2005 Paolo Bea Sagrantino Di Montefalco Pagliaro

The 2005 Montefalco Sagrantino Vigna Pagliaro has put on quite a bit of weight over the last year. Today it is a rich, sumptuous wine that totally covers the palate with dense, dark fruit. In 2005 the Pagliaro is impressive in the way it achieves superb density while retaining the elements of delicate, nuanced subtlety that inform Bea’s finest wines. This is a fabulous effort from Bea. The 2005 Pagliaro saw 46 days on the skins, followed by a year in stainless steel and two years in cask. Giampiero Bea is one of Umbria’s leading producers. The wines are made in a totally natural, non-interventionalist style, with no temperature control in fermentation, only natural yeasts and no added sulfites. At their best, these are wonderfully pure, expressive wines loaded with character. Because Bea lets nature runs its course, the wines are highly vintage sensitive. In great years the wines are typically fabulous but in weaker vintages the wines tend to reflect both the positive and negative attributes of those years to a higher degree than most wines these days. Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on one’s point of view, but there is no mistaking that when Bea has ideal conditions to work with his wines are stellar. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

The 2005 Sagrantino di Montefalco Pagliaro combines elements of richness and vibrancy but in a mid-weight style that is very appealing. The wine reveals an array of dark fruit that caresses the palate with tons of elegance and personality. The Sagrantino tannins are there, but beautifully balanced. This is an exquisite wine from Bea. The 2005 Pagliaro was macerated on the skins for 46 days and spent two years in large, neutral casks.