Winemaker Notes
Blend: 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The deep ruby/magenta-colored 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon L'Esprit Des Pavots is a blend of Knights Valley and Oakville, and it’s fruity upfront with a ripe, floral perfume of purple flowers, violets, blackberries, and blueberries. The palate is full, with ripe tannins, and it retains good freshness despite the heat of this vintage. It offers more immediate appeal and has a more pliant and rounded structure. Drink 2026-2040.
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Decanter
Ripe and heady blackcurrant with cedar and tobacco touches as well as clove and garrigue herbs. Very scented. Supple and lithe, quite high acidity sets the tone and gives this bite and frame. Quite taut and coiled, clearly powerful with an underlying sense of heat and spice. Ends grippy and stony. High acidity, mouthwatering but not thick or too ripe, definitely more streamlined and focussed. This is tense in the sense it drives from start to finish not expanding but maintaining a direct core. There’s a sense of the alcohol in the tightness and slight heat on the finish but it’s not overly jammy in terms of fruit presentation. Keeps a lifted and elevated airy element. I like the refinement and there’s definitely purity to the fruit but it’s not super charming right now. I do love the construction though - very classy. Confident and long. Ageing 18 months, 70% new. 6% Petit Verdot completes the blend.
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James Suckling
This delicious, almost sweet Bordeaux-style red blend entices with red cherries, strawberries and spearmint on a silky, lightly tannic frame. It's easy to sip, indulgent in ripe fruit, cream and chocolate mint flavors. Soft tannins make it enjoyable now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 L'Esprit des Pavots contains 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot (47% of the fruit comes from Knights Valley in Sonoma County and 53% of the fruit comes from Oakville in Napa County). It has pure aromas of black cherries, blueberries, savory herbs, graphite and violet. The full-bodied palate is ripe and concentrated with fine-grained tannins, mouthwatering acidity and a long, perfumed finish. A total of 1,681 cases were made, and the wine will be released in September of 2025.
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Vinous
The 2022 L'Esprit des Pavots is absolutely gorgeous. Bold, juicy and forward, the 2022 is such a charmer. A blast of super-ripe dark red cherry fruit, mocha, truffle, spice, new leather, licorice and new oak makes a strong opening statement. In many vintages, L'Esprit is more aromatic and savory, but the 2022 is all about fruit. The blend is 53% Au Paradis and 47% Les Pavots.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
A small and picturesque valley separating Napa Valley on its south border and Alexander Valley to its north, Knights Valley excels in similar varieties as the two aforementioned appellations, namely red Bordeaux varieties and blends, as well as Sauvignon blanc. Originally established by Beringer Vineyards, today several outstanding producers claim acreage here. The circadian cooling effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean create a nighttime respite for vineyards during the hot growing season.