2021 Peter Michael Pinot Noir Le Caprice
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Intense umami character on the nose with ripe strawberries, dried seaweed, oyster shells, iron, bark and oranges. Full-bodied and very round and juicy, with lots of fruit and a creamy and round tannin texture. Fresh and peachy at the end. A generous, well-framed young pinot noir. Drink or hold.
Critic scores
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The 2021 Pinot Noir Le Caprice has especially pure, layered aromas: cranberry sauce opens to notions of tobacco leaves, fennel, bright pops of orange peel and alluring earth and Angostura undertones. The light-bodied palate is silky and seamless with ethereal strawberry and raspberry flavors and botanical undertones that draw you back to the glass. Elegant and detailed, it's lovely straight from the bottle yet will develop savory complexity as it matures over the next 15+ years. 1,083 cases produced.
The 2021 Pinot Noir Le Caprice, from the steepest blocks on the property, is fresh and vibrant from start to finish. Crushed rocks, rose petal, mint, lavender and dried herbs all race across the palate. This brilliant, chiseled Pinot is terrific.
The 2021 Pinot Noir Le Caprice pours a deep ruby and offers loads of spiced aromas of woodsy earth, cinnamon, and red cherry. Medium-bodied, with good concentration and ripe fruit that fills the palate with notes of red plum, baking spices, and pine, it’s a clean red with fine tannins, good richness, and purity, and its finish reveals a floral component of roses, ripe wild raspberry, and fresh herbs. Drink 2025-2037. 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.
About the producer
Founded in 1983 by Sir Peter Michael CBE and his wife Margaret, Peter Michael Winery produces some of California’s finest wines.