95 pts – Wine Advocate
Peter Michael’s Bordeaux program is built around their flagship Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine, Les Pavots. The 2008 Les Pavots, a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc and 11% Merlot, offers up notes of roasted coffee, cocoa, chocolate fudge, black currants, licorice and a hint of truffles. This full-bodied, beautifully rich red boasts an opulent texture, impressive purity and a long finish. Impressively made with impeccable attention to detail (it is sorted berry by berry rather than grape bunch by grape bunch), this 3,500-case cuvee should drink well for two decades or more. Quality-wise, the 2008 is just a notch behind the stratospheric 2007. – Robert Parker (2/2011)
98 pts – Wine Spectator
Presents a dazzling array of flavors, along with focus, style and authenticity. Dark, dense and spicy, with dark berry, mineral, cedar, sage, roasted caraway and tobacco flavors, this is full-blown yet graceful and detailed, with a tremendous finish that reverberates with the joys of ripe, stylish Cabernet. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2024. 3,500 cases made. — JL (09/2011)
94 pts – Vinous
Glass-staining ruby. Alluring aromas of red- and blackcurrant, cherry compote, incense and pipe tobacco. Lush and creamy on entry, then firmer in the middle, offering sweet dark fruit flavors complicated by notes of candied rose, licorice and smoky herbs. Supple and palate-staining wine with superb finishing clarity and lingering sweetness.- Stephen Tanzer (05/2011)
