Paolo Bea Umbria Rosso 'Cerrete' Sagrantino Secco 2019 Montefalco, Italy

Paolo Bea is a natural wine pioneer whose family has farmed in Montefalco since the 1500s, creating wines with minimal intervention and deep respect for terroir. Cerrete represents his greatest cru, sourced from the highest-altitude vineyard in Montefalco with poor, mineral-rich soils that yield greater nuance and finer expression than his other pure Sagrantino wines. This extraordinary wine receives five years in large Slavonian oak before the requisite long bottle aging, embodying the patient craft of a legendary estate.

Tasting Notes

A dark beast of a Sagrantino, bursting from the glass with aromatic displays that mix cherry sauce, ginger and clove with hints of seared meat and flowery underbrush. It opens with pleasant inner sweetness and velvety textures, as balsamic spice complicates dense waves of ripe red and black fruits, while zesty acidity maintains fantastic balance with black tea-like tannins and lingering licorice resonance. Complex aromas include smoky wood, leather, wild blackberries, prunes, black truffles and forest floor, with full body, crisp acidity, velvety tannins and a tight yet polished finish.

Pairs With

Grilled wild boar, aged Pecorino Romano, braised short ribs with rosemary, dark chocolate and espresso

Ratings

95 pts James Suckling (2017 vintage)