Journal | October 9, 2023
2023 Petit Verdot
Petit Verdot has finally been harvested and crushed. All red grapes are now fermenting in a very tight, crowded cellar. Of all the grapes we picked in 2023, the Petit Verdot remains the biggest unknown as to the style and quality of the wine. During the last 30 days of ripening, the vines seemed confused and struggled to ripen. This was most probably because of the extreme seasonal variations of hot and cool, dry and wet. This is especially curious given that all the other varieties ripened easily with supple tannins, high sugars and concentration.
Vintage variation will become more common with our changing climate. We’ll have to be more intuitive with our approach to growing and winemaking. We’ll be handling this vintage’s Petit Verdot with kid gloves. Cool, short fermentations, and little to no oak aging. Winemakers do best when they consider the best attributes of the grapes for that season. This year’s Petit Verdot has fresh acidity and vibrant red fruit characteristics. This is what we will emphasize.
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Linden Vineyards / Learn More / Latest at Linden | Journal/Field Notes: October 9, 2023