted for an hour. Incredible scent before tasting. Not very fruit forward, likely because of the Cab Franc, but incredible finish that stays with you. I tasted coffee, leather and minerals.

2009 vintage

decant for 2 hours. starts to open up. Cheers

2016 vintage

Opened in the bottle for 2-3 hours. Bottle shows 15.3 alcohol which it totally undetectable. Surprisingly classic styled with a good amount of damp earthy and green character. Still the Petite Verdot and Sauvignon add density and ripeness. Great entry into Peter Michael.

2016 vintage

This rich and layered Bordeaux blend offers more juicy, upfront pleasure than the 2015, though its intensity and structure put the ideal drinking window a few years from now. Dark red in color and medium in body, the wine offers aromas of black cherry, menthol, fresh herbs, and warm gravel. Tastes of mountain blueberry, graphite, leather, and peppercorn, with a pure and plush finish carrying a decent amount of tannin (but no heat, a pleasant surprise for a wine at …

2016 vintage

A touch too much new oak/vanilla for me, but well balanced, great dark fruit, tannins nicely integrated already - would have been a point or two higher but it comes off a trifle sweet to me (and my wife). Not a caymus/mondavi bomb by any stretch, but if I’m nitpicking, that’s the thing I’d prefer was different. Better on day two - more savory and dark fruit, less oak/vanilla. 93 or better. Will let my other bottles sleep for a …

2015 vintage

Opened and decanted for about 90 minutes prior to dinner. Inky dark in the glass and clearly young in appearance. Surprisingly fruit forward with dark fruits and some vanilla. Long finish.

2015 vintage

This earthy and tasty Cabernet blend goes down so easy that it's hard to believe it's so young. Ruby red in color and medium in body, the wine has aromas of blackberry, graphite, and olives. The tastes currently tilt towards Cab Franc - e.g., boysenberry, baking spices, leather, and green pepper - even though the blend is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot. The finish is spicy and fresh, with a hint of cocoa …

2015 vintage

Winebar [4 Whites, 8 Reds, & 6 *shared* bottles] from 10/05/18 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA) : Sourced from the younger frt of their Les Pavots Vyd, 1,000–1,400 ft elev with a S exposure & rocky volcanic-origin Rhyolite soil; 53% C.S., 21% C.F, 20% Merlot, & 6% Petit Verdot N: Vanilla, other unparsable aromas underneath; Intensity lurking P: Med body; RNDISH entry with LOVELY, almost swtish frt met by SOME puckerish astringency which evolves into a LONG, BALANCED, tangy/swt …

2015 vintage

Tasted at Skurnik Grand Portfolio tasting in NYC and poured by Nicolas Morlet, winemaker. I took few notes on this, it was very tightly wound, bracing acidity and prett substantial tannins. Pretty powerful for the “second Pavots” but I had a tough time identifying the fruit at this point. Another Fall 2018 release.

2015 vintage

Decanted 20 minutes. Drinking well now. Smooth, aromatic, more pinot like softness than tannins of a Cabernet. Had it with pork chops, good combination.

2009 vintage

Not a typical wine for me but it really stood out against some wonderful wines. The fruit is muted but the wine is velvety soft with a nice full round finish. Cocoa, cedar, leather and mineral with a touch of aged fruit. Drink now!

2009 vintage

Pnp, drank over 2 hours. Big, tasty wine. Muted fruit, minerals. Easier to drink now than previously, yet still has noticeable tannins. Best nose & taste at the 2 hour mark. Will wait a few years before drinking next bottle.

2009 vintage

This wine has opened up and deepened in the two years since I tasted it last (7/15 - 93 points). It is still full in body, with a ruby red color that now has a hint of burgundy, with a plush nose of plum, graphite, and baking spices. Tastes of blueberry pie, milk chocolate, pepper, and herbs, with a lovely, soft finish. 14.6% alcohol. Blend of 47% Cabernet Franc, 46% Cabernet, 5% Petit Merlot, and 2% Merlot. This seems softer …

2009 vintage

Pnp, then drank within 1 hour. Beautiful perfumed nose, smooth & delicious. Everyone loved it.

2009 vintage

3 hour decant and it was sublime. Well balanced with a long finish.

2009 vintage

Incense and black fruit notes. The palate follows the bouquet, adding cherry, lavender and spice notes. Lengthy finish.

2009 vintage

Very good and has aged nicely. Nice raspberry and medium red fruit, supple tannins

2009 vintage

Not the usual L'esprit to me. Very plush and soft due to higher Merlot content

2009 vintage

A rich and graceful red blend that combines deep fruit in a restrained package. Full in body, ruby red in color, nose of blackberry and spice. Tastes of dark fruits, chocolate, cola, pepper, and cedar. 14.6% alcohol. Not my favorite L'Espirit Pavots - I like the plushness of those with more Merlot - but this is a complex and satisfying wine. 47% Cabernet Franc, 46& Cabernet, 5% Petit Merlot, and 2% Merlot.

2009 vintage

Second wine of the evening for my wife's birthday dinner at Moni Ami. Decanted for 30 min before tasting (picked up earlier in the day from MacArthur's Bev). Wanted to try a second wine from Napa/Sonoma along with the Pontet Canet and decided on Peter Michael over Salus (Staglin). Compared to the dark, brooding purple of the Pontet, the color of the L'Esprit was weak (light violet). Somewhat juicy, the tannins were very weak. The cab franc gave this is …

2009 vintage

Enjoyed with friends at Washington Square Tavern in Brookline. Fruit forward, fairly complex, medium finish. Nose was a bit restrained. Nowhere near the beast that is Les Pavots but a nice wine, nonetheless. A bit overpriced at $100, in my mind, as it was more in line with Sonoma cabs I drink in the $50-60 range. You're paying for the name here, a bit. Drink or hold.

2009 vintage

this was surprisingly good - group consensus best of the evening with some stiff competition - deep black and fruit forward but seamlessly.

2009 vintage

Much better 2 hours after opening.

2009 vintage

Deep inky purple color. Aromas of cassis, blackberry liqueur, incense and spice, with floral undertones- violets. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and flavors of black and blue fruits, vanilla, spice, florals and incense. Terrific stuff. 93-94 pts.

2009 vintage

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Peter Michael, L'Esprit des Pavots, Knights Valley

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