Napa Valley Petit Verdot

Not too often do you get to drink 100% petit Verdot. My last bottle after 2-3 the last few years. Double decanted, then consumed from bottle over the course of 6hrs.

Special anniversary bottling. 36 months in oak. Right off the bat, I’d say the wine likely needed/benefitted from that amount of oak due to how brash PV can be solo, but I’d also say it’s probably going to cause the tannin to outlive the fruit. Not as black as I expected in the glass, more of a deep red-purple. Aromatics of ripe red and black berry fruits, baking spices, dark cocoa, and dark espresso. For being all PV slathered in a lot of oak, it’s very elegant on the palate…seems like a merlot/Mourvèdre hybrid with its black cherry cordial, chocolate and slightly smoked meat notes. There’s a unique tangy-ness to the fruit, and a lot of tannin at the finish. No rush, but if you want a good bit of fruit to balance things out, maybe consume in the next 3-5yrs.

Somehow I cannot imagine this is at all correct.... that I have only 3 left of 9 bottles. But yes 96-97 is the rating here NOW. The most full throttle, darkest and robust expression of Cab Franc that I have ever had. Nose of plum, black licorice, lavender. Enters with purple and black fruit. Sweeter youthful side. Rich. Inky and mouth coating. Middle gains an herbal character. Finish is a combo of purple fruit, black pepper, but still has a significant roasty tannin to it which will take a decade to integrate completely. I bought 9 bottles so that I would actually have a few past 2020. I guess that's likely c'est la vie! Continues to change, if ever so slightly, each time.

This wine is coming along fantastic. Nose of violets, purple fruits, lavender fields, cinnamon and baking spice. The entry on this wine is RIDICULOUS. Full bodied, torqued up. Still quite a tannic finish. This is a wine that you can put back for a decade without any hesitation. If I could just keep my hands off this bottle, I just might save some of the other four for another day. Not sure that this will happen. Bar none, best wine that William Harrison has ever made. This is currently the bar for me with regard to Petit Verdot. 95 points easily today, with the possibility of achieving 98.

This wine took an hour in the decanter and was still evolving when it was about halfway gone. This wine is aged 34 months in new French oak. At first, this wine although showing a lot of depth and grip also shows a lot of youthful, stiff, tongue-drying tannin. As it sat, the dense black and purple fruits emerged and the front softened. The stiff tannin on the finish did start to give way, but still was rather present. Floral notes started emerging in the middle. Some chocolate and dried black fruit from the middle to finish. This wine is a BABY, and will develop over the next 10-15 years without question. Probably my favorite PV right now if I could only afford it as a daily drinker (and if I only had MORE of this!).

2013 20th Anniversary Petit Verdot. This wine is incredible. First 9.7 I've ever given a wine in my life. One barrel wine, 20th anniversary celebration wine and a great Mother's Day celebratory bottle. Thick. Dense. Knife and Fork wine. Dark purple perfume and explosive fruit up front. Powerful middle with incredible depth and weight. Flowers, berries, peefume. Finish is youthfully tannic and lasts forever. The structure of this wine is impressive. I. Am. Not. Worthy.