Decades 5 Petit Verdot 2016
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Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
Decades 5 is made from 100% Petit Verdot grapes and is barrel fermented in new French oak for a minimum of 26 months. The unique combination of terrior and climate result in a small corner of the wine world where this varietal can shine on its own merits.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Petit Verdot is deep garnet-purple colored and made of 100% Petit Verdot. It opens with notes of red currants, black cherries, fresh black berries and cracked pepper with wafts of dried herbs and yeast extract. Medium to full-bodied, very firm and with great freshness, it has a good, long earthy/savory finish.
Rating: 93+ -
Jeb Dunnuck
Coming primarily from the Stagecoach Vineyard and made by Jean Hoefliger, the 2016 Petit Verdot is an outstanding effort that has loads to love, which is saying something for a 100% Petit Verdot wine. This inky colored effort offers powerful notes of blueberries, black cherries, violets, green herbs, and melted licorice. It has notable structure, impressive mid-palate depth and overall concentration, plenty of sweet tannins, and a great finish, all making for a seriously impressive Petit Verdot that has real appeal. There’re only 50 cases made, but I suspect it will keep for 20 years or more. This wine is 100% Petit Verdot that was barrel fermented and aged 22 months in 80% new French oak.
Jean’s philosophy in working with Petit Verdot in Napa Valley is to maintain as much of the natural integrity of the varietal and vineyard as possible. Sourcing from warmer blocks in the heart of Stagecoach Vineyard, our Petit Verdot enjoys a long growing season, allowing for fully ripened berries. Only yeasts that are naturally present on each cluster are used in the fermentation of Decades 5. This captures the unique identity of Petit Verdot from this vineyard, and its inherent complexities that create an identifiable wine. Each of these yeasts imparts a layer that contributes to both the mouthfeel and flavor profile of our wine.
Each berry that eventually becomes Decades 5 is hand-picked and hand-sorted for optimal ripeness and balance, ensuring the highest quality in each bottle. This wine is then barrel fermented in new French oak from several of the world’s most prestigious cooperages: Emitage, Marques, Vicard, Radoux, and Sylvain. By fermenting Petit Verdot in barrel, the naturally powerful tannins soften and become more integrated into the resulting wine.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.