Petite Verdot vs Mourvèdre

[zadvocate]

I’m making a cab this year and want and am planning on adding a small percent of petite Verdot, Merlot and can franc. I also want to make a southern Rhône blend so my question is can I substitute the Petite Verdot with Mourvèdre ?

This would help with my planning if I only had to buy one less lug.

Thanks

 

[ibglowin]

You can add or sub anything with anything its your wine but that said PV and Mourvèdre are not alike in taste profile so depending on the amounts you may or may not like the combo.

 

[NorCal]

Petite Verdot is black berry, Mourvèdre is a ripe cherry.

I make a little bit of PV each year as a blender for Cab Franc and Cab Sauv. It gives it color and a great finish. If you are doing a classic GSM Rhône blend, I would stick to those grape, they play really well with each other.

 

[CDrew]

There are a whole bunch of Mourvedre/Cab blends from Spain that are outstanding. Only in Spain they call it Monastrell or Mataro. In many ways I prefer the Monastrell/Cab and Monastrell/Grenache blends, especially given the price vs a good Bordeaux.

No one can predict what you would prefer, but me personally, I would blend in some Mourvedre without a second thought. I'm not a purist though. It all depends on how true a Bordeaux you want to try and make. As a home wine maker, do what works for you, you can always buy a definitive Bordeaux or Cabernet

You sure you don't want to keep it simple and make a Cabernet Sauvignon on it's own?

 

[zadvocate]

Cab on its own is definitely an option. I just visited Napa and one of the cabs I tasted that I liked had PV and cab. franc. Thanks for the responses.