Petit Verdot was probably brought to France by the Romans, it is mostly employed nowadays to add stiffness and complex tannins to Cabernet blends. Petit Verdot takes very well to the Riverina, where it translates into a fruity, flavoursome meat and three veg style of wine. The De Bortoli team work closely with viticulturists as the grapes ripen on the vine. Each individual parcel is selected on the basis of exemplary flavour profile and fully developed tannins. Grapes are cold soaked on skins at 10C for a day to gently extract flavours. Musts are warmly fermented for a week or more at 22C to 25C, followed by a term of age in a mix of maturation vats and oak barriques. Alcohol 14.0%