Description

The genesis for this wine came from my introduction to the Petit Verdot grape while an intern at Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, and then my use of it at Newton Vineyard. During my three years at Newton, the winemaking team of John Kongsgaard, Dean Sylvester and I challenged ourselves each vintage to make an "ultra-wine": a single barrel of the most intense Bordeaux blend possible, regardless of the varietal percentages used. This barrel was never bottled, but was merely used as a barrel sample to show off to our winemaker friends. Without fail, each ultra-wine we made relied heavily on Petit Verdot. Of all the Bordeaux grapes, Petit Verdot has the darkest color, most intense aroma (imagine fresh blueberry syrup), and the most viscous mouth feel. When I bought my estate in 1990, my first course of action was to plant Petit Verdot, with the goal of making a Diamond Mountain "ultra wine." The result is a Premiere Napa Valley offering of 80% Petit Verdot and 20% Malbec all coming from the von Strasser estate vineyards.