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Cristaldi Scores

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Vintage

Wine

Color

Rating

Vintage

Wine

Color

Rating

2019

Channing Daughters Winery

Mudd West Vineyard Petit Verdot

This is a wonderfully rich and meaty red with impressive depth of fruit, yet it never veers into cloying or overt sweetness. It doesn’t possess the sheer intensity of a Napa Petit Verdot, but instead offers brightness and vividness underscored by firm acidity. There’s real personality here, with wild, sauvage notes ranging from dried sage and bay leaf to rose stem. The finish is bold, dry, and tannic, chased by mouthwatering acidity.

2020

Calais Winery

La Cuvée du Chěne Petit Verdot

Sourced from Narra Vineyards in the Texas High Plains, this wine was aged for 32 months in 30% new French oak. “It’s a variety we love,” says Ben Calais, “and we have a lot of wine nerds that love it. Sure, it’s a touch greener than the rest of the wines we make—we could have let it hang longer and get riper, but we don’t want to make all the same wines.” He’s absolutely right. The wine shows captivating black and green tea notes, smoked paprika, and charcuterie on the palate. Medium- to full-bodied with maple-cured tannins and impressive length, it’s the kind of wine you could imagine sipping in a Japanese tea garden.

2021

Cuda Ridge Wines

Estate Petit Verdot

Aged for 30 months in French and American oak, this estate-grown Petit Verdot is a polished, poised, and seductive red, offering refined mulberry and black currant fruit, hints of fig paste, and dried violet aromas. Medium- to full-bodied, with silky fruit and satiny, elongated tannins, this is a stylish and delicious wine—well worth savoring over a long meal of braised meats and roasted vegetables.

2023

Darcie Kent Estate Winery

Crown Block Petit Verdot

Aged for 20 months in French oak and sourced entirely from estate-grown fruit; just 210 cases produced. Crown Block is the original estate vineyard block on Crane Ridge, planted north–south, with drainage on all four sides and rocky clay bench soils. The wine opens with a ripe, lifted cassis and black currant nose, layered with spiced plum fruit and subtle cola nut notes, interwoven with violets. Soaring, ripe tannins frame the palate, carrying savory wild herb, spice, and tobacco nuances, all grounded by rich, loamy earth tones.

2023

Macari Vineyards

"HORSES" Petit Verdot

The fruit for this wine was destemmed and left on skins for six hours before a gentle press and long, cool fermentation finished in bottle. Bottled undisgorged on December 11, 2023. Wildly juicy and fruit-forward, this pét-nat bursts with red berries and grapefruit zest. The mousse is crisp and zippy, giving way to a bone-dry finish that delivers mouthwatering freshness and all the bright, vibrant fruit you could hope for.

2023

William Chris Vineyards

Dell Valley Vineyard, Petit Verdot

The 2023 Petit Verdot from Dell Valley Vineyard in Hudspeth County is a dark-fruited, medium-bodied red offering notes of dark cherry, fig, and blackberry jam, accented by toasty oak nuances and dark chocolate. It’s framed by crisp, apple-skin tannins with a spine of zesty acidity that brightens the finish. Aged for 16 months in 50% new French oak and 50% neutral oak barrels. Continuously planted since 1987, the vines at Dell Valley are planted in sloped sandy caliche soils, at more than 3,500 feet elevation. William Chris Vineyards was founded in 2008 by William “Bill” Blackmon and Chris Brundrett. Tony Offill leads the cellar as Head Winemaker, and Jean Hoefliger is the consulting winemaker.

2024

Sakura Winery

Petit Verdot Rosé

This 100% Petit Verdot Rosé from Sakura Vineyard and Winery was fermented and aged in stainless steel. It’s a super salty, red-berry–fruited, floral-scented, and savory-spiced rosé with real verve and tenacity. As focused and southern-French in style as they come in the New World, it might just be the most food-friendly rosé in all of Livermore Valley.

Vintage

Wine

Type

Color

Rating

$

2019

Producer

Name

This is a wonderfully rich and meaty red with impressive depth of fruit, yet it never veers into cloying or overt sweetness. It doesn’t possess the sheer intensity of a Napa Petit Verdot, but instead offers brightness and vividness underscored by firm acidity. There’s real personality here, with wild, sauvage notes ranging from dried sage and bay leaf to rose stem. The finish is bold, dry, and tannic, chased by mouthwatering acidity.

2020

Producer

Name

Sourced from Narra Vineyards in the Texas High Plains, this wine was aged for 32 months in 30% new French oak. “It’s a variety we love,” says Ben Calais, “and we have a lot of wine nerds that love it. Sure, it’s a touch greener than the rest of the wines we make—we could have let it hang longer and get riper, but we don’t want to make all the same wines.” He’s absolutely right. The wine shows captivating black and green tea notes, smoked paprika, and charcuterie on the palate. Medium- to full-bodied with maple-cured tannins and impressive length, it’s the kind of wine you could imagine sipping in a Japanese tea garden.

2021

Producer

Name

Aged for 30 months in French and American oak, this estate-grown Petit Verdot is a polished, poised, and seductive red, offering refined mulberry and black currant fruit, hints of fig paste, and dried violet aromas. Medium- to full-bodied, with silky fruit and satiny, elongated tannins, this is a stylish and delicious wine—well worth savoring over a long meal of braised meats and roasted vegetables.

2023

Producer

Name

Aged for 20 months in French oak and sourced entirely from estate-grown fruit; just 210 cases produced. Crown Block is the original estate vineyard block on Crane Ridge, planted north–south, with drainage on all four sides and rocky clay bench soils. The wine opens with a ripe, lifted cassis and black currant nose, layered with spiced plum fruit and subtle cola nut notes, interwoven with violets. Soaring, ripe tannins frame the palate, carrying savory wild herb, spice, and tobacco nuances, all grounded by rich, loamy earth tones.

2023

Producer

Name

The fruit for this wine was destemmed and left on skins for six hours before a gentle press and long, cool fermentation finished in bottle. Bottled undisgorged on December 11, 2023. Wildly juicy and fruit-forward, this pét-nat bursts with red berries and grapefruit zest. The mousse is crisp and zippy, giving way to a bone-dry finish that delivers mouthwatering freshness and all the bright, vibrant fruit you could hope for.

2023

Producer

Name

The 2023 Petit Verdot from Dell Valley Vineyard in Hudspeth County is a dark-fruited, medium-bodied red offering notes of dark cherry, fig, and blackberry jam, accented by toasty oak nuances and dark chocolate. It’s framed by crisp, apple-skin tannins with a spine of zesty acidity that brightens the finish. Aged for 16 months in 50% new French oak and 50% neutral oak barrels. Continuously planted since 1987, the vines at Dell Valley are planted in sloped sandy caliche soils, at more than 3,500 feet elevation. William Chris Vineyards was founded in 2008 by William “Bill” Blackmon and Chris Brundrett. Tony Offill leads the cellar as Head Winemaker, and Jean Hoefliger is the consulting winemaker.

2024

Producer

Name

This 100% Petit Verdot Rosé from Sakura Vineyard and Winery was fermented and aged in stainless steel. It’s a super salty, red-berry–fruited, floral-scented, and savory-spiced rosé with real verve and tenacity. As focused and southern-French in style as they come in the New World, it might just be the most food-friendly rosé in all of Livermore Valley.

Vintage

Wine

Type

Rating

$

2019

2019 Channing Daughters Winery Mudd West Vineyard Petit Verdot

Still Wine

N/A

2020

2020 Calais Winery La Cuvée du Chěne Petit Verdot

-

$$

2021

2021 Cuda Ridge Wines Estate Petit Verdot

Still Wine

$$

2023

2023 Darcie Kent Estate Winery Crown Block Petit Verdot

Still Wine

$$

2023

2023 Macari Vineyards “HORSES” Petit Verdot

Sparkling Wine

$

2023

2023 William Chris Vineyards Dell Valley Vineyard, Petit Verdot

Still Wine

$$

2024

2024 Sakura Winery Petit Verdot Rosé

Still Wine

$

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