Here’s a robust, red wine you may never have heard of. Hailing from the Umbria region of Italy, the Sagrantino grape produces a wine with power, tannin and acid. There all abundantly evident in this version. This wine has some bottle age already, but it could use a bit more. The acid is prominent, but the tannins balance it out somewhat. You’ll notice the tannins, both right up front and then again at the back. You’ll really feel the acid come back through at the end. This is something unusual and different.
Wine: 2007 Goretti Sagrantino di Montefalco
Winery Location: Umbria, Italy
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: Feb 2014
Tasting Notes: This is clear, dark and a very unusual ruby/cherry red. You’ll see Sagrantino described as being very dark, almost black in color. Not this though. It’s got the bright red hue of a high alcohol wine, but it only checks in at 14%, not shy but not a brute either. It really is gorgeous. The nose is very complex with red fruit, licorice, spice/herbal notes and cinnamon. On the palate it is lush, with deep red fruit flavors, some spicy notes and a leathery undertone. This is really complex stuff, and is very tannic. It would really be oppressively so if the acid was also not prominent and didn’t balance out things. The acid is high, and at the end you can almost feel it through your teeth. I suggest decanting this for an hour or two. If you do it should mellow a bit. The second day the tannins had integrated some, and the acid was still there but not quite as assertive. I liked it better. Cheri liked it better the first day. That’s personal taste for you.
Price Point – On a sale rack for $40, I got it for $32. Wine-searcher shows it at $40 in a couple of places, so the $32 was a good price.
Would We Buy It? – for $32 I might stop in a buy another bottle or two. We’d really like to see where this is in about three years. It’s different, and that’s cool. There’s too many wines to try to drink the same thing all the time.
A votre sante!
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