Bitner Vineyards 2016 Petit Verdot/Merlot, Snake River Valley $40
While Syrah, Tempranillo and Malbec are rightfully viewed as the red varieties that producers in Idaho’s Snake River Valley are most bullish on, Petit Verdot recently became part of that discussion. In fact, a Petit Verdot was selected by a panel of judges from beyond the Gem State as the best red wine at the 2019 Idaho Wine Competition. Greg Koenig, the longtime winemaker for the Bitner family, uses the traditional Bordeaux blender as the lead 71% of this bottling. Both blocks were planted by Ron Bitner near the tasting room in 2002, and in the 2016 vintage, the Petit Verdot was allowed to hang until Nov. 4. A concentration of earth and