2017 Petit Verdot

The Vintage
2017 will be remembered as the year of the fires in Sonoma County, it will also be remembered as a near perfect vintage for most winegrowers. Spring rains meant that the vines had plenty of reserves to work with during bud break and the flowering seasons. The summer months were warm and mild, near perfect growing conditions. Things warmed up in September that hastened the harvest season. All in all, yields were average to slightly below average with quality across all varieties at near perfection. At Trione we were done harvesting by October 6^th, slightly earlier than normal.

Winemaking
The grapes were all hand harvested, sorted and sent directly to small open top fermentation tanks. The fermentations were done using a unique cap irrigation device that brings in air as the free-run wine is being circulated over the cap during the peak of fermentation. This technique ensures the binding of tannins with the color compounds found in the grapes as well as maximizing proper yeast cell health and viability. The Petit Verdot is the second in the series of special bottlings of the Bordeaux varietals from Trione Vineyards & Winery.

Tasting Notes
Petit Verdot is a variety traditionally used as a blending partner in the wines of Bordeaux. On its own, as this example of 2017 Trione Petit Verdot demonstrates, the wine shows great depth of color and tannin in the structure and on the finish. On the nose and tongue, the wine is rich, a potpourri of Asian spice, herbs, crushed dried leaves and dried rose petals. Enjoy!