Producer | Paolo Bea |
Country | Italy |
Region | Umbria |
Subregion | Montefalco |
Varietal | Sagrantino |
Vintage | 2012 |
Sku | 47807 |
Size | 750ml |
The Paolo Bea Montefalco Sagrantino Cerrete is intense in nearly every aspect, with a deep violet color, robust tannins, and power that announces itself from the first aromas through the persistent finish. Despite all of this intensity, the wine is not heavy, as the terroir provides lift and elegance that enchants the senses.
The cooler and drier position of the Cerrete vineyard, located at the highest altitude in Montefalco, take Sagrantino to new heights. Fermentation begins naturally after a 45-day maceration, then the wine spends a year in steel tanks, before resting for 43 months in large oak barrels.
It is difficult to believe that Montefalco Sagrantino can get any more profound than Bea’s beloved Pagliaro, but indeed it can. The family has owned a parcel in Cerrete, the highest-altitude vineyard in Montefalco, for some time, but it wasn’t until the 2007 vintage that Giampiero deemed the vines old enough to do justice to the cru’s potential. With its poor, mineral-rich soils and its acidity-preserving altitude, Cerrete yields a wine not more powerful than Pagliaro—in fact, it comes across as lighter on its feet—but with greater nuance, as if the settings on a microscope were dialed up to render even more detail.