Red Blend "L' Esprit Des Pavots", Peter Michael, Knights Valley, CA, 2019

it all started in 1982 when Sir Peter Michael founded the winery on a square mile of rocky volcanic ridges on the western face of Mount St. Helena. From the beginning, the philosophy was modeled on French winemaking tradition and governed by three principles: the vineyard terroir would be the single most important feature, the wines would be lightly elegant rather than powerful and a hundred-year commitment would be made to the development of a great estate.

Peter Michael is the only winery in Knights Valley. Its original winemaker was the famous Helen Turley, followed by Mark Aubert and Luc Morlet. Currently winemaking is under the leadership of Nicolas Morlet, Luc’s brother, whose extensive experience with Bordeaux and Burgundian style viticulture and winemaking lends itself well to the Peter Michael mission of producing single-vineyard, limited production bottlings from small, mountain vineyards.