Petit verdot red wine variety

Petit Verdot from Whicher Ridge in the Geographe region of WA. Pic from the Travelling Corkscrew

So why is Petit Verdot the poor cousin
of the Bordeaux varieties?

Information from the book Beyond Shiraz

In a way the answer lies in the vineyard, not the winery. This variety ripens later than the others and in Bordeaux, its traditional home, it may not ripen at all or produce such poor quality fruit as not to be worth the effort.

In good years though, late ripening is the very attribute proves that nurturing the ugly duckling can pay off. It produces well coloured concentrated wines with a range of flavours, with violets being a common adjective used to describe its unique character.

In Bordeaux it is used as a minor component (usually less than about five percent) of blends, rarely made in to varietal wine.

Late ripening is the problem for this variety in Bordeaux, but it is an advantage in other regions.  Outside France there are significant plantings in Australia, Chile, South Africa, Spain and the USA.

Petit verdot in Australia

The potential for Petit Verdot in Australia is being talked up by some of its enthusiasts. This variety is very suitable in such areas as the Barossa and McLaren Vale, a well as in most wine regions of inland Australia. As a late ripening grape it will not be successful in cooler regions, but watch out for new wines from South Australia, the irrigated districts and the far northern districts.

Like in Bordeaux this variety is mainly used in blends with one or more of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

The Australian tradition producing one hundred percent varietals is putting the acid test on Petit Verdot. There seemed to be quite a few wineries producing varietal Petit Verdot about a decade ago, but it is less common now.

The characters to look for in varietal wines are its intense colours, the wonderful fragrant nose, rich flavours and soft tannins. they are also much better with a few years of bottle age.

Australian Producers of Petit Verdot

Petit verdot is one of the 190 varieties grown in Australia. They are featured in the new book Beyond Shiraz. The book is available in Kindle format (for your phone) or as a paperback.

Details Here

• Aldinga Bay McLaren Vale
• Alkoomi Frankland River
• Anderson Winery Rutherglen
• Angoves Winery Riverland
• Arimia Margaret River
• Arlo Vintners Rutherglen
• Atze's Corner Wines Barossa Valley
• Bago Vineyards Hastings River
• Ballast Stone Estate Currency Creek
• Banca Ridge Granite Belt
• Barton Estate Canberra
• Battle of Bosworth Wines McLaren Vale
• Bellarmine Estate Pemberton
• Bent Road Granite Belt
• Blowfly Wines Northern Slopes Zone
• Bremerton Langhorne Creek
• Brookside Perth Hills
• Bush Track Wine Alpine Valleys
• Cape Grace Wines Margaret River
• Capel Vale Geographe
• Captain Barossa Barossa Valley
• Carillion Hunter Valley
• Casella Riverina
• Celestial Bay Margaret River
• Ceravolo Premium Wines Adelaide Plains
• Chateau Mildura Murray Darling
• Clovely Estate South Burnett
• Cullen Wines Margaret River
• D'Arenberg McLaren Vale
• Darling Estate King Valley
• David Franz X Barossa Valley
• De Bortoli Riverina
• Dog Ridge McLaren Vale
• Dowie Doole McLaren Vale
• Drakesbrook Wines Peel
• Driftwood Margaret River
• Faber Vineyard Swan Valley
• Feathertop Alpine Valleys
• Forester Estate Margaret River
• Fyffe Field North East Victoria
• Gartelman Hunter Valley
• Geddes Wines McLaren Vale
• Gipsie Jack Langhorne Creek
• Girraween Estate Granite Belt
• Granite Ridge Wines Granite Belt
• Gray Sands Northern Tasmania
• Grosset Clare Valley
• Grove Estate Wines Hilltops
• Haan Barossa Valley
• Hackersley Geographe
• Harris Organic Wines Swan Valley
• Hither and Yon McLaren Vale
• Hugh Hamilton McLaren Vale
• Indigo Wine Company Beechworth
• Joadja Vineyards Southern Highlands
• Kalleske Wines Barossa Valley
• Kevin Sobels Wines Hunter Valley
• Lake Breeze Langhorne Creek
• Lazy River Estate Western Plains
• Leconfield Coonawarra
• Levantine Hill Estate Yarra Valley
• Lillypilly Estate Riverina
• Lion Mill Vineyards Perth Hills
• Longleat Wines Goulburn Valley
• LS Merchants Margaret River
• McHenry Hohnen Margaret River
• Millbrook Winery Perth Hills
• Monak Wine Co Murray Darling
• Montague Wines Margaret River
• Morlet Margaret River
• Mount Burrumboot Estate Heathcote
• Mr Riggs Wine Company McLaren Vale
• Nillumbik Estate Yarra Valley
• Noble Red Heathcote
• Nursery Ridge Murray Darling
• Pertaringa McLaren Vale
• Petersons Glenesk Estate Mudgee
• Pirate Cru Barossa Valley
• Pirramimma McLaren Vale
• Preston Peak Granite Belt
• Pyramids Road Granite Belt
• Pyren Vineyard Pyrenees
• Ravenscroft Wines Granite Belt
• Remarkable View Winery Southern Flinders Region
• Riverbank Estate Swan Valley
• Robertson of Clare Clare Valley
• Rymill Coonawarra Coonawarra
• Salena Estate Riverland
• Saltram Barossa Valley
• Sam Miranda Wines King Valley
• Sassy Wines Orange
• Sidewood Estate Adelaide Hills
• Sirromet Granite Belt
• Sittella Swan Valley
• Slain Giant Barossa Valley
• Spook Hill Wines Riverland
• St Mary's Limestone Coast Zone
• Summit Estate Granite Belt
• Switch Currency Creek
• Symphony Hill Wines Granite Belt
• Taltarni Pyrenees
• Tassell Park Wines Margaret River
• Temple Bruer Langhorne Creek
• Tenafeate Creek Wines Adelaide Plains
• The Pawn Wine Company Adelaide Hills
• Tizzana Winery South Coast Zone
• Toorak Winery Riverina
• Trahna Rutherglen Wines Rutherglen
• Trentham Estate Murray Darling
• Trifon Estate Goulburn Valley
• Uleybury Wines Adelaide Zone
• Victory Point Wines Margaret River
• Wallington Wines Cowra
• Waterwheel Wines Bendigo
• Whicher Ridge Geographe
• Whistling Kite Wines Riverland
• Windowrie Estate Cowra
• Windows Estate Margaret River
• Wombat Lodge Margaret River
• Woodlands Margaret River
• Xanadu Margaret River
• Yalumba Wine Company Eden Valley
• Yarran Wines Riverina
• Yeah Wines Margaret River

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