Wine · Grape variety · Short entry
Petit Verdot
A late-ripening black grape from south-west France, used in small amounts in Bordeaux blends for colour, tannin and freshness. Fully ripe, it can combine high sugar with high acidity. Its French area doubled between 2008 and 2018.
A seasoning grape
When fully ripe, Petit Verdot gives very powerful, rich, coloured and tannic wines; in blends it adds body, colour and liveliness. In the Médoc it is used in smaller shares beside Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and brings freshness. The Pomerol specification calls it an old Bordeaux variety, allowed but rare.
The vine is fertile and productive, with soft, long shoots that need trellising. Some old vines had a flower defect causing coulure; French selection has removed it. In France it covered 685 ha in 1958, fell to 338 ha in 1988 and rose to 1,475 ha in 2018.
How it connects
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