Paolo Bea Sagrantino: Lift, VA, and other puzzles

[Evan_Dawson]

Paolo Bea 2004 Sagrantino

I confess that while I was highly excited to taste this wine, I was concerned about VA. I’m sensitive to VA and I’ve heard Randall Grahm and others malign this wine for being overcome with it. And yet I have friends who worship at the Bea alter.

Night one: This is simply a complex, confounding, lifted puzzle of a wine. There is an element of lift that serves to brighten the melange of scents and flavors. Tomato juice, herb garden, tangy iron, olive tapenade, blackberry pie, rhubarb, braised beef… It’s like a rotating signboard of disparate components. All of which is to say that I loved it and was confused by it and was thrilled by it.

Night two: Big change. The lift has become a dominant note of VA, clouding out a cherry pie / heirloom tomato note. It tastes like chocolate paint, primarily. I’m glad that we drained most of the bottle on the first evening.

Anyone else had a similar experience with Bea? Despite the change, I’d go back to Bea in a heartbeat.

[Cris_Whetstone]

I find similar things from lots of southern European wines. Parts of Spain, S Rhone, Languedoc, many parts of Italy. A lot of those wines are made from very ripe fruit. Or at least fruit that takes on those sort of tomato characters that I associate with ripeness in wines that are not ultra fruity. Baked fruits is a descriptor I often use. This is why when discussions of ripeness and alcohol come up in a way to say New World wines are X(something bad) I am perplexed. I think site and wine making, including style, are much more important than regions.

I haven’t had that Bea before but I imagine they got somewhat hot down there in '04 though nothing like 03 or 06 of course. Do you have an extra so I can compare?

[Ken_V]

Not sure what you mean by “lift”, but these are typically earthy, natural wines that can be pretty funky young. And 04 is very young. If you can get your hands on the 98, give that a try.

[Markus_S]

@Evan Dawson

Paolo Bea 2004 Sagrantino

I confess that while I was highly excited to taste this wine, I was concerned about VA. I’m sensitive to VA and I’ve heard Randall Grahm and others malign this wine for being overcome with it. And yet I have friends who worship at the Bea alter.

Night one: This is simply a complex, confounding, lifted puzzle of a wine. There is an element of lift that serves to brighten the melange of scents and flavors. Tomato juice, herb garden, tangy iron, olive tapenade, blackberry pie, rhubarb, braised beef… It’s like a rotating signboard of disparate components. All of which is to say that I loved it and was confused by it and was thrilled by it.

Night two: Big change. The lift has become a dominant note of VA, clouding out a cherry pie / heirloom tomato note. It tastes like chocolate paint, primarily. I’m glad that we drained most of the bottle on the first evening.

Anyone else had a similar experience with Bea? Despite the change, I’d go back to Bea in a heartbeat.

Evan - are you in Rochester? Bea is great, but can be funky and sometimes have volatility issues, like I had with a recent 2001 basic (the entry level blend). These are as natural a wine as you’ll find.

[Markus_S]

@Ken V

… If you can get your hands on the 98, give that a try.

Fat chance of that happening…

[Ken_V]

@Markus S

@Ken V

… If you can get your hands on the 98, give that a try.

Fat chance of that happening…

Well, if he ever makes it here to Albany to promote his new book, I could make it happen. It’s about time to try another.

[maureen_nelson]

Last summer someone I was dining with ordered a bottle of this particular wine for the table - I loved it and immediately bought some the next day. I’ve loved every Bea wine I’ve had, although I’ve not had all that many.

[Claude_Kolm]

@maureen nelson

Last summer someone I was dining with ordered a bottle of this particular wine for the table - I loved it and immediately bought some the next day. I’ve loved every Bea wine I’ve had, although I’ve not had all that many.

Excuse me, you’ve never heard of Maureen’s rule?

[Evan_Dawson]

@Ken V

Not sure what you mean by “lift”, but these are typically earthy, natural wines that can be pretty funky young. And 04 is very young. If you can get your hands on the 98, give that a try.

Lift is a kind of euphemism, for me, of mild VA that does not overcome the wine. Tends to brighten the character.

And Ken, I’d love to come do a book event in Albany and then share bottles. I figure a Finger Lakes Riesling is a perfect trade for, say, a '96 Giacosa or some aged Monprivato…

[Evan_Dawson]

@Markus S

@Evan Dawson

Paolo Bea 2004 Sagrantino

I confess that while I was highly excited to taste this wine, I was concerned about VA. I’m sensitive to VA and I’ve heard Randall Grahm and others malign this wine for being overcome with it. And yet I have friends who worship at the Bea alter.

Night one: This is simply a complex, confounding, lifted puzzle of a wine. There is an element of lift that serves to brighten the melange of scents and flavors. Tomato juice, herb garden, tangy iron, olive tapenade, blackberry pie, rhubarb, braised beef… It’s like a rotating signboard of disparate components. All of which is to say that I loved it and was confused by it and was thrilled by it.

Night two: Big change. The lift has become a dominant note of VA, clouding out a cherry pie / heirloom tomato note. It tastes like chocolate paint, primarily. I’m glad that we drained most of the bottle on the first evening.

Anyone else had a similar experience with Bea? Despite the change, I’d go back to Bea in a heartbeat.

Evan - are you in Rochester? Bea is great, but can be funky and sometimes have volatility issues, like I had with a recent 2001 basic (the entry level blend). These are as natural a wine as you’ll find.

Rochester, indeed.

We’ve opened Bea’s whites before and found them magical. I was attracted to Bea’s philosophy after reading Rosenthal’s book.

[Ian_Dorin]

My 2 cents here, I don’t think the 2004 Pagliaro Secco (I assume that’s what you had) is a great representation of this wine. 98, 99, 01, 03 and 05 are all fantastic examples (and cheaper, 04 was oddly expensive).
Disclaimer, I do sell these wines.

[Andrew_Hall]

@maureen nelson

Last summer someone I was dining with ordered a bottle of this particular wine for the table - I loved it and immediately bought some the next day. I’ve loved every Bea wine I’ve had, although I’ve not had all that many.

Ha! I got a Santa Chiara off the list at Dino’s w/ you and I believe I was sneered at by all the Burgheads.

A.

[Loren_Sonkin]

I love these wines. I think the Sagrantino really needs a minimum of ten years from vintage and probably the Rosso blend as well. There is a bit of VA and like most things about wine, sensitivities differ. How did you store it over night and how much was left?

[Ramon_C]

I’ve had Bea’s 2004 Sagrantino on a couple of occasions, once in Bea’s tasting room 2 years ago and the other was late last year with a bottle brought back from that same trip.
I agree with the mélange of natural scents and flavors which is what turns me on to Bea’s wines, but I’ve not encountered the VA notes that you did, considering that I never had the chance to revisit on Day 2, as you did. I’ve had older bottles and my take is that the 2004 is just still young and will drink better with more cellar time.

[Peter_C]

@Evan Dawson

Paolo Bea 2004 Sagrantino

I confess that while I was highly excited to taste this wine, I was concerned about VA. I’m sensitive to VA and I’ve heard Randall Grahm and others malign this wine for being overcome with it. And yet I have friends who worship at the Bea alter.

Night one: This is simply a complex, confounding, lifted puzzle of a wine. There is an element of lift that serves to brighten the melange of scents and flavors. Tomato juice, herb garden, tangy iron, olive tapenade, blackberry pie, rhubarb, braised beef… It’s like a rotating signboard of disparate components. All of which is to say that I loved it and was confused by it and was thrilled by it.

Night two: Big change. The lift has become a dominant note of VA, clouding out a cherry pie / heirloom tomato note. It tastes like chocolate paint, primarily. I’m glad that we drained most of the bottle on the first evening.

Anyone else had a similar experience with Bea? Despite the change, I’d go back to Bea in a heartbeat.

All that matters is how many points you think the color was worth, care to share?

[maureen_nelson]

@Andrew Hall

@maureen nelson

Last summer someone I was dining with ordered a bottle of this particular wine for the table - I loved it and immediately bought some the next day. I’ve loved every Bea wine I’ve had, although I’ve not had all that many.

Ha! I got a Santa Chiara off the list at Dino’s w/ you and I believe I was sneered at by all the Burgheads.

A.

Absolutely not true - that group included Bob and Cole, two long-time Bea drinkers, and as I recall I had told them in advance you wanted to order that wine (because you’d so advised). And you might remember that I loved it and drank more than my share. You might also recall that Bob brought a 98 Monprivato for us to try as he’d found some to buy at a great price. Any sneering that occurred that evening would’ve been limited to me and I loved both Italians we drank and bought both of them.

So stop reinventing the past, Andrew.

[maureen_nelson]

@Claude Kolm

@maureen nelson

Last summer someone I was dining with ordered a bottle of this particular wine for the table - I loved it and immediately bought some the next day. I’ve loved every Bea wine I’ve had, although I’ve not had all that many.

Excuse me, you’ve never heard of Maureen’s rule?

It’s a Burgundy-specific rule, though. Besides, who else should be allowed to break it but me?

[John_Morris]

If a wine shows some VA on day one, it’s always risky on day two, even if the leftovers are refrigerated.

[Ken_V]

@Evan Dawson

@Ken V

Not sure what you mean by “lift”, but these are typically earthy, natural wines that can be pretty funky young. And 04 is very young. If you can get your hands on the 98, give that a try.

Lift is a kind of euphemism, for me, of mild VA that does not overcome the wine. Tends to brighten the character.

And Ken, I’d love to come do a book event in Albany and then share bottles. I figure a Finger Lakes Riesling is a perfect trade for, say, a '96 Giacosa or some aged Monprivato…

96 Giacosa is way too young. Will 82 suffice?

[Evan_Dawson]

@Loren Sonkin

I love these wines. I think the Sagrantino really needs a minimum of ten years from vintage and probably the Rosso blend as well. There is a bit of VA and like most things about wine, sensitivities differ. How did you store it over night and how much was left?

One full glass left, stored back in the wine fridge.