2019 Montefalco Rosso Riserva
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Tasting notes
Montefalco Rosso is a blend of grapes including Sagrantino and Sangiovese and it always offers a slightly more accessible and versatile personality that makes it easier to pair with your favorite meat-based dishes. However, the 2019 Montefalco Rosso Riserva (packaged with a black label) shows us how much depth and complexity can also be achieved with this combination of local varieties. The wine is intense and especially concentrated thanks to ripe fruit and careful oak aging. You feel the force of Sagrantino's tannic imprint, but that power is well managed and contained. With dark and chewy fruit, this is a wine you sink your teeth into.
Critic scores
Average Score
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
Eric Guido, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2019 Montefalco Rosso Riserva is a bit disjointed at this stage and will require time to fully express itself, wafting up with herbal-tinged wild berries and hints of olive brine and mocha. It’s silky and pliant, yet one-dimensional, with black currant fruit and a bitter twang that forms toward the close. Balsamic spices and hints of cocoa mingle with grippy tannins, as the 2019 finishes with heroic structure and concentration. I tasted this twice with consistent results. While it may be the oak treatment that has squashed this blend of 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino and 15% Merlot, I don’t see integration over time being the answer to bringing more pleasure.