See Why Sir Peter Michael Has Earned
WS #1 Wine of the Year
& 42 Wines Rated 98-100 Points (WA)
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A Personal Note
Dear Artisans,
In March we poured eleven of the most sought-after mailing-list wines in Napa and Sonoma, side by side, for a room of serious collectors. Peter Michael’s 2023 La Carrière was the unanimous favorite. No debate, no close second.
The 2024 is here now, and the critics have gone further: 97 points from Vinous, and 96 each from Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate and The Wine Palate.
The Open Secret
In the early 1980s Sir Peter Michael bought a square mile of volcanic ridges on the western face of Mount St. Helena, in Knights Valley, on a bet that the land rather than the winemaker would author the wine. The estates now run from 500 to nearly 2,000 feet, and they are the only source for every bottle the winery makes.
And the proof is on the record: Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate has rated forty-two Peter Michael wines between 98 and 100 points. Yes, forty-two.
Why La Carrière
La Carrière means “the quarry,” for the vineyard’s bowl shape and its brutally rocky soils. It sits between 1,200 and 1,700 feet on slopes steeper than forty percent, in shallow volcanic ground that drains fast and gives the lowest yields on the estate.
The wine is fermented on its native yeasts in French oak, rested a year on the lees with weekly bâtonnage, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Antonio Galloni put it simply: other wines in the range offer more power and richness, “but La Carrière is my personal favorite because of its intense minerality and energy.”
A Line of Winemakers
Helen Turley made Peter Michael’s first wine, the 1987 Mon Plaisir Chardonnay. Mark Aubert ran the cellar through the 1990s before founding Aubert, followed by Vanessa Wong and then the Morlet brothers — Luc, and then Nicolas for fifteen vintages.
Since 2020 the winemaker has been Robert Fiore, a geophysicist by training who came to Knights Valley from Tim Mondavi’s Continuum. For a winery built on the idea that the rock matters most, that is a fitting hire.
Thirty-Six Bottles
Our allocation of the 2024 La Carrière is thirty-six bottles, and the case pricing is below. Beneath it you will find L’Après-Midi at a new lower price, and the last bottles we hold of Les Pavots and Au Paradis.
James Tran
Owner · Artisan Wine & Spirits
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Why This Matters
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Ninety-seven points from Vinous. Antonio Galloni calls La Carrière his personal favorite in the Peter Michael range. |
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The lowest yields on the estate. 1,200 to 1,700 feet, slopes over forty percent, shallow volcanic soils that make the vines struggle. |
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Case pricing down to $119.99. Ten dollars off a bottle at three, twenty at six, thirty at twelve — it comes off automatically at checkout. |
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An Au Paradis was Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year. The vineyard’s first vintage, the 2012, topped the 2015 Top 100. Our last eight bottles of the 2020 are below. |
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The Wine · 36-Bottle Allocation
2024 Peter Michael “La Carrière”
Knights Valley Chardonnay from the quarry vineyard, 1,200 to 1,700 feet up.
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2024 Peter Michael “La Carrière”
Knights Valley · Sonoma County · 100% Chardonnay
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97
Vinous
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96
Jeb Dunnuck
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96
Wine Advocate
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96
Wine Palate
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94
Wine Spectator
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Citrus peel, jasmine and oyster shell over stony, briny minerality, and a palate that is full-bodied but light on its feet. The volcanic ground and the low yields give it a driving acidity and real tension, and a year on the lees gives it a satiny texture to carry it. Wine Spectator has it drinking through 2040.
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Vinous
97 Points
True to its name, the Chardonnay La Carrière is full of stony, briny nuances. Citrus peel, jasmine, oyster shell and tangerine peel are all wonderfully vivid in the glass. Airy and translucent, the Carrière is all about crystalline transparency. I especially admire its energy, tension and poise. Other wines in this range offer more power and richness, but La Carrière is my personal favorite because of its intense minerality and energy. Drink between 2029–2036. — Antonio Galloni, June 2026
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Jeb Dunnuck
96 Points
Tropical and perfumed with highly floral wisteria and jasmine, as well as notes of passionfruit and lemon-lime meringue. Named after the quarry, it’s full-bodied but light on its feet, offering notes of raw honey, melon, and a pleasing salty lift on the close. As it opens, more stony earth starts to emerge through the floral profile. It’s very pretty and can drink well now or over the coming 10 years. Drink 2026–2036.
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Wine Advocate
96 Points
Alluring, layered aromas of nectarine, mango, panna cotta, lime peel and seamlessly integrated, spicy oak. The full-bodied palate has a satiny texture, a dynamic interplay of ripe, expressive fruit with focused, driving acidity and a very long finish. — Erin Brooks, tasted shortly before bottling
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| Vineyard |
La Carrière, Knights Valley · 1,200 to 1,700 feet |
| Soils |
Shallow, rocky and volcanic · slopes over 40% grade |
| Cellar |
Native fermentation · French oak · 12 months on the lees |
| Bottling |
Unfined and unfiltered · 2,919 cases made |
| Elsewhere: $160.00 |
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$149.99 / bottle
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$139.99 / btl at 3+ save $30.00
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$129.99 / btl at 6+ save $120.00
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$119.99 / btl at 12+ save $360.00
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| Case pricing applies automatically at checkout — no code needed |
| • 36-bottle allocation |
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Why Collectors Buy It by the Case
One bottle tells you what the wine is. A case tells you what it becomes.
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The First Few Years
Citrus peel, jasmine, white peach and that briny, stony edge. Bright and generous from the start.
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Into the 2030s
Toasted brioche and honeyed notes build around the minerality, as Vinous’ 2029 to 2036 window suggests.
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Toward 2040
The savory, layered stage. Wine Spectator has it drinking through 2040.
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Serving: 52 to 55°F in a Burgundy glass, with twenty minutes of air. Butter-basted halibut, roast chicken with morels, or aged Comté.
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New Lower Price
2024 Peter Michael “L’Après-Midi”
Knights Valley Sauvignon Blanc, grown inside the Les Pavots vineyard.
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2024 Peter Michael “L’Après-Midi”
Knights Valley · Sauvignon Blanc with a touch of Sémillon
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95
Jeb Dunnuck
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94
Wine Advocate
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93
Vinous
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Named for a slow, lazy afternoon, which Sir Peter reckons is the right time to open it. The grapes grow alongside the reds in the Les Pavots vineyard, are whole-cluster pressed and fermented on native yeasts in barrel, and see no malolactic fermentation, so the wine keeps its zest. Our spring offer had the 2023 at $124.99. The 2024 is $79.99.
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Jeb Dunnuck
95 Points
It’s aromatic and I love the refreshing texture, chalkiness, and mouthwatering lift it has on the palate. It shows waxy notes but leans more savory, with melon rind, salty lime, and grapefruit. These are some of the best Sauvignon Blancs from the region, hands down, and I love the mineral tension and energy this one closes with. Drink 2026–2033.
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Wine Advocate
94 Points
Continually unfurling scents of flint, white peach, tarragon, lemongrass, graham cracker, chamomile and honey. The full-bodied palate is bursting with layers of flinty stone and citrus fruit, and it has a lifted, silky texture. It’s balanced by succulent acidity and has a long, perfumed finish. Drinking Window: 2026–2036. — Erin Brooks
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| Elsewhere: $125.00 |
| $79.99 |
| • 8 bottles left |
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The Last Bottles
Les Pavots & Au Paradis
Back vintages from our cellar. Every red below stops selling at our last bottle.
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The Second Label · Drinking Now
2022 Peter Michael “L’Esprit des Pavots”
Knights Valley & Oakville · Bordeaux Blend
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95
Jeb Dunnuck
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94
James Suckling
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93
Wine Advocate
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92
Vinous
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“The Spirit of the Poppies” was first made in 2001 as the little brother of Les Pavots, and since 2016 it has carried fruit from the Au Paradis vineyard in Oakville too. It is softer and more forward than the flagship — James Suckling says the soft tannins make it enjoyable now. If you want Peter Michael tonight rather than in 2035, this is the bottle.
Elsewhere: $200.00
$149.97
• 9 bottles
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1.5-Litre Magnums
2018 Peter Michael “Les Pavots” Magnum
Knights Valley · Bordeaux Blend · 1.5 Litres
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97
James Suckling
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97
Jeb Dunnuck
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96+
Vinous
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96
Wine Advocate
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Jeb Dunnuck called the 2018 “a serious, powerful, blockbuster beauty” that will keep for two decades or more. Magnums age more slowly than standard bottles, which suits a wine built for exactly that kind of patience.
Elsewhere: $675.00
$549.97
• 5 magnums
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The Last Three Bottles
2019 Peter Michael “Les Pavots”
Knights Valley · Bordeaux Blend
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99
James Suckling
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98
Jeb Dunnuck
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96
Vinous
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94
Wine Advocate
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94
Wine Independent
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Ninety-nine points from James Suckling. Antonio Galloni called it “one of the more refined young Les Pavots I can remember tasting.” A lower-yielding year in Knights Valley, and now into the stretch where it starts to show what it is.
Elsewhere: $300.00
$229.97
• Last 3 bottles
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The Last Seven Bottles
2022 Peter Michael “Les Pavots”
Knights Valley · Bordeaux Blend
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96
James Suckling
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96
Jeb Dunnuck
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95+
Wine Advocate
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95
Vinous
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94
Decanter
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James Suckling: “perhaps the original and current best example of red-blend perfection from Knights Valley.” The youngest Les Pavots we have, built on Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from the slopes of Mount St. Helena, and made for the cellar.
Elsewhere: $305.00
$269.97
• Last 7 bottles
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The Last Eight Bottles
2020 Peter Michael “Au Paradis”
Oakville · 96% Cabernet Sauvignon
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97
Jeb Dunnuck
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96
Wine Advocate
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95
Wine Independent
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95
James Suckling
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92
Vinous
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92
Wine Spectator
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2020 was the fire year, so here is exactly what happened. Peter Michael picked Au Paradis between September 9 and 25, finishing two days before the Glass Fire broke out above St. Helena on the 27th. The estate was ruthless about selection — Antonio Galloni notes that about 40 percent of the wine was discarded. What went into bottle earned 97 from Jeb Dunnuck and 96 from Wine Advocate, and none of the six critics who reviewed it mentions smoke. It is also Au Paradis: the vineyard’s first vintage, the 2012, was Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year in 2015.
Elsewhere: $300.00
$264.97
• Last 8 bottles
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The Bottom Line
The 2023 won the room. The 2024 scored higher with Vinous.
Thirty-six bottles of La Carrière, down to $119.99 each by the case. L’Après-Midi at $79.99. And the last bottles of Les Pavots and Au Paradis we hold, each of which stops selling at our final bottle.
If you were in the room in March, you already know. If you were not, this is the bottle that ended the argument.
Cheers,
— James Tran
Owner · Artisan Wine & Spirits · Mountain View
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Take Your Pick
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