2019 | Peter Michael | La Carriere Chardonnay

Detailed Description

Aromas of sliced pineapple and apple with some lime. Hint of vanilla, too. Full-bodied with ash, crushed stones and minerals. Tangy acidity with lime. Extremely intense and lively. Fantastic finish.

Reviews:

• Jeb Dunnuck: Those looking for more minerality and precision, yet still with serious richness, should check out the 2019 Chardonnay La Carriere. As with all the Chardonnays here, it’s from the Knights Valley estate and has wonderful stone and apple fruits as well honeyed minerality, almond paste, and grilled bread aromas and flavors. One of the more inward, tight, and structured Chardonnay in the vintage, give bottles another year or so and enjoy over the following 7-8.

• Vinous: The 2019 Chardonnay La Carrière is a wine of tremendous density and power. Crushed rocks, slate, smoke, lemon peel and dried herbs form a complex fabric of aromas, flavors and textures as the 2019 opens in the glass. The 2019 is one of the most vibrant, focused La Carrière I can remember tasting.

Producer Information

Peter Michael Winery is a highly regarded wine producer located in northern California, on the border of Napa and Sonoma counties in the Knights Valley AVA. The winery produces a number of single-vineyard wines including Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant blends, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc – Semillon blends. The winery was established by Peter Michael and his wife Margaret in 1982. Michael’s background was in technology and had founded the digital picture company Quantel in the UK in the early 1970s. He arrived in California in the early days of the Silicon Valley tech boom and soon invested in a winery. The winery released its first vintage in 1987 and has since enjoyed a high level of critical acclaim. Three of Michael’s wines have ranked in the top 10 of Wine Spectator’s Top 100, and since the 1995 vintage, 14 wines have been rated 98 points or higher by US wine critic Robert Parker. Peter Michael’s property in the Knights Valley AVA is at a much higher altitude than many others in the area, with vineyards reaching as high as 2000 feet (610m) above sea level. The result is cooler growing temperatures, which allows for wines in the more restrained old world style. In 2006, Peter Michael began planting a vineyard in Fort Ross-Seaview AVA in Sonoma County. In 2009 added an Oakville AVA vineyard in Napa Valley. Peter Michael Winery remains a family-owned estate that is now run by Peter’s son Paul and wife Emily (the inspiration for the Belle-Fille Chardonnay label and vineyard). Only a small number of cases reach the retail market as the majority are set aside for the mailing list and long-term restaurant clientele.