TN: 12 maturing Sagrantinos (Bea, Caprai and others)

I’d never heard of Sagrantino di Montefalco before my brother visited Montefalco in 2000. I visited myself the next year. Since then I’ve had some Bea Pagliaros on release and liked them, but I don’t have a lot of experience with Sagrantinos with age. Two older bottles I bought in Italy were cooked. Some 1995s from the Terre di Trinci coop were OK through the late 2000s, but not that interesting.

This week I had the chance to taste through 12 Sagrantino di Montefalco from 1997 to 2008. These included big names like Bea (relatively traditional) and Caprai (heavy barrique usage).

My take-aways from the tasting:

• Though the sagrantino grape usually yields rustic wines, most of these were balanced, and even the 15% bruisers wore their alcohol lightly. If you’re in the mood for a wine that will stand up to grilled or BBQ meats or the like, these might scratch the itch.
• That said, I scored four of the 12 wines at 83 points or less, and that doesn’t include a badly corked bottle.
• I’d say these are better balanced on the whole than many Brunellos at these ages. The alcohol stands out less, they were clean (e.g., no conspicuous VA) and there was admirable mid-palate concentration, which I sometimes find lacking in Brunello. However:
• Even with 15 years of age, none had evolved much in the way of tertiary aromas. I get more of that in Brunello, typically.
• I was a bit surprised how much I liked the Caprai wines, which lean heavily on new oak. The combination of that and surly treatment on a visit there in 2001 left me skeptical about their wines. Meanwhile, I was surprised that I wasn’t more wowed by the 2004 Bea.
• I don’t regret putting my money on nebbiolo rather than sagrantino. At these prices, for my palate, you can find Barolo and Barbaresco that is much better balanced and with more potential to gain complexity.

The wines were served blindly. They had been decanted into serving bottles sometime ahead of the tasting, with the exception of the Caprai Spinning Beauty, which was arrived just as the tasting began. Most were purchased recently, and one (the ’99 Bea) appeared to have been poorly stored. The prices are those supplied by the organizer.

Listed in order of the group’s preference, with my ranking and point score in brackets.

Group #1 [my #1, 92+ points]
2007 Paulo Bea – Pagliaro ($98): Nice black cherry nose. Dense and tannic in the mouth but well balanced. Like a cantilever bridge, where all the elements are counterpoised. A beautiful young wine. Bea keeps his Sagrantino in steel tanks for 12 months followed by two years in large oak barrels.

Group #2 [my #7, 88 points]
2001 Milziade Antano ($65): A small, traditional producer. Maturing hints on the nose. Tight, tannic, with little fruit showing on the nose. A solid, balanced wine, but it didn’t really hold my interest.

Group #3 [my #6, 88 points]
1997 Caprai 25 Anni ($70, presumably some time ago): Gives little on the nose, save for a bit of reduction. In the mouth it’s big but balanced. Dense, good fruit, with tannins softening some. Improves with air. I have a bottle of this, which I’ll hold off on for another five to ten years. These spend two years in French oak.

Group #4 [my #3, 91 points]
2006 Tabarinni – Colle alle Cerqua ($55): Intense sour cherries on the nose, ripe but fresh – not overripe or jammy. In the mouth, the fruit seems older, less primary. Good balance and depth, and loads of tannin. Since 2003, Tabarinni has bottled his three vineyards separately.

Group #5 tie [my #9, 81 points]
2004 Caprai 25 Anni ($97): The nose is dominated by sweet new oak. Hard (wood?) tannins in the mouth. Not much for me to like here. Will the wood integrate, as it seems to have on the ’01 and ’97? Who knows. I wouldn’t bet on it.

Group #6/7 tie [my #2, 91 points]
2001 Caprai 25 Anni ($112): I got a bit of SO2 at first, but that quickly dissipated. (Note: I got other forms of reduction on the ’97 Caprai.) Tight, some dark fruit. Dense, well balanced. Lots of tannin. I liked this even though it’s still tautly sprung.

Group #6/7 tie [my #4, 89 points]
2004 Paulo Bea – Pagliaro ($91): Lighter in color. Lovely, sweet mature sour cherries on the nose. There is a slight new-oak-like note in the mouth, plus a lot of celery (which I like in reds). Nicely balanced, though the tannins are substantial. This faded substantially in the glass, however, which was odd. The only Bea I own.

Group #8 [my #10, 80 points]
2008 Tabarinni – Colle Grimaldesco ($55): Sweet maturing fruits, lots of celery on the nose. In the mouth: hot and with hard tannins. Out of balance. Hurts at the back of the mouth. Blecch. My score may be too generous.

Group #9 [my #8, 83 points]
2008 Scacciadiavoli ($25): Plummy nose, with a very slight note of oxidation there and in the mouth. Hard tannins, less fruit, but lots of licorice. This fleshed out with air, exposing more fruit, and my score is probably a bit low. I don’t think the oxidation note is worrisome, and this is good value. It’s tempting to buy a couple to see how it evolves over the next few years.

Group #10 [my #4, 89 points]
2006 Caprai – Spinning Beauty ($255): No, the price is not a typo. This is a new luxury bottling, which spends nine years in new French oak and two years in bottle. The name alludes to silk or cashmere spools, as the Caprai family owns a textiles business. This wine was not decanted ahead.
Lots and lots of new oak on the nose, plus some ripe black cherries. In the mouth, there’s more new wood. It’s well balanced notwithstanding a powerful tannic punch. Slight medicinal note, probably from the high ripeness and extended aging. Hard tannins at the back. When I retasted it toward the end, I wrote that my point score was probably too high. Certainly no value.

Group #11 [my #11, 79 points]
1999 Paulo Bea – Pagliaro ($120): Purchased from a private source recently, this appeared to have suffered bad storage. A pity. Maturing, caramelized smells on the nose – the sort of generic sweet smell you get with lots of warm-climate, big-bodied old reds. In the mouth, it’s somewhat caramelized and just tired. It’s to that generic old red stage. Potable but of no interest.

Group #12 [my #12, 50?? points]
2004 Tabarinni – Colle alle Macchie ($55): Really, really badly corked. Beneath that, there is a very good wine. Several of us felt this would have been near the top of the list if not for the overwhelming TCA.
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I always think of sagrantino I think of petite sirah: sure, they age, but do they ever really evolve? Even at 10 years, they are still primary.

Great set of notes, thank you. There doesn’t seem to be enough history of dry Sagrantino in the modern era and as a result there just aren’t that many reliable producers of the relatively rare grape. I dislike Caprai’s style as well, but they are solid, technically reliable winemakers. Bea always charms me, but there is a lot of variation. I started buying Bea in 06, and I plan on giving more like 15yrs before I open some of them.

Thanks for the notes. I’m a fan of Bea wines (including Pipparello Montefalco Rosso) — but have never had one with more than 8 years of age.

Sometimes, I feel that Sagrantino is nothing more than a big, tannic wine for the sake of being big and tannic. I believe they recently changed the laws for Montefalco Rosso, and they are now allowed up to 30% sagrantino (up from 15%) in the blend. I would be curious to try a Sangiovese blend with this higher percentage, seems like it may be a more appropriate use of the grape.

I may have to open one of my 2006 Pagliaro soon to see if sagrantino is a worthy pursuit.

Interesting tasting, John!

That is the question, isn’t it. I guess that’s kind of Markus’s point with his comparison to petite sirah – how much complexity will these ever gain?

I haven’t really explored the rossos, figuring that I should focus on wines made from the unique indigenous grape. But you may be onto something there.

My impression is it’s a challenging grape with very high potential. Such high prices for the current state of rustic and clumsy winemaking make it a sort of fetish wine, where it could be a lot more.

Sangiovese can be a great blending grape. As a majority (even) in a blend with a bold grape it can take a subservient role, in the best way, basically toning things down and making the dominant grape approachable. Softening without distracting, filling out in a nice way, broadening the wine. I’d guess a blend with 25-40% Sagrantino could be quite good.

I had my 06 a little over a year ago and it was sublime, a more accessible year I was told so probably in a great place now.

Very interesting, thanks.
I am convinced that we should take “25 anni” literally. It will require at least 25 years in the cellar

I’ve been following and, to a minor extent, cellaring Sagrantino for about 15 or so years (vintages going back to the late '90s). Provisional conclusion: while there is some interesting potential, most of it is just not for me. Favourite producers; Bea, Antano, followed by Antonelli. I like Antonelli for their somewhat middle-of-the-road style, and I think they consistently make very good wines, if not outstanding. I like Antano for his honest and straightforward, some would say rustic, approach: the wines are a force of nature, sometimes perhaps a bit too much so. Bea has provided most of my Sagrantino highlights: their wines can, on occasion, approach greatness for my standards (a bottle of Pagliaro 2000 was a show-stopper about a year or so ago), yet, even so, I feel that, on the whole, they are perhaps a little overrated (and, as a consequence, overpriced).
Overall, the best part of Sagrantino’s interest to me these days is contextual, i.e. as a piece in the fascinating puzzle of Italian wine, rather than on its own intrinsic merit.
To cut a long story short, I don’t think nebbiolo, sangiovese and aglianico have anything to fear.

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I’ve a few of those '08 Tabarinni picked up a few years ago on a whim at WTSO. Haven’t popped one. Guess I should try, doesn’t sound promising.

This sounds spot-on to me. [thumbs-up.gif]

Thank you, Sir [cheers.gif]

Opened one of the '08 Tabarinni’s yesterday afternoon after a day of NCAA basketball and other beverages. So probably didn’t give it a fair shake but that wouldn’t be the first time right? Didn’t catch the celery but hard and tannic yes. Needs a charred Brontosaurus steak.
Was wondering what day two might be like tonight but as I went to check it out my lovely bride was already pouring it down the drain. With no argument from me. Two more bottles to go.

Maybe it needs a Mollydooker shake.

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I’ve been gamely chewing my way through a 2007 Antonelli [Montefalco Sagrantino] the last couple of nights. This was an Italian local market wine acquired from Zachys a few years after release. 14% abv, dark ruby robe, and at age 15 a limited bouquet even with 24 hours breathing and a Vinetto pourer. Eventually licorice, espresso, and then sausage arrive on the nose. Thick legs but texturally this sagrantino is a coarse, raspy, almost harsh wine that the years have not deburred, although I never tasted it young. The kommentariat on WB tends to use ‘rustic’ as a positive descriptor, but this wine is an example to me why seriously run family owned estates would/should send their scions to get a degree in winemaking. It’s hard to imagine a red of this abrasiveness coming out of the tutelage of UC Davis or University of Bordeaux. High tannin, medium acid, lots of unresolved structure on a palate that leans toward coffee kinds of flavors. $20 and the time was enough of an ‘investment’ and I’ll pass on further adventures with this varietal. I’d give it a B- but it was somewhat differentiated/unique.

Cool notes! I’m a fan of the Sagrantino-di-Montefalco. I wish I could taste more from the region.

Apologies for the bit of bait-hook here (echoing a recent Allemand post :sunglasses::wink:), but will happily join a local (NYC) get together to learn more. I have 2000/03/04/05, from one-or-other Bea and Caprai.

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Ramon +1 without the deep cellar. I’m sure I could try and source. Thanks John for posting this. I had such high hopes for Bea Sagrantinos, and have cellared a few. I would have thought that it had the makings of a future great wine with tertiary development.

Thanks for these very informative notes.
I’m a big Bea fan.

I’ve had the 2007 Tabarinni Colle Grimaldesco a couple of times, and though no Bea, I thought it good and just emerging from under its tannic cloak.

Somewhere along the line I picked up a bottle of the 2004 Caprai 25 Anni. One of those things, where I kept passing it by in a store and finally one day bought it against my better judgment. Your note certainly suggests I should have listened to myself, and that my best hope is to give it a few more years.