The least represented of Bordeaux varieties internationally, can Petit Verdot do well as a solo act in its home Bordeaux?
Where does Petit Verdot fit in among Bordeaux Varieties?
Bordeaux wines are usually blends. This allows producers to match varieties with terroir and adjust their wines based on the weather from vintage to vintage since each grape ripens differently. If one grape does poorly, they can add more of other grapes that do better that year. Moreover, each variety complements the other.
For red Bordeaux, Merlot dominates the Right Bank while Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the Left Bank although some also use a hefty amount of Merlot in the Left Bank too. Cabernet Franc is the next most used variety on both banks, and there are some top-end producers like Les Carmes Haut Brion, Cheval Blanc, Lafleur and Ausone who use a large percentage of Cabernet Franc.
Cabernet Sauvignon provides age-worthy structure and depth. It thrives on gravel soil. In contrast, Cabernet Franc ripens earlier, is softer and more aromatic, but can also do well on gravel and limestone soil. Both can bring pyrazine (herbaceous) notes when less ripe, but Cabernet Franc often adds floral notes too. To bring sexiness to the wine, Merlot adds soft, lush fruit and does particularly well on clay soils.
Petit Verdot is the next most used variety in Bordeaux. However, it’s not as popular outside of Bordeaux. Carmenere and Malbec are still rare in Bordeaux even in small percentages, but monovarietal Malbec has homes in Southwest France and Argentina while monovarietal Carmenere is big in Chile. In contrast, Petit Verdot is almost always used in small percentages wherever it’s grown. In 2021, Bordeaux legalized 6 other varieties (4 red) to deal with climate change, but they’re mostly in an experimental stage right now.
Back to Petit Verdot, you often only see it as 1-5% of the blend in Bordeaux wines. It’s a late-ripening grape that has a harder time reaching full ripeness in Bordeaux. Instead, it could do better in a warmer climate and longer growing period like Carmenere in Chile. I reviewed some Chilean Petit Verdot in the past that had no issues with lack of fruit.
In blends, Petit Verdot is added to give the wine color, acidity, tannins and some spice. Only a handful of producers use a large percentage of it in Bordeaux, and even less make an off-the-beaten-track 100% Petit Verdot for market.
When I found a 100% Petit Verdot from famous Bordeaux professor Denis Dubourdieu, I thought it would be fun to try.
Tasting Notes
2018 Dubourdieu Hommage Petit Verdot Bordeaux
This is a unique 100% Petit Verdot wine from Bordeaux, and it’s quite rare with only 2,600 bottles made. This comes from the home estate of the late professor Denis Dubourdieu at Chateau Reynon in Cadillac from vines he planted in 2005. He felt this was particularly a good terroir for the variety.
Dark, almost opaque purple. The nose shows lots of chocolate, pepper and spice with some licorice and dark berry fruit. The palate is also a lot more savory in profile than fruity. However, the texture of the wine is nice with slightly chalky but smooth tannins, medium-acid, balanced alcohol despite being 14.5%, and medium+ body. Some other Petit Verdot dominated wines I’ve had were a lot more tannic and astringent. There’s sort of a medicinal or vegetal side to the wine, but again, I’ve had other Petit Verdot with more. Without food, ultimately most people would prefer more fruit on the palate, which is why I’ll give it an 88, but that’s partly the nature of the variety in Bordeaux. It’s well made in every other aspect, and it’s interesting to taste the variety isolated from its blending partners. However, despite Chilean wines being known for pyrazine notes, they can achieve more ripeness in their Petit Verdot and other late-ripening grapes than Bordeaux. A splash of Merlot could really make this wine more appealing on its own, which is why most Bordeaux wines are blends. I still enjoyed it with food and from an intellectual point of view.
*After experiencing this Bordeaux Petit Verdot, which lacked fruit, I found another Petit Verdot a couple months later. It’s from a warmer climate in Catalonia and has a bit of Merlot, which is exactly what I said the Bordeaux Petit Verdot lacked. Let’s see if it’s better.
2020 Jean León 3055 Petit Verdot-Merlot Penedes
This is fermented and aged in stainless steel. This shows dark red and purple fruit with spice on the nose which carries on to the palate with in a juicy, fresh way with savory, slightly vegetal finish, mixed with licorice. Medium-bodied. Easy to drink at this stage despite it being Petit Verdot. Not far off in fruit profile from a Left Bank Bordeaux but without the oak influence giving it more texture, body and structure. It’s a drink now wine and is drinking better than the Bordeaux Petit Verdot while perhaps the Bordeaux Petit Verdot will improve over time and express more fruit since it has more structure and depth. 90