Montefalco Sagrantino - a marathon not a sprint.
Can a 15% ABV wine win me over? Plus, a few producers to look out for if you find yourself in Umbria this summer.
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Umbria is one of Italy’s wine regions where you need help. For an experiment I tried buying wines from the supermarket, going with grapes I recognised but it was a failure. I quickly realised I would need insider information to ensure good drinking while in Umbria. I would have to swap Assisi’s cathedral for enotecas.
My knowledge of Umbrian wine is lacking, to say the least. When I started learning about wine, Umbria wasn’t even mentioned in the early levels of the WSET. Tuscany, Piedmont, even Puglia took precedence. Umbria didn’t feature, so much so that I hadn’t even heard of Sagrantino before I started coming to the region.
Umbria doesn’t have much of a presence on UK wine lists or shops either so it’s hard to get a sense of what the region to offer. You’ll be going in blind when travelling here so you really do need help to make buying wine a positive experience.
When it comes to buying wine overseas, you’re halfway there if you have a few producer names up your sleeve. The more famous regions such as Tuscany and Piedmont are full of lots of recognisable names so you don’t have to try that hard if you're buying in situ. This isn’t the case with Umbrian wine because the region just doesn’t have the same wine celebrities to draw drinkers in. Piedmont has people like Mascarello and Angelo Gaja, while Tuscany has Soldera and the Lisini family. Paolo Bea might be one such character but they are too maverick and the wines too natural to really lead Umbria’s conversion to mainstream.
From what I picked up in the supermarket (probably my fault for not going straight to the source), I was not impressed. There’s nothing more disappointing than opening a bottle and being completely underwhelmed. Are wines in Umbria generally a bit more rustic? Are the grape varieties not the most exciting? These are all questions I asked myself but I realised that, like with most wine regions, I needed to find artisanal, smaller production wines in order to make a valued judgement. There are hundreds of local producers with cellar doors where you can buy bottles but finding something delicious would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Enter my man on the ground, who highlighted some specific producers. Off to an enoteca in nearby Montefalco I went where I bought three bottles of Montefalco Sagrantino. This dry red wine is the calling card of the region. It’s the hill winemakers will die on.
Montefalco Sagrantino annoyingly deviates from my neat little rule about Italian wine. Many labels will have the following format: ‘Grape from Region.’ Examples include Barbera d’Alba, and Greco di Tufo but Umbria does it differently. Montefalco is the region and Sagrantino is the grape. Montefalco Sagrantino was awarded DOCG status in 1992, which is the highest qualification level in Italy. Generally, wines from any DOCG area (there are a few in Italy) will have been produced under stricter rules. Lower yields, specified alcohol level and grape variety are all stipulated meaning with DOCG wines, you’re heading in the right direction towards a great bottle.
Sagrantino is a bruiser. If it were a character it would be Crab or Goyle, Lenny from Of Mice and Men and The Hulk. Like Lenny, Sagrantino doesn’t know its own strength! The grape has very thick skins, big muscles as such. When you combine this with the long oak ageing the DOCG requires, you find yourself with a very full-bodied red wine. The wine must be aged for a minimum of 37 months, 12 of which must be in oak. This winemaking requirement is beneficial because oak adds sweet spice notes to the wine. You’d also be right to think time in oak barrels might mellow the liquid. Not so from my experience! The tannins and viscosity of Sagrantino is hard to tame. Like a rebellious teenager, Sagrantino is hard to manage. One of the reasons we don’t see much Montefalco Sagrantino in the UK might be down to its high alcohol level. I didn’t come across any wines below 15%ABV. That’s a lot! Most wine lovers try to avoid high alcohol levels and I must admit, I felt the effects of two glasses of Montefalco Sagrantino a lot more than I would a Cotes du Rhone. That being said, I hate to judge and excommunicate this grape variety for its alcohol level. It can’t help it! When you commit to loving wine, you have to commit to the whole experience.
The names to know for Montefalco Sagrantino are: Antonelli, Caprai, Adanti and Di Fillippo ( I couldn’t find this specific wine but I’ve heard great things). You’ll notice I bought three different vintages as I wanted to see how this grape fared with age. The profile of Sagrantino (bold with high tannins) lends itself to ageing and sure enough, the older was the best. I’m not fully converted yet but I can’t deny that Sagrantino really is the grape that represents Umbria.
The wines:
2019 Montefalco Sagrantino, Antonelli
On opening, my nose was met with a lot more red fruit than I thought was possible with Sagrantino. Bearing in mind this is six years old, the fruit was still so vivid. I’d be a grandma before this showed signs of ageing. I was slightly scared to try this huge wine but I was pleasantly surprised by its balance. It’s definitely a food wine rather than an aperitif (another reason for its unpopularity?) but after a few sips, I already felt quite heady. I’m not used to this high ABV (a cool 15%) but I learnt that you just have to drink slower. Like a rich cut of meat, you can’t wolf it down. Sip and savour otherwise you’ll fall over. Antonelli is an organic producer and I like to think their credentials lead to freshness in their wines. It’s not overpowering or gloopy. There must be some new oak used for the maturation stage as I picked up a lot of vanilla. It’s the first Sagrantino I tried and I enjoyed it.
2020 Collepiano, Montefalco Sagrantino, Arnoldo-Caprai
Another huge red wine! Coming in at 15.5% this is a tough one to drink. The fruit is much prunier than the Antonelli. The fruit feels baked and stewed rather than fresh. When you’re faced with this much alcohol, you need bright fruit flavours to lift it. A year younger than the Antonelli but it feels older. There’s structure from the tannins but I’d like more acidity. I can’t imagine drinking this at any other time than with red meat. Does this hold back Sagrantino? I think so. It’s better than some I’ve tasted but it’s not my favourite. Perhaps, I bought a bad bottle? Imagine you on a good day vs you on an average day. It’s the same with wine. There can be less than optimal bottles in all cases of wine. It’s one of the sad facts of wine life.
2016 Montefalco Sagrantino, Adanti
Hooray! Finally, I have been saved by mature Sagrantino! The above notes should show that this is a tough grape to love. It’s huge, bold without the finesse of Nebbiolo or the sour red cherry notes of Sangiovese. This wine made by Adanti shows that the thing Sagrantino has going for it is its ability to age. This bottle shows how beautiful this grape and wine can be - it just needs time. Brick red colour, with notes of roses, black pepper, game and guanciale. The great wines of Barolo and Burgundy sprang to mind but without the cost. It’s true that you can buy the best examples of this style, with age, for around 30 euro.
Sagrantino aside, here are a few other wines I enjoyed:
2022 Grechetto, Di Filippo
I’ve had a few glasses of whites I’ve kind of liked but nothing that has made me stop and think. This is until I tried this relatively simple Grechetto by Di Filippo at L’Alchimista, a brilliant restaurant in Montefalco. Di Filippo was a producer on my hit list, so I thought their 100% Grechetto would be a good choice. It was! Lime, grapefruit, peach with buttery undertones, this was so much more than the crisp but dull wines I’ve previously tried from Umbria. Another organic producer, Di Filippo produces Sagrantino wines too and if their Grechetto, which was €18 in a restaurant, is anything to go by, I’ll be buying more of their wines.
Trebbiano Spoletino Spumante, Antonelli
During my visit to Antonelli I noticed a bottle of sparkling wine in their range. When you think of fizz and Italy, most people go to Prosecco but there’s plenty of other brilliant sparkling wines made here. Franciacorta is one and Moscato d’Asti another but I hadn’t heard of much sparkling coming from the central region of Italy.
Trebbiano Spoletino is one of Trebbiano’s many offspring. This rare grape variety has resurfaced in recent years and Antonelli grow it for its flavour. This sparkling is made in the traditional method, like Champagne so they’re not mucking around. The liquid goes through two fermentations, spending 24 months on its lees (these dead yeast cells add texture, leading to bready flavours). I was really impressed with this bottle. The cost was minimal given the quality and it proves that refined sparkling wine exists in multiple guises. This wine had acidity, lemon and apricot notes and good length. Trebbiano Spoletino is more of an aromatic variety so this leans on the grassy, fruity end of the spectrum. It lacks the pastry richness of Champagne but it's half the price! It was the perfect aperitivo, freshening up the palate before Sausage Pasta. This was one of the best wines I’ve tried out in Umbria.
If you’re travelling to Umbria this summer, please sink your teeth into Sagrantino and let me know how it goes!