The Argentine style
In the warm New World — California, Australia, Spain, Italy's Maremma, and increasingly Argentina — Petit Verdot ripens reliably and shines. In Argentina it has built up a real foothold: more than 600 hectares are now planted across Mendoza, making it the country's quiet stronghold for the grape. It is still a small player — nothing close to Malbec — but the numbers, and more importantly the quality of the wines, are climbing.
Two things are happening at once. First, Argentine winemakers love Petit Verdot as a blender: a few percent folded into a Bordeaux-style blend with Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot adds depth, structure and color. Second — and this is the new chapter — a growing number of producers are bottling it as a 100% single-varietal wine, hoping to repeat the trick Argentina pulled off with Malbec.
