Wines
Petit Verdot Napa Valley, 2007
A deep and full-bodied wine often known for adding structure to Bordeaux blends, Petit Verdot is not often found as a single varietal bottling. Our 2007 vintage yielded fruit of such exquisite quality that we were able to produce a wine to showcase the rich and robust qualities of this unique varietal.
Vineyards
Most of the fruit for our 2007 Petit Verdot was sourced from our valley floor vineyards in Rutherford and Oakville, with a small amount from our home vineyard in the Stags Leap District. Petit Verdot is a late-ripening varietal, and these warm regions encourage the development of complex flavors. The Merlot that rounds out the blend was sourced from our Carneros Collines vineyard where the grapes were also allowed extra hang time to cultivate deeper flavors.
Harvest & Winemaking
The 2007 vintage was long and variable, with an early, cool start and several heat waves throughout the growing season. This resulted in small clusters of small, powerfully flavored berries and an October harvest. This wine was sorted with an intensive process of cluster selection and berry selection before rushing. The skins were retained for extended maceration for 21 days, then the wine was transferred to 55% new French oak barrels where they aged for 16 months before bottling in April 2009.
Tasting Notes
This youthfully dense, ruby wine offers intensely layered aromas of ripe cranberry, blackberry and huckleberry jam behind hints of ground clove and green peppercorn. The palate bursts with juicy notes of baked Bing cherries, freshly picked blueberries and black plum, accented by touches of cola and caramel. Bold tannins support the concentrated fruit and lead into a long, lingering finish of cooked black fruit and ground coffee. Decanting or aerating this substantial wine will open it up and allow its luscious dark fruit flavors to shine.
Food Pairing
Our Petit Verdot is a dark, bold wine and will show best against hearty yet simple dishes, such as a traditional American pot roast with potatoes, carrots and onions. Grilled marinated hanger steak with garlic and summer squash would also prove an excellent companion for this exceptional wine. As this wine ages, try it alongside a brined beef brisket with quickly blanched cabbage.
- SRP
- $65
- Purchase
- Varietal
- 82% Petit Verdot, 17% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Appellation
- Napa Valley
- Alcohol
- 14.7%
- Released
- July 2010
- Aging Potential
- Up to 10 years