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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2021 is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. Petit Verdot is one of the five grapes approved to be included in the blend for the Red wines of Bordeaux, France. The other Red grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec.
The name Petit Verdot roughly translates to “little green”. While nobody is totally sure how exactly the grape got its name it is thought that since it takes so long to ripen it is still green while the other grapes have turned red.
Bordeaux Red blends typically feature only 2% or 3% of Petit Verdot since it does not always ripen in time to be useful. In California and Napa Valley the climate allows the grape to fully ripen.
The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2021 does not have any production notes available. Isolated Cellars cellared and bottled this wine and that means they aged the wine for an unspecified period of time and bottledit, it does not mean the produced the wine. Isolated Cellars seems to be connected to Precision Wine Company who has produced wine for Trader Joe’s in the past.
Wines made fron the Petit Verdot grape tend to be bold, tanic wines. These wines need aging in oak barrels to calm the tannins down and allow the wine to find its balance. The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2021 is a little young for that.
Red wines can be produced with methods to reduce the tannins and that is the style used in many value-priced wines where they need to come together quickly to ready them for sale. Most Napa Valley Red wines have full extraction, an extra year of two in the barrel is not a major concern for a $50 plus wine. The alcohol content is 15% which is on the high side.
The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2021 Tasting Notes
The color is deep dark garnet red with plenty of black highlights. The nose is floral, with ripe blackberry, spice, dark chocolate, light herbs, raspberry, and a hint of smoke. The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2021 dark, intense, and chewy.
This Petit Verdot tastes like blackberry, licorice, bitter dark chocolate, ripe plum, and black pepper. The mid-palate shows a hint of vanilla cream, blueberry, spice, and orange rind. The tannins are chewy and are a welcome part of the flavor profile. The acidity aloows the flavors plenty of time to unfold.
The Summary
- The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2021 is a tasty bold, but balanced wine.
- Since it is younger than most Napa Valley Petit Verdot wines I was concerned to would have the edges rounded off, but this is a full-bodied wine with a healthy does of tannins.
- Trader Joe’s did not “dumb down” this Petit Verdot, it is an enjoyable, quality wine.
