Over the last two decades, Peter Michael Winery has established a reputation for producing terroir based wines from world class mountain vineyards. The Winery is proud to announce the addition of another such vineyard to our estate with the purchase of the Oakville property of Kal and Dorothy Showket.
Our new property totals 41 total acres with 26 acres already planted to Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese. Located on the eastside of the Oakville appellation, it is 600 feet above sea level on a gently sloping plateau overlooking the junction of the Silverado Trail and the Oakville Crossroad, in the heart of Oakville’s famed “red dirt”. Neighboring vineyards include Dalla Valle to the north and Joseph Phelps’ Backus to the south.
Fans of Peter Michael wines already know us for terroir-driven Chardonnays and our flagship ‘Les Pavots’ blend of red Bordeaux varietals from our Knights Valley estate. The Winery plans to produce a separate “Bordeaux style” bottling from the Oakville property, which will debut with the 2010 vintage, released in 2013.
Sir Peter Michael sums up the family’s excitement this way, “The Oakville property is a perfect addition to our existing estate vineyards in Knights Valley and the Sonoma Coast. The new vineyard will allow us to produce a separate, contrasting bottling from one of Napa’s most heralded terroirs. The new wine and Les Pavots will complement each other magnificently.”
Sir Peter’s son Paul Michael expanded on this by saying, “Our vision is for 100 years of family ownership of a great wine estate. The Oakville property completes the winery’s collection of ‘world class’ vineyard sites to realize this 100 year commitment.”
The Winery had been quietly looking for a “grand cru” quality Napa Valley property for some time. “This is exactly the type of terroir we were searching for”, explained winemaker Nicolas Morlet. The red, rocky soils of the new Oakville vineyard are an ideal mix of fractured volcanic rock with clay, silt and sand. The site possesses a natural rich minerality, good water holding capacity and excellent drainage. The exposure is an ideal gentle western facing slope. This coupled with the site’s altitude ensures the vineyard receives the last rays of the setting sun, netting about a full hour of sunlight more than the valley floor below. The vines at our new vineyard are already well established and producing great fruit, but in true Peter Michael fashion, Nicolas and vineyard manager, Javier Avina, look forward to making it even better.
From the beginning, the Michael family has dedicated the winery to the credo: “mountain vineyards, classical winemaking, limited production.” Everyone here at Peter Michael is looking forward to applying this credo to the newest member of our collection of estate vineyards.
0 Responses to “A Noble Trio Completed”