2023 Peter Michael Sauvignon Blanc L'Apres-Midi
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Tasting notes
The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc L'Apres-Midi includes 4% Semillon and is a bright silver straw color. The nose opens to refreshing aromas of lime blossoms, candied citrus, salted earth, and tarragon. The palate has more compact nervous energy, with a mouthwatering spine of acidity driving the charge. It’s going to take time for its silky, rounded feel to flesh out, but it should drink well over the coming 12 or so years. Bravo. 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.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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Grapes for the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc L’Après-Midi were picked from September 21 through November 2—an especially long harvest window. “It was a special year because everything was pushed back,” Winemaker Robert Fiore says, noting that the cooler season resulted in very lively wines. Blended with 4% Sémillon, the 2023 L’Après-Midi is open and inviting. Pineapple, peach and guava are accented by tones of beeswax, dried tarragon and candle smoke on the nose. The palate is bursting with concentrated, tropical, spicy flavors. Its vibrant acidity provides the perfect foil, lending the wine a shimmery feel, and it has a long, perfumed finish. 1,850 cases were made.
The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc L'Après-Midi is such a classy wine. Aromatic, chiseled and wonderfully vibrant, the 2023 hits all the right notes. Lemon peel, sage, tomato leaf, crushed rocks and slate all race across the palate. Even after all these years, L'Après-Midi is a reference-point for Sauvignon Blanc in the United States.
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.