20 Vintages of Les Pavots
New delights and some older disappointments from a vertical tasting of Peter Michael Winery's Cabernet-based blend
Posted: Apr 5, 2011 2:45pm ET
One could make a strong case that Peter Michael Winery is the best in California. All of its wines are routinely outstanding. Many are sensational. The winery puts tremendous effort into its vineyards, winemaking and marketing, and the wines, irrespective of varietal or composition, readily reflect an identifiable and consistent house style.
But time can be tough on even the best wines. Last week a vertical tasting of Michael’s Les Pavots demonstrated that some of its earlier wines, despite being impressive upon release, had not aged very well. A few vintages from 1989 to 1996 were borderline in quality. One culprit: brettanomyces, a spoilage yeast which can wreak havoc on any wine, particularly reds. The later vintages, from 1997 through 2008, the current release, show Les Pavots at its best. Below are my notes.
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