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 of cousin of the Bordeaux varieties?

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.

Mount Burrumboot Estate in the Heathcote region make an exceptional Varietal Petit Verdot

Learn More about Grape varieties

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Australian Producers of Petit Verdot

• 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
• Banrock Station Riverland
• Barton Estate Canberra
• Beach Road McLaren Vale
• Beechtree Wines McLaren Vale
• Bent Road Granite Belt
• Bellarmine Pemberton
• Blowfly Wines Northern Slopes Zone
• Bremerton Langhorne Creek
• Brookside Perth Hills
• Brown Brothers King Valley
• Brown Brothers King Valley
• Bullers Calliope Rutherglen
• Cape Grace Wines Margaret River
• Capel Vale Geographe
• Captain Barossa Barossa Valley
• Casella Riverina
• Celestial Bay Margaret River
• Ceravolo Premium Wines Adelaide Plains
• Chateau Mildura Murray Darling
• Clovely Estate South Burnett
• Cosham Perth Hills
• Cullen Wines Margaret River
• De Bortoli Riverina
• Dowie Doole McLaren Vale
• Drakesbrook Wines Peel
• Forester Estate Margaret River
• Fyffe Field North East Victoria
• Gipsie Jack Langhorne Creek
• Granite Ridge Wines Granite Belt
• Grey Sands Northern Tasmania
• Grove Estate Wines Hilltops
• Haan Barossa Valley
• Hackersley Geographe
• Hither and Yon McLaren Vale
• Hugh Hamilton McLaren Vale
• Indigo Wine Company Beechworth
• Inlam Estate Northern Rivers Zone
• Jester Hill Granite Belt
• 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
• Louee Wines Mudgee
• LS Merchants Margaret River
• Mardia Wines Barossa Valley
• McHenry Hohnen Margaret River
• Millbrook Winery Perth Hills
• Mount Burrumboot Estate Heathcote
• Mr Riggs Wine Company McLaren Vale
• Mundrakoona Estate Southern Highlands
• Nillumbik Estate Yarra Valley
• Noorinbee Selection Vineyards Gippsland
• Nursery Ridge Murray Darling
• Optimiste Mudgee
• 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
• Ravens Croft Wines Granite Belt
• Remarkable View Winery Southern Flinders Region
• Riverbank Estate Swan Valley
• Robertson of Clare Clare Valley
• Romantic Vineyard Pyrenees
• Rookery Wines Kangaroo Island
• Rymill Coonawarra Coonawarra
• Salena Estate Riverland
• Salomon Estate Currency Creek
• Saltram Barossa Valley
• Sam Miranda Wines King Valley
• Sassy Wines Orange
• 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
• Uleybury Wines Adelaide Zone
• Victory Point Wines Margaret River
• Wallington Wines Cowra
• Waterwheel Wines Bendigo
• Whicher Ridge Geographe
• Whistling Kite Riverland
• Williams Springs Road Kangaroo Island
• Windowrie Estate Cowra
• Wombat Lodge Margaret River
• Yalumba Wine Company Eden Valley
• Zonte's Footstep Langhorne Creek

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