98 Points Rare new Chardonnay release from cult winery Peter Michael. Limited. 98 Points Robert Parker: "I tasted the Peter Michael 2021 Chardonnay Belle Côte as a finished tank sample the day before it was bottled. From vines planted in 1990, it was matured for 12 months in 40% new French oak. It offers lush aromas of baked apples and apricots, jasmine, biscuit, nutmeg and cream with spicy, floral nuances arising as it airs in the glass. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and expansive with streaks of flint and focused acidity to balance its generous fruit. Expressive and inviting, it's a pleasure to drink now, yet the way it transforms in the glass suggests it will also develop positively in the cellar over the next decade or more. 2,159 cases were made, and it will be released in February of 2023." ...Peter Michael is an impeccably run, world-class winery and it is probably impossible to find a greater set of Chardonnays anywhere else in the world, with one exception – the seven cuvées of Chardonnay made by Mark Aubert, ironically, one of Peter Michael’s former winemakers!"
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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. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, July 2023)
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. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, July 2023)
9.7Raina Fraley
Not my favorite style of Chardonnay but not so oaky that I can’t drink it without food. Also balanced with just enough acid to hide the more overt vanilla notes. Something ‘fresh’ about it as well…. Long petrol finish…
Not my favorite style of Chardonnay but not so oaky that I can’t drink it without food. Also balanced with just enough acid to hide the more overt vanilla notes. Something ‘fresh’ about it as well…. Long petrol finish…
8.3WARNING: DRINKING DISTILLED SPIRITS, BEER, COOLERS, WINE AND OTHER ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES MAY INCREASE CANCER RISK, AND, DURING PREGNANCY, CAN CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS.