High Valley-Lake County

Vineyard Source: Clay Shannon's Vineyard in Lake County

Chemistry at harvest:   Brix: 27.6% sugar   pH 3.99  Total Acidity: 4.3 grams/liter

Quantity Produced: 154 cases (12 x 750ml)

Date of Bottling: November 21, 2005

Barrels: 12 months in one year old French oak

Chemistry at bottling:    pH: 4.27    Total Acidity 5.0 grams/liter   Alcohol: 14.87%   Free Sulfur Dioxide: 32 ppm    Total Sulfur Dioxide: 88 ppm

Petit Verdot is one of the "big five" varieties of Bordeaux, but one that has been planted to a lesser extent, due to its propensity for extremely late maturity (perhaps global-warming will change that!) Quality-wise, it is a vitally important blender for fine Bordeaux, adding structure to the body, fruit to flavor and a softening effect to the knife-like tannins of Cabernet Sauvignon.

In California we have seen quite an interest in Petit Verdot over the last decade. Wine made from these grapes is widely used as a blender with Cab and Merlot, but I have had a few truly special bottlings of Petit Verdot as a stand-alone varietal, also. At the moment there are over 1000 acres of P.V. in California's premium grape growing areas, and more is being planted every year.

First off, I need to say that this wine is a spectacular rendition of what Petit Verdot can be. That said, it is also a remarkable bit of "on-the-fringe" winemaking-the sort that make winemakers stay awake at night with worry. To get absolute ripeness we left the grapes on the vine until very late in the season. By the time we harvested them they were very high in sugar and very low in acid, but they tasted soooo good that I didn't really want to fuss with them. Thus, I have left the wine largely as I found it, although quite high in both pH and alcohol. This is simply a HUGE wine…drink it with some really good bread and really stinky cheese, it will make your dreams come true.