2023 Ma Danseuse Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
Coming from the northernmost slope within Fort Ross-Seaview, the 2023 Pinot Noir Ma Danseuse Estate pours a youthful magenta ruby color. I love the definition and focus this wine provides in this vintage. It emerges with notes of grenadine, compact berries, pine, floral perfume, and sweet baking spices. The palate has a medium-bodied feel, with well-defined tannins and refreshing acidity, and it’s long on the palate with a mouthwatering feel. Drink 2026-2046. Sir Peter Michael founded his eponymous winery in 1982, inspired by the wine of Chateau Montelena, which led him to California. In 2020, Robert Fiore took the helm as winemaker, while former winemaker Luc Morlet remains as a consultant. Robert studied at the Colorado School of Mines, which led him to a career in environmental geophysics before finding his path into the world of wine. He went on to UC Davis to study Viticulture and Enology. Most recently, Robert was a member of the winemaking team at Continuum in Napa. Vineyard manager Javier Avina has championed the land since 1991. Each of the sites are steep hillsides in Knights Valley that modulate with varied exposition and soils. Sir Peter’s son Paul and his wife Emily oversee the management of the winery today.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2023 Pinot Noir Ma Danseuse has explosive aromas of pomegranate, raspberry, cranberry and plum, plus nuances of lilac, licorice and spice. The full-bodied palate is overflowing with ripe red fruit. It offers notable structural harmony, its silky tannins and succulent acidity knit effortlessly into its concentrated flavors and it has a very long, perfumed finish. 437 cases were made.
The 2023 Pinot Noir Ma Danseuse is the most exuberant and packed of these Pinots Noirs from Peter Michael. It is also the wine that made me notice these wines when I tasted the debut 2009s prior to release. Plush contours frame a core of black cherry fruit, lavender, spice, menthol and blood orange. The French oak is already totally integrated, another sign of an important wine in the making.
About the producer
Founded in 1983 by Sir Peter Michael CBE and his wife Margaret, Peter Michael Winery produces some of California’s finest wines.