2019 Peter Michael Les Pavots Red Blend, Knights Valley California

The 2019 Les Pavots is Peter Michael Winery's flagship Cabernet blend, produced from the estate's historic mountain vineyard in Knights Valley. Named after the California poppies that grow throughout the ranch, Les Pavots is planted on the slopes of Mount Saint Helena at elevations approaching 1,400 feet, where rocky rhyolitic soils and cool mountain conditions create wines with remarkable concentration, freshness and mineral character. The 2019 vintage was marked by mild summer conditions and a long ripening season, producing a wine of exceptional elegance and suppleness.

Brilliant ruby-garnet in color, the wine opens with an expressive bouquet of blackberry, dark chocolate, black cherry and vanilla, followed by layers of tobacco, violets and garrigue. The palate is broad and graceful, revealing silky, fine-grained tannins and concentrated flavors of black tea, blackberry pie, caramel and cocoa powder. Vibrant acidity and mountain-grown structure carry the wine into a remarkably long, lingering finish.

The 2019 Les Pavots is composed of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. It was aged for 18 months in 100% French oak barrels and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Already approachable, this is a powerful yet refined wine with the pedigree and structure to develop beautifully for two decades.