2016 Chateau Belle-Vue Petit Verdot by Belle-Vue Bordeaux Superieur
Produced by the esteemed Château Belle-Vue, this wine comes from a tiny parcel of Petit Verdot that has remained safe from frost and blight for decades. Very indicative of the varietal, the wine is deep purple in the glass and has ample notes of purple and blue fruits on the nose such as blueberry and açaí. Structured tannins and a long finish, a sure sign this wine will good drinking throughout the next decade.
Wine Advocate
This 100% Petit Verdot wine comes from old vineyards planted in 1936, 1940 and 1950 whose average age in 2016 was 77 years. It was aged in French oak, 20% new, with 15% of production matured in amphorae. It was aged for a total of 14 months. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Le Petit Verdot by Belle-Vue opens with provocatively earthy notes emerging on the nose of fertile loam, tar and scorched earth with a red and black currants core plus a hint of wild thyme. Medium to full-bodied with a firm, grainy texture from nicely ripe tannins, it has a great core of expressive fruit and a long mineral-tinged finish.
Wine Enthusiast
Bold and ripe, this rich wine is concentrated and full of spicy black fruits. Produced from a tiny parcel of Petit Verdot that escaped the devastating frost of 1956, it is dark, dense with layers of blueberry flavors alongside the firm tannins. The richness of the wine and its weight promise good aging. Drink from 2023.
Vinous
The 2016 Le Petit Verdot is just as compelling from bottle as it was from the barrel. Creme de cassis, menthol, violet, plum, lavender, licorice and bittersweet chocolate are some of the many notes that run through this super expressive, flavorful Haut-Medoc. Exotic and sumptuous to the core, this 2016 is flat out delicious and one of the sleepers of the year. I absolutely loved it.