I tasted the 2021 Pinot Noir Le Caprice as a finished barrel sample a week before it was racked to tank and bottled. Made from destemmed grapes and matured in 40% to 50% new French oak, it has a medium ruby-purple in color and inviting scents of red cherry, cranberry sauce, cinnamon, rose petal and potpourri, offering new aromatic nuances with each return to the glass. The medium-bodied palate is silky and seamless with concentrated, spicy red fruit and a long, latent finish. It will need another 3-5 years in bottle to continue its development and show at its best. 1,083 cases were made. This will be released in February of 2023.

The 2019 Pinot Noir le Caprice is the most fruit-forward and perhaps least complex of the Peter Michael Pinots, but it's still a fine effort, with notes of spring flowers, rose hips and cinnamon accenting ripe cherries. There's a touch of smoke from the barrels as well. It's medium to full-bodied, with a long, silky-textured finish. Enjoy it on the younger side.

This label comes from Fort Ross-Seaview AVA, planted at 1,000-1,400 feet elevation to a “suitcase” clone on a soil type of clay with basalt rocks. Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2017 Pinot Noir le Caprice comes roaring out of the glass with pronounced redcurrants, warm cranberries and black cherries scents plus hints of violets, rhubarb and star anise with wafts of red roses, black tea and wild sage. Medium-bodied, the palate has a fantastic structure of firm, finely grained tannins with bold freshness supporting the incredibly energetic and expressive red berries and black cherries layers, finishing long and perfumed. Impressive! 1,422 cases were made.

The 2016 Pinot Noir le Caprice is pale to medium ruby-purple colored with an incredible perfume of red roses, lilacs and cinnamon stick with a beautiful red berry core of wild strawberries, raspberries, cranberries and underbrush with touches of iron ore and wild sage plus a waft of cedar. The palate is medium-bodied, elegant and refreshing with loads of minerally layers and a long, uplifting finish. 895 cases produced.

The production of the 2014 Pinot Noirs ranges from a low of 543 cases for the Clos du Ciel to a high of 1,227 cases for the Ma Danseuse. All of these Pinot Noirs are made from what is simply called a Vosne-Romanée clone, which is code, I expect, for a vineyard such as Romanée-Conti or La Tache, but no one’s talking. The 2014 Pinot Noir Le Caprice comes from the steepest part of the vineyard, offering up wonderfully floral notes, along with tart raspberries, loads of cherries, damp earth, roasted herbs and spring flowers. It is a beautiful C?te de Nuit-like Pinot Noir that one might realistically compare with a Grand Cru from Burgundy, such as Griotte-Chambertin. It should drink well for 10-15+ years.