97pts Vinous

Exotic from the first tilt of the glass, the 2019 Montefalco Sagrantino Pagliaro is youthfully intense, with a blend of rum-soaked cherries and a cascade of sweet spice, mixing dried violets with cloves, ashen stones and blood orange. This is elegant and refined, with silken textures and admirable weight, all supported by fresh acidity, as masses of ripe blueberry blend with sage and a salty tinge of minerality. A balsamic twang saturates the palate as the 2019 finishes staining and long with a saturation of primary concentration and a pleasantly bitter tinge that lingers over a bed of fine-grained tannins. Just a baby today, the 2019 is geared for the cellar. This is a spellbinding vintage of Pagliaro.– ByEric GuidoonAugust 2024

Grape:100% Sagrantino
The fabled local grape of Montefalco is the Sagrantino and the Pagliaro vineyard, situated at 1,300 feet in altitude, is dedicated in large part to this grape variety. The harvest of Sagrantino normally occurs during the second half of October. The cuvaison extends for forty to fifty days. The wines is then aged for one year in stainless steel, another two years in large Slavonian oak barrels and, finally, spends one more year in bottle (the wine, like all Bea wines, is unfiltered) before release. Annual production from the Pagliaro vineyard is 15,000 to 20,000 bottles.
Appellation:DOCG Sagrantino di Montefalco
Production:15,000 bottles
Average ABV:15%
In the Vineyard:From the the Pagliaro vineyard which faces south and southwest at 1300 feet above sea level (400m ASL)in limestone-clay and gravel. Densely plantedCordon trained vines, low yields, manually picked for harvest, usually in late October. Small amounts ofPagliaro are also includeddependingon the vintage thus giving the wine both East and South-West exposures.
Winemaking:After crushing and destemming, wine ferments spontaneously in stainless-steel tanks. Maceration lasts 40-50 days.Vertical basket press wine blended back into the free run with malolactic following in tank.
Maturation:Time onleesis 12-24months in steel tanks (depending on the vintage)followed by 24 months in large Slavonian oak botti.Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Sulfur:40-55 mg/l total sulfur (medium for low sulfur wines)