Petit Verdot is rarely bottled on its own, except as a whimsical project for winemakers. The variety is best known for its ability to add tannin, color, and density to a Bordeaux blend. It’s often used in minuscule quantities in these blends, and is almost considered a trick of the trade, used to tweak a final blend. It's rare to find a varietal Petit Verdot, and even then, it is typically too bold and harsh. This wine, however, completely blew us away with its refinement and poise. Age has beautifully polished out the tannin and mellowed the intensity of the fruit, and what we have is a perfect claret-like wine, ready to be paired with your Friday night steak. Here’s a little about the origins of this wine: It’s made by Romeo Vineyards, just north of Calistoga, where the Romeo family makes deeply expressive wine off the old vineyard that they purchased back in the 1990s. The vines are some of the oldest in the area, with some planted back in the early 1970s. You can feel the intensity of the old-vine fruit bringing concentration and depth of character to the finished wine. We were lucky enough to find this older bottling, now drinking with perfect maturity.