We just came back from California and we skipped our usual jaunt out to Napa and Sonoma, and instead headed South for Monterrey, Carmel and Santa Barbara County. It was charming, and beautiful and I only wish we'd had more time to explore.On one gorgeous foggy evening we ate at a place in Pacific Grove called Passionfish http://www.passionfish.net/. The food was amazing and the wine list was equally (if not more) so. They wine prices we basically comparable to what you would find in a wine store AND on top of THAT, he had cool, esoteric wines along with some of the famous-er ones. I almost went into shock there were so many outstanding bottles for $50. I settled on a Petit Verdot from a local vineyard; Galante Vineyards. We'd seen their tasting room in Carmel-by-the-Sea ( no we didn't see Clint Eastwood).
The bottle was super squat, like a little weapon and the label looked like leather. Apparently it's a picture of this leather work that someone at the winery does. Well, I had never heard of Galante, I'm not too familiar with the wines from Monterrey at all, but I chose wisely! It was 100% Petit Verdot and perfect. I rarely see a stand alone Petit Verdot. It's such a powerful varietal and can often be masked with way too much vanilla oakiness (yes, Australia - I'm talking to you!)
This one was well crafted to say the least! There was a exotic tea and cardamom spiciness that I love about Petit Verdot in general, and then it was tempered with the right amount of oak so that a lushness and velvetiness was brought out. If you ever see a straight Petit Verdot or any PV, you should grab it. I luuurve it's black cherry, raspberry, earthy, spiciness. Soo good!
This one was well crafted to say the least! There was a exotic tea and cardamom spiciness that I love about Petit Verdot in general, and then it was tempered with the right amount of oak so that a lushness and velvetiness was brought out. If you ever see a straight Petit Verdot or any PV, you should grab it. I luuurve it's black cherry, raspberry, earthy, spiciness. Soo good!
Galante is a small family owned winery with cowboy souls. They've been making wine since 1983. The owner; Jack Galante knows his Monterrey micro climates and he's just trying to grow the best grapes for the land he has and make the best wine he possibly can. His great-grandfather; J.F. Devendorf actually founded the town of Carmel!
A little 411 on Petit Verdot: This is one of the 5 blending grapes used in Bordeaux (along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec). Winemakers tend to use this grape as chefs use seasoning. The "spice box" attribute of Petit Verdot gives a wine dense fruit, dark color, intense flavors, and heavy tannins. Similar to Malbec and Carmenere (the 6th blending grape of Bordeaux back in the day), Petit Verdot is a late ripening grape -- so it doesn't always ripen well or consistently in cooler climates (like Bordeaux). That's where it gets it's name too, Petit Verdot means "little green" referring to the little green berries that often do not ripen along with the other berries. The most PV is grown in Australia now, and Chile and California also have a lot of plantings
Oh, and this was on the back label:
Cowboy Philosophy: There are two theories to arguin' with a woman. Neither one works
color: inky violet/garnet
nose: cardamom, cinnamon, black cherry, wild raspberry, earthiness
palate: rich black cherry, vanilla spice, velvety tannins, liquorice
