Tasting Note
Petit Verdot translates as the ‘the little green one”. So, by the book, this heat seeking, very late ripening often green tasting grape should not be doing well in Niagara. And is thus it is not widely planted. Then along comes a vintage so perfect that is almost an anomaly, delivering a very fine example of this Bordeaux variety. Petit verdot is never a charmer but this has pitch perfect blackberry/blueberry ripeness, subtle mint/basil, an inky/ferrous notion and fine oak spice and vanillin. It is medium-full bodied, fairly dense and quite elegant, with firm starchy almost gritty but not green tannin. It is 14.8% alcohol but there is no sense of heat. Remarkable! The length is excellent. There is an overall sense of sophistication that is surprising. I predict a long an intriguing life for this collector’s item.
Backgrounder
Stratus opened in 2005 in Niagara-on-the-Lake on the boundary of the two sub-regions of Four Mile Creek and Niagara Lakeshore, which benefit from a longer growing season due to the proximity of summer-warmed waters of Lake Ontario. The location was critical to the Stratus vision of one premium red and one white blend made in the Bordeaux idiom. So, all five Bordeaux red grapes were planted, including petit verdot, which is used primarily to infuse some density and structure. Which also inevitably meant that there would be portions left over and bottled solo, especially in great years. But Bordeaux-trained Stratus winemaker JL Groux and protégé Dean Stoyka would never think of a wine as a leftover. They are both very curious and detailed and would have set out to make this Petit Verdot special. This has undergone traditional fermentation then 18 months ageing in French oak, 87% neutral, 13% new.
