Like Velvet
TASTING NOTES:
Petit Verdot - “An easy sipping wine isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you open a Petit Verdot, but once you try this one, you might change your mind. Rich, enticing aromatics of vine-ripened brambly blackberry mingle with cedar spices and oak notes. A fresh, vibrant entry offers focused flavors of mulberry, boysenberry and black cherry woven with hints of sage, violet and black licorice. A solid structure seamlessly supports this intense, delicious wine even as it lingers on the palate. If opened before 2025, give the wine some breathing space to allow its beauty to shine through.” (AbV 14.2%, pH 3.55, TA 0.62 g/100mL)
*Malbec - “Concentrated aromas of red and black berries and plum mingle with traces of cigar box and oak. The lively yet velvety smooth entry offers ripe mulberry, spiced plum and boysenberry. Traces of floral notes, leather, black pepper, minerality and dark chocolate-covered espresso bean merge with the luscious fruit essence as rich spicy flavors linger in the finish. An integrated structure and layers of flavors create a robust yet elegant wine with balanced complexity and charm.” (AbV 14.8%, pH 3.45, TA 0.63 g/100mL)
VARIETALS: The Petit Verdot is 75% Petit Verdot, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec. Malbec is all Malbec.
BARRELS: 25 months in French oak, 33% new.
PAIRS WITH: Malbec with filet mignon with béarnaise and a side of roasted fingerling potatoes, or pork tenderloin stuffed with chimichurri served with a brown rice pilaf. Petit Verdot with chateaubriand drizzled with a rich brown reduction sauce and a side of béarnaise, or grilled wild boar tenderloin with served cavatelli with Gorgonzola and cherry tomatoes.
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Velvet.
Velvet is a type of fabric with a very short and dense pile. As with all weaving, there are warp yarns and weft yarns. Warp yarns are the ones that are held by the loom. The weft yarn is woven around the warp by the weaver. To make velvet, you have two layers of warp yarns being woven simultaneously and an extra warp that goes between the layers which weaves around small wires or rods running perpendicular to the warps. The velvet’s pile is created by cutting cleanly right through the middle of the extra warp yarn, separating the two layers.
Related is velveteen, which is produced in a similar method, but involves cutting the weft yarns instead of the warp. As a result, velveteen is less shiny and stiffer.
