2021 Belle Cote Chardonnay

The 2021 Chardonnay Belle Côte is bursting with gregarious scents of candied peaches and apricot, roasted almonds, matchstick, spring honey and glossy yet integrated new oak spices. The palate is silky and bright despite its deep core of ripe, youthfully coiled fruit, and it has a long, flinty finish. It unfolds and changes with time in the glass, and with all that concentration and freshness it's a great candidate for extended cellaring. 2,159 cases were made.

The 2021 Chardonnay Belle Côte is a wine of tremendous density and power. Orchard fruit, dried pear, graphite, anise and dried flowers infuse the 2021 with tremendous flavor complexity. Readers will find an intensely mineral, savory Chardonnay with the fruit pushed into the background. Belle Côte is the original Chardonnay planting at Peter Michael.

From the oldest Chardonnay vines on the property, planted in 1990, the 2021 Chardonnay Belle-Cote pours a medium yellow and has an expressive perfume of wildflowers, wet stone, and white peach. Full-bodied, this floral profile is just as pronounced and long on the palate, with a soft, silky texture and ripe notes of melon, honeysuckle, and honeyed lemon. Long and attractive, it can be enjoyed 2024-2034. Sir Peter Michael founded his eponymous winery in 1982, inspired by the wine of Chateau Montelena, which led him to California. In 2020, Robert Fiore took the helm as winemaker, while former winemaker Luc Morlet remains as a consultant. Robert studied at the Colorado School of Mines, which led him to a career in environmental geophysics before finding his path into the world of wine. He went on to UC Davis to study Viticulture and Enology. Most recently, Robert was a member of the winemaking team at Continuum in Napa. Vineyard manager Javier Avina has championed the land since 1991. Each of the sites are steep hillsides in Knights Valley that modulate with varied exposition and soils. Sir Peter’s son Paul and his wife Emily oversee the management of the winery today.