Extravagant plum fruit aromas enriched by the lush flavors that Petit Verdot is famous for.
You might know Petit Verdot as a minor but high-quality component in classic Bordeaux blends; however in our local San Francisco terroir, it has an uncanny ability to present on its own.
As for the grape, Petit Verdot is one of the six approved grapes for making red wines in the Bordeaux region of France. It is usually used as you would use spice in cooking because a little bit goes a long way. Petit Verdot will often be blended as 1% to 3% of the total wine in order to take advantage of some of the most dominant characteristics. P.V. has very deep purple color and a strong tanning structure. Because P.V. tends to ripen late in the season and is often lost to rains during harvest, it is following another variety, Carmenere, into near extinction in the Bordeaux region.
Planting Petit Verdot is on the rise in California because the weather here allows for consistent ripening of the grapes. Many of the more prestigious and quality oriented producers in California are including small amounts in their blends.
