Peter Michael Winery Chardonnay Belle Cote 2021 (750ML)

99 JS / 96-98 WA

#55 James Suckling Top 100 2024
#63 James Suckling Top 100 USA 2024

Aromas of Wente clone skin with pears and apples as well as lime and lemon. Some hot stone and chalk. Full-bodied and very layered. It’s captured the essence of this classic chardonnay clone. The wood is very low impact. Like eating perfectly ripened grapes. Superb length on a gorgeous finish, One of the best ever. From 34-year-old vines. Drinkable now but will age for years. - James Suckling

I tasted the 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.—Erin Brooks, The Wine Advocate