With the 2022 Petit Verdot, I've probably run out of anything new to say. I mean, it's Petit Verdot. I've never ever seen a grape more consistent than this in the vineyard. Or at least, our vineyard. I remember purchasing PV from some local places years ago and the wine turned out innocuous and bland. I wondered if the French were right.
But after growing this growing this variety since 2015 (and making wine since 2017) from Petit Verdot grown in our little slice of viticultural heaven, I'm of a totally different mind-set.
The French are wrong.
Years ago we were told that Petit Verdot would ripen at best 2-3 times per decade. It was a rustic variety with angular tannins and blazing acidity. Even the name--"Petit Verdot"-- is demeaning. "Little Green One" they say, because it has such under-ripe characteristics.
And, I get it. It is tough to tame. But here's the thing. I work with Lucien Guillemet from Chateau Boyd Cantenac. (https://www.boyd-cantenac.fr/english/) I don't expect you all to run out and buy his wine, but suffice it to say that he knows wine. (I believe he's a fourth generation winemaker from his family's estate, and he's been making wine probably longer than I've been alive--and I'm 54.) And he has said that he thinks our PV is one of our best wines here.
Now, I responded by saying, "Lucien, you're French, you're not supposed to like Petit Verdot!" And he said, "yes, but you're growing it like a serious grape."
Here's where I start to conjecture: I can imagine if I was planting vineyards in Bordeaux, I would find the prime spots (having had a few centuries to figure out where they were), and I would plant Cabernet Sauvignon (of course!), Merlot (naturally!) and Cabernet Franc in these beautiful places. When it came time to plant some Petit Verdot (the fourth of five allowable varieties in Bordeaux), I would probably be scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for someplace that wasn't already taken.
I can see that Petit Verdot is most likely the most neglected variety from Bordeaux. And...I get it. It's tough. It's not elegant or balanced or refined (things I have never been accused of being.) It's quintessentially....American. It's blustery, prone to edginess and quick to rub you the wrong way (if you don't see eye to eye with me.) It's the French version of Zinfandel, the black sheep of the wine family.
And I think that's why I like it. Here in PA, we're the Rodney Dangerfield of the wine industry. And York county is the backwater of PA when it comes to fine wine.
I don't care. We're hanging our hat on Petit Verdot, in a manner of speaking. Not necessarily as a varietal wine, but as the base for our blends. We need a wine that has PV as its base with a large dose of Merlot followed by some heady aromatics from Cabernet Franc. This is my dream. Heaven is filled with a balanced and complete wine with the volume turned up to 11 as only a wine from Cadenza can be.