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Tasting Notes: Sagrantino
Montefalco, Umbria is home to sagrantino, a grape that makes a majestic dry red with strong tannins and rich fruit. Lovely, too, is its sweet expression, the dessert wine passito. Sagrantino also forms the backbone of a blend, montefalco rosso. White wines include fresh, light grechetto and elegant trebbiano spoletino. Here, 13 of our favorite bottles.
Paolo Bea Pagliaro 2007
Paolo Bea Pagliaro 2007 ($75)
Maverick vintner Paolo Bea uses earth-friendly methods to make a sagrantino with a bordeaux soul: graphite, humus, and wild herbs.
Paolo Bea Passito 2006
Paolo Bea Passito 2006 ($95)
Rich but not too sweet, this debonair dessert wine tastes of black figs and earth.
Antonelli Chiusa di Pannone 2006
Antonelli Chiusa di Pannone 2006 ($33) Meaty and smoky yet mellow, this is a great sagrantino for ragù.
Terre de la Custodia Rosso di Montefalco 2011
Terre de la Custodia Rosso di Montefalco 2011 ($22) This sangiovese-based red has the scent of dusty road; chocolate and cherry notes resolve into an herbal finish.
Perticaia Trebbiano Spoletino 2012
Perticaia Trebbiano Spoletino 2012 ($20) A lovely white with a honey-suckle aroma, creamy texture, and well-meshed acids and oak.
Colpetrone Gold 2006
Colpetrone Gold 2006 ($50)
The scent of charred bread crust yields to flavors of cassis and black cherry in this dry, rich red.
Scacciadiavoli Montefalco Rosso 2010
Scacciadiavoli Montefalco Rosso 2010 ($20)
Cranberries, raisins, and smoke mingle in this swarthy red with pronounced but balanced tannins and acids.
Lungarotti Sagrantino 2008
Lungarotti Sagrantino 2008 ($30) A pretty red from one of Umbria’s most prominent winemaking families, this velvety wine offers herbs on the nose and a mouth full of roses, cocoa, and savory spices.
Arnaldo Caprai 25 Anni 2008
Arnaldo Caprai 25 Anni 2008 ($80)
Rich soil, iron, tobacco, and prunes mix with a surprising potpourri note in this gorgeously textured wine that’s great with steak.
Arnaldo Caprai Grecante 2012
Arnaldo Caprai Grecante 2012 ($20)
A flowery nose fronts zesty acids, chalk, and steely minerals, with a lingering peach finish.
Scacciadiavoli Sagrantino 2008
Scacciadiavoli Sagrantino 2008 ($26)
Bright acidity keeps this sagrantino lithe; hints of licorice and rosemary give it exciting depth.
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