In Bordeaux, winemakers are allowed to use up to six red grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Carmenère. Carmenère is rarely used in Bordeaux. The major actors are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Petit Verdot and Malbec are cast in supporting roles. Petit Verdot provides acid and color to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot-dominated wines. This is why we initially decided to work with Petit Verdot. Our intention was to use it as a supporting actor in our blend called “in Order to form a more perfect Union” (and we do use some of it for that purpose).
We decided to get our Petit Verdot from Dionysus Vineyard’s Block 13b. Block 13b is situated on a 10-15% slope at an elevation of about 800ft. The soil is Sagehill very fine sandy loam. It’s a perfect area to grow Petit Verdot. In fact, it’s so good, that we were compelled to highlight the grape. So we created a wine where the Petit Verdot is the main actor with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc in supporting roles.
We decided to call the wine “Living in the Limelight” because Petit Verdot is now the star. The name comes from a line in one of our favorite songs from one of our favorite rock bands. The band is Rush and the song is Limelight.
For Winemaker notes, technical details, and reviews, please click on the following vintages:
English
Chinese (Traditional)
French
German
Japanese
Korean
Portuguese
Vietnamese