Paolo Bea, Sagrantino, Pagliaro, Montefalco, Umbria, Italy 2018

100% Sagrantino

Bea produces perhaps his most renowned wine from pure Sagrantino grown on the prized hilltop site of Pagliaro, situated at 1300 feet above sea level in Montefalco proper. The only wines that approach Bea's in that regard are perhaps the most un-scultped Syrah-based wines in the Northern Rhône, but even those feel more constrained compared to the top vintages of Pagliaro.

Similarly large in scale to the Rosso de Veo, this actually presents with greater precision and nuance, its overall attack more subtle but ultimately no less impactful — direct evidence of a great terroir translated with consummate skill.

The harvest of Sagrantino normally occurs during the second half of October. The cuvaison extends for forty to fifty days. The wines is then aged for one year in stainless steel, another two years in large Slavonian oak barrels and, finally, spends one more year in bottle before release (the wine, like all Bea wines, is unfiltered).