We are excited to announce the release of our 2018 Petit Manseng! Now available by the glass or bottle.
Originating from Basque in southwest France, Petit Manseng has historically been vinified into sweet white wines as a digestif or to pair with dessert. Typically similar sweet wines in France are made with Botrytis cinerea, a Noble Rot that essentially reduces the grapes down while still on the vine. Noble Rot essentially dehydrates grapes and concentrates the sugars and flavors of grapes, creating a waxy and rich profile to the finished wine. Petit Manseng is known for its thick-skinned grapes that Noble Rot cannot penetrate, and creates its sweet and rich flavor with a natural process of desiccation, known as passerillage.
In the United States, and Virginia specifically, Petit Manseng is often made into a dry white varietal. Common flavors found in this wine are often tropical in nature, with key stonefruit qualities as well.
Our 2018 Petit Manseng was fermented and aged in 100% neutral French oak barrels. Creamy in texture with a bitter finish, our single-varietal Petit Manseng shows off flavors of papaya, pineapple, and dried apricot. We suggest enjoying this wine with honey-roasted pecans, butter-poached swordfish, or cheesecake!