A lovely summer wine - 1999 Paola Bea Sagrantino di Montefalco

Wine people who like Paola Bea's wines are a pretty obsessive bunch about their love for Umbria's unchallenged master of Sagrantino de Montefalco. When we get together we debate which vintage is the best but it is so hard as they are all good. There really is no wine like it in Italy as its unique production style and grape varietal render it different. The other alleged master of Sagrantino, Arnaldo Caprai, has respect, but his wines remain way too spoofulated for my palate. The 1996 for me is still the all time best Bea Sagrantino but the 1999, 2001 and probably the 2004 will give it a run for its money one day.

What makes this wine so unique? Well as soon as you see it the label strikes you as something odd with its bright orange hue and then then you look closely and there is all the information you could possibly want. For this non-Italian reader and speaker there were ominous words like Metereologia, Vigneto, Due, Accostamenti & Temperatura which hit on my complete absence of Italian language skills and of course on my wine-geek sensibilities with Metereologia and Temperatura. Those were good friendly somewhat english-rendered words that meant this guy was making non-spoofulated wine. How did i know that? Full disclosure on the label. Can you you imagine a label of Turley with enzyme this, yeast that, roto-fermented this etc? What a hoot!

Then there is the wonderful character of the wine. Incredibly soil-driven nose leads to an incredulous palate of rich, decadadent black fruits. Texture is true velvet. Then it surprises you with a whiplash of acidity and freshens the whole package out while leaving a serious iron/ore/magnesium/black mashed flower taste on your palate. Incredible complexity and artistry. Tannins are there but ever intricately woven in. Flat out incredible.