Back in 2014 when I was making decisions about which varieties to plant, it never dawned on me that Petit Verdot would be the one that excited me most. Sure, I'm still in love with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, but they aren't as exciting as Petit Verdot. What I see more clearly now is how they all need to play nicely with each other in a glass.
I remember first learning about PV years ago as one of the five Bordeaux grape varieties. It's name means "small green one" in French, and the vines have a tendency to produce small green berries (called asynchronous ripening for which Zinfandel is famous.) The green-ness sometimes carries over to the wine, leaving the tannins a bit "rustic" if one wants to be kind about it. (Sometimes honesty gets the best of me, and I'll call it like I taste it: the tannins can taste green. Ever taste the peel of a banana? Or the skin of a granny smith apple? That's what I'm talking about...in a bad way.)
The background on PV in Bordeaux was that, traditionally, it would only fully ripen once or twice in every decade. This was probably true because the Bordelaise would reserve out their best parcels of land for Cabernet or Merlot. Lowly PV would get the less ideal locations, and was probably also ignored a bit during the growing season. Hence, the low quality fruit reputation.
Here at Cadenza it's been a bit of a different story. To be honest, it didn't get the prime vineyard location (that was saved for the sensitive Merlot), but we do put equal effort into growing and ripening PV as we do any of our other varieties. It's not the easiest vine to grow in the vineyard: it likes to put out three or even four clusters per shoot that need to be thinned out annually, and the canes can get a bit vigorous if not kept under control.
But it's the challenge of the vine that has me so smitten with it. I've seen glimpses of greatness in it, and I think in another decade or two I might figure out how to unlock a bit of it. Because it's a tough grape (one of the reasons I like it.) It survives winters better than Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and it resists disease better than both of them as well. The color is gorgeous in the glass (and it has color to burn) and the aromatics are full-on, punch-in-the-face fruit.
I liken Petit Verdot to blackberries. Every time I see them, I can't help but try them. But they always leave me, I don't know....empty. They have a bright character with lots of acidity, but the finish is always so....empty. The tannins have grip and power, but they leave my palate kind of....empty.
PV is what we refer to as a "structured" wine. In fact, it may be all structure. And, truth be told, I'm a sucker for structure. I remember someone once saying "I will fear no tannin" (Randall Grahm?), and that's me. But to tame these tannins will take a lot more work and understanding in the vineyard. Some grapes benefit from longer hang-times at harvest and others lose their freshness if left on the vine too long. I don't know this for sure, but I'm betting that there may not be a limit to the hang-time that PV can benefit from.
the 2020 vintage PV, all the basses and most of the tenors are missing. What we're left with is a wine that has lots of high notes, but not the balance that could be achieved with more Merlot (or bass.)
It's this challenge that keeps me coming back to PV. We keep trying new things in the vineyard, and when they don't fully succeed, we know that we have some ideas in the cellar that can help us out. but once we get everything firing on all cylinders, this variety should be one of the two flagship varieties that this part of PA can be most proud of.
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