Petite Verdot Review: Levo 2019 Adelaida District Paso Robles

This is my review of Levo’s 2019 Petite Verdot. I almost didn’t want to post this, but figured that I needed to have some reviews that were not all that complementary on my site. I love Levo, but this just wasn’t all that enjoyable – especially not at this price point.

Petite Verdot Review Highlights

So much heat on this – you get the full 15.1% ABV hard – with a burning sensation to follow. Way too much alcohol!
On the nose, it’s somewhat pleasant….a bit of black pepper sitting behind the dark fruit.
It’s not overly fruit forward – the flavor profile is nice with a bit of fruit along with toasted oak flavors, but I feel it’s completely overpowered by the alcohol.
Overall, there’s just not enough going on to drive this as a single varietal wine.

Petite Verdot Review Details

OK – this was not the best bottle of wine I’ve ever had from Levo. I’d been a member at Levo from 2015 though 2021, and I can honestly say that this was the first bottle I’ve opened that I wasn’t completely happy with. However, I have to admit, I’m not surprised. I’ve tried a lot of Petite Verdot over the years, and I have to say that I’ve never been impressed. It just doesn’t have the fruit that can carry a wine by itself. Throw it together with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and/or Malbec, and now we are talking!

On a side note, I’m not sure why Levo added the extra e on the end of Petite. I’m pretty sure it’s Petit everywhere else. It even made me consider changing it in the title, a la Petit Verdot Review). Perhaps it’s because Levo also does a Petite Sirah?

Anyhow, the wine is beautifully dark – it looks a lot like a Petite Sirah in the glass. The nose is pleasant – with plums and blackberry shining with black pepper and a hint of mocha. Once in your mouth, this offering seems to die fast. There isn’t a whole lot of fruit, and what fruit exists is completely overpowered by the alcohol. I was skeptical when I looked at ABV on the side of the bottle – 15.1%. This seemed very high to me, but being grown at altitude, perhaps there’d be enough acidity to balance the alcohol out. There was not, and there was a surprising lack of fruit for a wine that sat on the vine this long to generate that much alcohol.

The Petite Verdot Acquisition Backstory

As I stated above, I was a member at Levo for more than 6 years. I always enjoyed everything they produced, until this bottle (hence the not so favorable Petite Verdot review). I’ll never forget the first time I went in – the winemaker and founder, Bret, was the only one in the tasting room. He proceeded to pour his small amount of wine that he produced, and told us the story of his borrowing money from his father to start his winery. A fascinating tale that shows true perseverance, Bret figured things out, and trusted his gut with his wine.

Over the years, I enjoyed many a bottle of Levo’s Syrah’s, Cabernet’s, and even red blends. It was consistently good, no matter where he was getting the fruit from, nor what the varietals were. He was a true winemaker and seemed to make anything work once put into the bottle. Alas, all great things come to an end – for one, Levo’s wonderful streak of impressing me with their wines came to an end with this Petite Verdot. And secondly, I had to end my membership with Levo – as their production and quality increased, so too did their price point. They also finally acquired their own vineyard, which surely was not cheap!

Food Pairings

Honestly, I’m not sure I would recommend serving this wine with food, as the alcohol content is so high. However, if you only had this bottle to serve, you could try the following: