The good folks in Umbria must have had a couple of
good Sagrantino harvests. I keep winding up with bottles of Montefalco Rosso,
an Italian red made from that expensive to produce grape, blended with some
other varietals. These wines make good options for your Labor Day grilling.
While the harvests have been strong, Umbria also
has some pretty serious issues of its own at the moment. Many of you have
probably read about the 6.2 magnitude earthquake in Italy that leveled hundreds
of structures. The casualty numbers continue to climb. The epicenter of that
earthquake was in Umbria, and many of these wines are produced scant kilometers
from cities which stood from Medieval times until last week.
Obviously, we’re limited in what we can do to help
directly – although purchasing Umbrian wine is one indirect help. If you would
like to make a contribution, you can donate directly to the Italian Red Cross
or to the National Italian
American Foundation – both of which are currently working on relief
efforts.
To refresh your memory, the Sagrantino grape has
been grown in Umbria at least as far back as the mid 1500’s, with some scant
records indicating it may have been grown as early as the turn of the
millennium. This grape, grown primarily for sacramental and religious festival
wines, was almost wiped out until the early 1990’s, when growers were able to
gain a classified status for the grape and expanded the production.
On its own, Sagrantino creates enormous, tannic
reds which have the highest concentration of polyphenols like resveratrol which
are the compounds that give red wine its health-related benefits. It’s also the
most tooth-staining varietal that I’ve ever happened across, just as a warning.
In many regions, heavily tannic grapes are often blended with lighter varietals
-- and the juice can be from either red or white grapes – to balance tannin and
acidity in big wines or to create wines that are more approachable to the
general public.
In neighboring Tuscany, the winemakers there
blended their native Sangiovese grapes with merlot, cabernet, and other red
wines to create the now-ubiquitous Supertuscans. Borrowing from that model, the
Umbrians created Montefalco Rosso, a lighter-styled red wine which features
Sagrantino in the blend. Since Sagrantino itself makes for big, honkin’ wine –
a little of it goes a long way in the blend.
Also, grapes like Sagrantino tend to be fairly
expensive to produce. Most Sagrantino Montefalco start at around $40 and go up
front there. Winemakers like to turn a profit, and blending can help them
produce quantities of wine at a lower price point to help with the bottom line.
Here are a few of those Montefalco Rosso, which you can find for around $20-25.
Arnaldo Caprai
2012 Montefalco Rosso – Once this one got some air (which involved me
pouring the wine through an aerator into a decanter, then funneling it back
into the bottle after an hour), the Caprai opened right up into a very
interesting, bold red. The tannins were considerably softer than many wines
made with Sagrantino, and there wasn’t nearly as much heat and roughness as I’d
run into previously. The nose is full of currants with a backdrop of menthol.
The body is full and rich with red fruits and some firm but not overwhelming
tannin. The finish is long with just a little bit of an alcoholic bite to
finish. It’s a bold red for any occasion with which you’d like a bold red. Go
with grilled meats, nuts, and stinky cheeses.
Scacciadiavoli
2012 Montefalco Rosso – We found this one to be a little more bold than the
Caprai. If you like your Italian wines a little on the rustic side, this would
be a solid choice. Lots of depth of fruit at first taste up in the
plum/blueberry range. That’s accompanied by some slightly rough tannins that
remain so even after considerable air. They’re not overbearing, but you know
you’ve got a wine with oomph. Finish is long, fruity, and dry. We had this with
an eggplant parmesan – both out of the oven and a couple of days later with
leftovers. Good pairing which would do well with roasts, big sauces, and such.
Perticaia 2013
Montefalco Rosso – By far the most mellow of the three, and the most
pleasant just to drink. The tannins are smoother than in either of the other
two, and it’s a little more fruit-forward. Nose is plums again, with a little
bit of an herbal tinge. The body’s full, although not as “clingy” as the
others. The fruit and tannins are both dark and relatively well balanced. The
finish doesn’t have the length that the other two do, largely expected with the
lighter tannins. I thought it worked well against a marinara-laced penne dish.
I have learned that the winemakers of the area are
also planning their own relief efforts on the ground, so watch this space for
additional information there – as well as for some information about the whites
from that region. You know, for balance…
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