The fruit for our 2017 Petit Verdot was sourced entirely from Del Arroyo Vineyard, one of Livermore’s premier vineyards. Grown in the right climate, Petit Verdot is a spice box of dense fruit and dark color. But, because of its tannic power, Petit Verdot is rarely bottled as a single varietal. Nevertheless, over a century ago, Livermore pioneer Theodore Ghier claimed it to be one of his favorite wines produced from his Livermore Valley vineyards. It is, perhaps, our gentle climate that tames this beast, and provides us with an opportunity to craft a pure expression of this rare and exotic grape.

The grapes were hand-harvested in the early morning hours of October 13th. Hand-sorted and de-stemmed without crushing, the grapes were cold-soaked for 12 hours before fermenting in half-ton bins. The cap was punched down by hand three to four times each day. At completion of fermentation, the wine was pressed off the skins and transferred to barrels where it was aged for eighteen months.