Petit Verdot
The style profiled here is a dry, very full-bodied red Petit Verdot wine: dense, violet, black fruit, firm. Typical alcohol is 13.5 to 15%. Serve it at 16 to 18 °C.
Also called Verdot.
The grape
Petit verdot is the smallest component of the classic Bordeaux blend and often the most useful. It ripens very late, later than cabernet sauvignon, so in Bordeaux it fails to ripen in many years and is planted in tiny proportions, typically under five percent, on the warmest gravel.
What it contributes is out of proportion to its share. It is intensely coloured, high in tannin, and gives violet, blueberry and a firm spine. A few percent lifts the aromatics and structure of a whole blend. On its own in Bordeaux it is usually too severe.
In warm regions it ripens reliably and can be a varietal wine in its own right, which has made it a small speciality of Spain's Castilla-La Mancha, Australia, Argentina, California's Central Valley and Virginia. Those versions are dense, dark and floral, and they are one of the more distinctive things a warm-climate producer can do with a Bordeaux grape.
BuyingVarietal petit verdot is a curiosity worth trying once. It is almost never subtle.
Style profile
Our rating of a representative wine- Sweetness
- Bone dry
- Body
- Very full
- Tannin
- Very high
- Acidity
- High
Sweetness and structure vary with the producer, region and winemaking. These ratings describe the style above; check the label for the bottle in front of you.
Food pairings
Where it grows
- Notable regions
- BordeauxAustraliaArgentinaCaliforniaVirginia
Explore its wine regions
Similar grapes
Sources
- Facts: Wikipedia, Petit Verdot (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata Q637453 (CC0).
- Variety record: Vitis International Variety Catalogue, VIVC 12974.
- Style profile, pairings and serving figures are our own assessment.