2016 Elk Vineyard Petit Verdot - Oak Farm Vineyards

Dense blackberry, dark tobacco, sweet acai. Bruised strawberry, creme brûlée, rich blueberry. Crushed violet and wild flowers, toasted coconut and pencil lead. Concentrated black currant and ripe dark cherry pulse with muscular power, quite tightly-wound and perhaps a bit angular but not altogether unyielding. Roasted bell pepper and dill complement subtle herbaceousness before being swept away violently by cedar, vanilla, and oak spice. Graphite and rich loam sing of soil underneath flexing fruit without ever really making a dent in the density. Full bodied with intense chewy tannin and redeeming fresh acidity. This 2016 Elk Vineyard Petit Verdot by Oak Farm Vineyards is an enjoyable take on a quirky Bordeaux grape from Lodi.

One of the "big five" Bordeaux varieties, Petit Verdot is a late ripening and highly structured grape that traditionally has been used primarily as a blending component. While it can have trouble fully ripening during cold vintages in Bordeaux it rarely has the same issue in California, and instead can produce standalone varietal wines with tremendous horsepower. This bottling, crafted by Oak Farm Vineyards using 100% Petit Verdot sourced from a single site in the Californian wine region of Lodi, provides a glimpse into what makes this unique grape so valuable for blending. It is darkly colored and heavily tannic with a strong acidic backbone, and has a distinctly dense and brooding flavor profile. This particular example has been softened up considerably with oak but is definitely still a force to be reckoned with. This is a fun wine that remains relatively juicy and drinkable despite its imposing structure.