2008 Granite Ridge Petit Verdot

Petit Verdot is a new favourite red for me because it is lightish in the mouth. It's not going to be among the all-time greats perhaps, as another winemaker in the region noted it was a grape for mixing. But it sits between lighter-bodied reds such as pinot noir and merlot for me, and if you're sick of merlot for the moment, as my drinking companion and I are, then think about this grape.   This Queensland Granite Belt wine is a deep, opaque  crimson or plum red in colour, with an immediate smell of plums on the bottle opening, followed by raspberries, chocolate and pepper in the aroma. Green apple and anise may also have come to mind. My drinking companion said 'sappy and dry' on the palate, with a finish. I thought it was calm, and light- to medium-bodied, finishing early, but with a hint of light tannins. Granite Ridge's colour-coded labels has grey for this red, and given the subtlety and sophistication of some shades and tones of grey, this is one of their most striking and attractive labels. It has a few streaks of white imitating the ridges, the high altitude,  or creeks in the landscape. Granite Ridge may not match Symphony Hill in 'standoutishness' but these are good, mid-range drinking wines from an eccentric, individual, independent  master-of-all-trades winemaker. Prices are most often under $20 and $25. 'Dennis Ferguson founded the winery in 1995' and is a man-for-all-jobs at the winery.