From a geographical and varietal point of view, Umbria and Lazio make strange bedfellows, yet they share one thing that keeps them grouped together in my mind: they are the two Italian regions that receive significantly less credit than they deserve. When we think of Umbria, there are only two or three producers that most consumers can recall. In addition, Sagrantino, the red grape Umbria is known for, tends to intimidate people because of its imposing structure.

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In an attempt to make Sagrantino more palatable for the average consumer or international wine lover, the majority of winemakers began to age their wines in new oak, a practice that, for the most part, continues to this day. In the right hands, the end result is a dark, burly, powerful wine that has softened the blow of Sagrantino’s naturally high tannins yet enshrouded it in a veil of oaky spice and opulence that still requires a decade or two to integrate. In less skilled hands, the full-throttle, big fruit and tannins of Sagrantino, together with poor oak management, create wines that are nearly Port-like in their intensity, soupy instead of elegant, and unlikely to ever achieve balance. The problem is that the latter case is the most typical expression throughout the region. This makes buying a Sagrantino a bit risky for the average consumer. Going back only 10 years, my personal approach to the region was to overlook the majority of producers and stick with the benchmark, quality-minded Arnaldo Caprai for internationally-styled Sagrantino, or the totally opposite stylings of Giampiero Bea, who employs an uber-natural approach of nothing added and nothing taken away from what Mother Nature intended. The good news is that today that list has grown to include many producers who have taken a serious interest in refining their practices, studying their terroir and creating Montefalco Sagrantinos that really can compete on the world stage. These are still big, tannic wines that need time to resolve, yet the purity of fruit and stamp of terroir that I’m now finding in the wines of Antonelli San Marco, Bocale, Montioni, Tabarrini and Fongoli are worthy of the praise that they received in my recent reviews. In the end, it’s only so long before Montefalco Sagrantino gets the credit it deserves.

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