Petit Verdot

Petit Verdot is a classic Bordeaux blending grape prized for the deep colour, firm tannin, bright acidity and heady violet perfume it lends to a red blend. Traditionally a small seasoning component in the wines of the Medoc — a splash of structure, spice and floral lift added to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot — it is late-ripening, thick-skinned and often difficult to ripen in Bordeaux's marginal climate. In the warmer, sunnier vineyards of the New World it now ripens reliably and is increasingly bottled on its own as a bold, inky, full-bodied varietal red of blackberry, black plum, violet and pencil-lead spice.