2003 Sagrantino di Montefalco Secco Pagliaro

Bea’s 2003 Sagrantino di Montefalco Pagliaro has developed better than I expected when I tasted it last year. The wine possesses a remarkable level of sheer density and purity for this house, as the hot vintage has given the wine a sweet, expansive richness in its fruit while preserving the essentially ethereal quality that is one of the hallmarks of the Bea style. The wine continues to blossom on the palate, as waves of perfumed dark fruit emerge with notable class. This Sagrantino is approachable today and should continue to drink beautifully for another decade-plus. It is a great effort from Bea. The 2003 Pagliaro was macerated on the skins for 42 days and spent two years in large, neutral casks. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2023. (Not yet released) My visit with Giampiero Bea was illuminating, as we spent several hours tasting through virtually every wine in the cellar. Bea has a number of promising wines in cask that should satisfy the cravings of his most passionate fans. Among the wines that will be released in coming years is a new Sagrantino from the Rignano vineyard which is a stone’s throw from the winery. The new cellar, still under construction, is decidedly stark and minimalist in style. Bea pursues a natural, non-interventionalist approach. The wines undergo fermentation without temperature control, using only ambient yeasts. Malolactic fermentation takes place in steel, though here, too, the timing and pace is dictated by nature. The wines are neither fined nor filtered prior to being bottled, and all important operations are undertaken according to the lunar calendar. To be sure, this is high-risk winemaking. The results can be striking, but they can also be quite variable when nature decides to be capricious. Bea prefers hot vintages such as 2003 and 2007, so it is no surprise he is most excited about those vintages. While those wines certainly possess impressive concentration, my sense is he might be able to do more in less favorable years like 2004 and 2005, where some of the wines lack a touch of depth. Bea’s labels contain a wealth of information about the vintage and how each wine was made, although the notes are only printed in Italian. Longtime fans of the wines will notice that in recent years the specific names of the vineyards have taken greater prominence in the labels. The Bea wines are all about subtlety, grace and elegance. At their best, they are among the finest wines to emerge from Montefalco, and Italy, for that matter. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

The 2003 Sagrantino di Montefalco, from vineyards in Pagliaro, is an intense, powerful wine loaded with the essence of dark fruit, earthiness, scorched earth, wild herbs and juniper berries. Despite its racy, bold style and structured personality it is actually pretty restrained within the context of Sagrantino. The tannins finish big and broad, but they are also beautifully balanced, something that can't often be said about Sagrantinos. Bea's 2003 Sagrantino saw 42 days of contact on the skins followed by two years of aging in tank and another two years in cask.

The 2003 Sagrantino di Montefalco, from vineyards in Pagliaro, is an intense, powerful wine loaded with the essence of dark fruit, earthiness, scorched earth, wild herbs and juniper berries. Despite its racy, bold style and structured personality it is actually pretty restrained within the context of Sagrantino. The tannins finish big and broad, but they are also beautifully balanced, something that can't often be said about Sagrantinos. Bea's 2003 Sagrantino saw 42 days of contact on the skins followed by two years of aging in tank and another two years in cask. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2023. Paolo Bea's wines represent the finest of the artisan approach to winemaking. Bea farms his vineyards naturally. The wines are made in a traditional style that calls for extended periods of skin contact and several years of aging. At their best these are finessed expressive wines of the highest level in a style that recalls the Brunellos of Gianfranco Soldera or the Barolos of Giuseppe Rinaldi, to name just two producers with a similar aesthetic. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990