- Made only in the best vintages, Bellarmine Petit Verdot is a full bodied yet elegant style of dry red wine.
- Ripe dark fruit, with aromas of violets, it has a savoury finish with tight grained French oak supporting the palate. A Bordeaux varietal, it is akin to a Cabernet Merlot blend.
- Enjoy matched to osso bucco and/or caramelised roast vegetables.
- Can be cellared until 2029
94 Points, Wine Showcase Magazine New Release Tasting
93 Points, Angus Hughson, Winepilot "Deeply coloured, it shows both good fruit power and complexity. Dusty spice and cedar aromas sit over a strong core of youthful dark peppery fruits. There is a fleshiness but also a meaty intensity that gives it plenty of impact. It takes a slightly different turn in the mouth with layers of dried herbs over dark fruits and all supported by moderate grainy tannins. It’s clearly aging well and will do so over the medium term. Enjoy with hearty dishes, such as Hungarian Goulash."
WINE NOTES
Region: Pemberton, Western Australia
Drink Until: 2031
Variety: Petit Verdot
Suggested food pairing: Grilled steak, roast lamb, caramelised vegetables, hard cheeses. Oak: 12 months in French oak.
Colour: Inky red.
Nose: Violets and berry fruits
Palate: Berries and ripe fruits with well-integrated fine tannins that are powerful yet supportive of the fruit. Style: Dry red wine with delicate aromas and full body.
BACKGROUND: The grapes are exclusively sourced from the Bellarmine vineyard in the high quality cool climate region of Pemberton in South-Western Australia. The vineyard is at an altitude of 220 metres above sea level. Planted in 2000 by hand, the vines are trained to Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) to give optimum exposure of the fruit to sunshine during the ripening season which occurs from December to April. The soils are red gravel laterite soils which provide excellent drainage and give warmth to the vines' root systems at night from the sunshine the red gravel has absorbed during the daylight hours. This results in the Petit Verdot being ready for harvest at the end of March to mid-April before too much rain comes in as Autumn progresses.
HARVESTED: 3rd April 2016.
WINEMAKING: Harvested at optimum flavour levels when the tannins are ripe and the seeds are brown, which is determined by the winemaker regularly tasting the grapes. The Petit Verdot is managed carefully to ensure a maximum yield of 5 tonnes to the hectare, which ensures even ripeness and maximum quality potential in the grapes. Crushed and destemmed gently to allow some whole berries through into the fer- ment, the must is innoculated with neutral yeast to allow natural fruit expression. Once the cap of skins has risen, the juice is pumped over the skins twice daily for half an hour so that colour and flavour is ex- tracted from the skins, and the ferment is cooled naturally. The wine is pressed off the skins and fermenta- tion is completed in tank. Once complete, the wine is racked off solids and innoculated for the second fer- mentation with malo-lactic bacteria. The wine then goes into new French oak until bottling after 12 months.
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