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THE PETER MICHAEL STORY Although the wines of Peter Michael are extremely successful, this story is not just about success. After all, many California wines are successful. No, this is a story about how a winery handcrafts wines that have been on allocation since the first release in 1989 and seem destined to remain so. It is a story about judgment and philosophy where a clear objective was established at the outset and maintained throughout. In 1982 Sir Peter Michael built the Peter Michael Winery Estate on a square mile of rocky volcanic ridges that form the western face of Mount St. Helena. In so doing he real-ized a dream conceived as a young man when his father, who lived in France, took him through some of the renowned chateaux of Europe. From the beginning, the wine-growing philosophy was modeled on the French tradition that grape selection, barrels, methodology all were to come from France, but not in an effort to imitate the French. On the contrary, Peter says, "What I hoped to be able to do in the '80s was to show that the then general preference to choose French wines was misplaced. I am very pleased to find that in the '90s and into the next millennium, California is known as the place where great wines can be consistently produced, some of them from the Peter Michael Winery." What he wanted was a range of wines that could hold their own alongside the wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux. First, under the stewardship of Helen Turley and now Nicolas Morlet, these ideas were distilled into practical principles that would be used to govern the operations:
Peter Michael Winery uses whole cluster pressing. If you Cuisinart™ the fruit, you destroy the subtlety and personality of the vineyard. Pressing whole clusters takes three times longer than the standard practice of de-stemming, crushing and pressing the grapes, but the resultant juice quality is unequaled. Peter Michael Winery is equally committed to personally hand-sorting each cluster of grapes prior to pressing. This is a painstaking and laborious process, but it en-sures that only the finest, fully matured grapes make it into the wine. The judicious use of oak is stressed because it produces an opulent wine with a seamless balance of expansive fruit, oak flavors and aromas. This is something every winemaker strives to achieve, but few attain. In essence, it comes from a truism known in Europe for generations, namely that the best winemaking occurs in the vineyards and not by chemistry or recipe. The Peter Michael Estate, with the only winery located in Knights Valley, scales the western side of Mount St. Helena. Its rugged slopes are home to numerous wildlife, including peregrine falcons. Redwood Creek meanders through the property and is one of the healthiest tributaries of the Russian River with annual runs of native Salmon and Steelhead. Fostered by their deep respect and stewardship for the land, the Michael's have re-forested this breathtaking mountain estate, having planted over 10,000 redwood and fir trees. In addition, they have designed each of their small vineyard sites to prevent erosion of the precious topsoil. Peter Michael Winery's winemaker is Nicolas Morlet. Wine has always been a way of life for Morlet, who grew up working on his family's domaine, Pierre Morlet et Fils, in Avenay-Val d'Or, Champagne. The wines of Peter Michael have earned numerous accolades
from the critics including Robert Parker who has yet to rate
any Peter Michael wine below 90. He has been heard to say
that if he were a French winemaker living in Bordeaux or Burgundy,
he would be rather worried by the wines now coming from Peter
Michael Winery and a handful of other wineries in California.
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| CLASSIC WINES Fashions come and go, but the choice of a great wine endures market whims and trends. Great wine comes from the perfect match of grape to soil and site. It originates from a vision and an understanding that the winemaker has of the vineyard. Then comes the decision of which grapes and clones to choose to allow the vineyard its greatest expression. That is why Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon are grown at the Peter Michael Winery. Not because they are particularly chic, but because they fit the terroir and because they are classics.
The Peter Michael philosophy remains true to this commitment: classic grape varieties grown in small mountain vineyards made into great wines using classical winemaking techniques. Given this commitment to the product, only a limited quantity will ever be available. |
NICOLAS MORLET - WINEMAKER Peter Michael Winery is honored to have Nicolas (Nick) Morlet as Winemaker. Wine has always been a way of life for Nick who grew up working on his family’s domaine, Pierre Morlet & Fils, in Avenay-Val-d’Or, Champagne. Born in Epernay, France to a fifth generation wine-grower family, Nick, as a child, enjoyed learning about all of the practical and technical aspects of vineyard farming and winemaking. Nick pursued education and work that immersed him in the classic winemaking techniques of Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne. Following his degree in Viticulture, Enology and Wine Business at Lycée Viti-Vinicole de Beaune, Burgundy, Nick worked at Maison Chanson Père & Fils in producing Premiers and Grands Crus of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Then, while working at Margaux’s 2nd Grand Cru Classé “Chateau Lascombes,” Nick researched the advantages of macerating Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot in small oak barrels. His thesis on “vinification intégrale” won him honors when he graduated in Enology from the prestigious “Institut Jules Guyot” University of Dijon in Burgundy. Nick’s love for California wines and wine country started back in 1994 while visiting his brother Luc Morlet in St Helena. After a stint at Joseph Phelps Vineyards for the Insignia and Backus labels, working with winemaker Craig Williams, Nick joined Peter Michael Winery in the winter of 2005. Nick’s extensive experience with both Bordeaux and Burgundian styles of viticulture and winemaking lends itself well to the Peter Michael mission of handcrafting single-vineyard, limited production bottlings from small, mountain vineyards. In addition to his passions for the expression of terroirs and for the ultimate wine quality, Nick is fully embracing the legacy started by Helen Turley and developed by Mark Aubert and his brother Luc Morlet, who graduated to consultant to Peter Michael Winery.Nicolas Morlet joins the veteran production team of Javier Aviña, Vineyard Manager, and Tom Eakin, General Manager.
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| SIR PETER MICHAEL Peter Michael, born in 1938, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1989 in recognition of the economic prosperity spawned by his work, both in industry and government. Alongside a successful and storied business career, he has cultivated interests in music and art, particularly sculpture, as well as wine. Sir Peter created the first digital devices for drawing television graphics by computer. The Quantel Paintbox was just one of several commercial applications his company introduced in its 20 years of operation. In 1989, Sir Peter sold United Engineering Industries to another British company. From 1989 to 1992, Sir Peter served as capital CEO of Cray UK. In this capacity, he led a classic and highly successful turnaround of this high technology company. In 1992, Sir Peter founded Classic FM, the first national commercial radio station in the UK with a potential audience of 50 million listeners. With a lifetime love of classical music, he nurtured the idea of developing a popular format that used classical pieces as entertainment rather than worship. The intelligent but irreverent style rapidly took off and, with 8 million listeners, Classic FM has become the largest commercial FM station in the world. In March of 1995, with Sony as a partner, Classic FM US began broadcasting in several locations in the USA. Sir Peter and his wife Lady Michael, or Pete and Maggie, as they are generally known, founded Peter Michael Winery in the Knights Valley region of Calistoga in 1989. The winery, which produced its first vintage in 1987, reflects the Michael's farming heart. "If you have spent a lifetime in international business, you need to return to the soil, it's a pretty basic human feeling," says Peter. "Of the many businesses I have founded, this is the only one which carries my family name. I hope it will remain as a legacy for generations to come." Maggie echoes these sentiments, not just in the California winery scene but as the practical head of a 1000-acre family estate in Berkshire, England, where she successfully farms grain and raises cattle. |
| THE VINEYARDS The label on the back of each bottle of Peter Michael wine simply says, “Mountain vineyards, classical winemaking, limited production.” Each of these three elements forms an essential component in the final product but it is the mountain vineyards which hold pride of place. To drink a Peter Michael wine is to experience the flavor and aromas of a vineyard. The philosophy of the winery is irrevocably purist-whatever the vineyard gives becomes the wine. Winemaking serves exclusively to preserve the quintessential character, flavor and personality of each vineyard so as to convey a sense of place or “terroir.” Notably, the grapes for all Peter Michael wines are grown on steep volcanic mountain slopes of up to 40 degrees. These slopes are oriented toward the morning sun, maximizing light and gentle warmth. The breezes from the Pacific coast to the west cool the vineyards, slowing the ripening of the fruit. Due to this slow, gradual ripening, harvest at Peter Michael Winery typically starts three to four weeks later than in the valleys, ensuring full physiological maturity of the fruit. In the Les Pavots vineyard, this is especially important as the tannins have shed their harsh edge and the flavors are concentrated and complex. The views from these mountainous vineyards perched nearly 2,000 feet above sea level on the western face of Mount St. Helena are breathtaking. Only the hardy and sure-footed can navigate these slopes whose vine rows plunge straight down the mountainside without a terrace to block them. The vineyard's volcanic-origin rhyolitic soils are extremely rocky and well drained which keeps yields low. The soils are also high in potassium, which boosts photosynthesis imparting deeper color and flavor to the grapes. Extremely rare in wine growing regions, rhyolitic soils are one of the most prized of all wine growing soils. Their rare mineral composition gives grapes exceptionally distinctive flavors and aromas. The estate Chardonnay vineyards are planted at the highest and coolest elevations on the property, nearly 2,000 feet above sea level. The Chardonnay clones planted in these vineyards are all descended from Corton Charlemagne and have been selected for their low yields which create intense flavors and aromas. Peter Michael's Les Pavots vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc just below the Chardonnay vineyards at around the 1,500 foot level in extremely rocky volcanic soils. Cuttings for the Cabernet Sauvignon came from the famous Bella Oaks vineyard, the Merlot from the Three Palms, Winery Lake and Truchard vineyards, and the Cabernet Franc from the Madrona Ranch. All are classical, small-cluster clones valued for producing wines with the concentration and structure of a first growth. To ensure intensity of flavor, the winemaker is severe in keeping the densely planted vine canopies small and growth in check. We call this “bonsai-ing” the vines. Each vineyard site was chosen following extensive research of the soil, climate and grape variety. The cost of planting and farming the mountain vineyards here is at least three times that for valley-floor sites and, of course, hand picking has to be the rule. No machines can navigate these steep slopes. Granted, the costs are enormous and the yields are low. But since it is here in the mountains where the finest wine grapes are grown, this is where Peter Michael has staked its commitment to quality. |
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WHAT THE NAMES MEAN
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