It rarely happens that opulent wines are as inexpensive as this red from Umbria. In this case, the carnival makes it possible.
Umbria is a region in Italy. It lies in the middle of nowhere: wedged between Tuscany and the Apennines, with no access to the sea, no major airport far and wide, and off the beaten track. The capital Perugia and the pilgrimage town of Assisi are the best-known cities. Umbria is a quiet, green oasis with lots of forests, meadows and fields, excellent olive oil and some very good wines, which are unfortunately very unknown in Germany.
Great intensity of flavor
One of these wines is the Montefalco Rosso, named after a small town that is the center of wine production in the region. The Montefalco Rosso, which we recommend here as our wine of the month for March, is a price miracle given the quality it offers: a dark, shimmering violet-red wine with a strong tannin structure, hearty fruit and a great intensity of flavor. It consists of 70 percent Sangiovese grapes and 15 percent each of Merlot and Sagrantino: a bouquet of sweet violets and plums, dry in the mouth, full-bodied and fresh with a fine spiciness of nutmeg and vanilla, aged for 18 months in used barriques. It is rare to find a wine like this for less than ten euros. The price is only valid because it is carnival time and the carnival revellers have taken over for a short time. Normally the wine costs considerably more.
Characterized by the Sagrantino grape
A word about the wine and the producer. Arnaldo Caprai is the best-known and most renowned winemaker in Umbria. In Italy itself and in the USA, where his most important sales markets are located, he is as famous as Adriano Celentano and Eros Ramazotti put together. The red Sagrantino wine in particular is held in high esteem (although the wine also costs a little more than the Montefalco Rosso). Sagrantino is named after the grape variety from which this opulent, tannin-rich red wine is made. It also characterizes the Montefalco Rosso. Although it only makes up 15 percent of the wine, it gives it a special spiciness that distinguishes it from Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino (which are made entirely from Sangiovese). It also gives it its unusual fullness. The Sagrantino is late-ripening. It collects a lot of sugar during the ripening phase, which ultimately results in a high alcohol content. It is over 15 % by volume. However, you can’t taste the alcohol because it is embedded in a lot of extract. Drinking this wine now is a great pleasure. In a year or two it should have gained even more. It can also be stored for longer. But the sweet melting of the fruit and the freshness are of course slowly lost over the years.
Price: 9,99 Euro
Reference: www.edelrausch.de
