Meet Italy’s Most Tannic Wine – Montefalco Sagrantino

Meet Italy’s Most Tannic Wine – Montefalco Sagrantino

An exclusive wine with only one million bottles produced each year, Montefalco Sagrantino has become a cult wine in recent years. It’s powerful, rich, and deep and Italy’s most tannic wine. It’s got an amazing ageing potential of at least 10-15 years and flavours of blackberry, black cherry, prune, aged leather, and cinnamon. Let’s have a closer look at this interesting wine!

Where does Montefalco Sagrantino come from and what does the name mean?

Montefalco is in Umbria, which is region of central Italy. It’s a charming, old hilltop town with wonderful views of the region’s valleys and mountains.

Sagrantino means the sacred wine, and this fits the story of the wine well. Until the mid-20^th century, Montefalco Sagrantino was only made as a sweet wine in small quantities to be consumed in monasteries and homes during major Catholic holidays.

Today Montefalco Sagrantino is made in two styles – dry/secco and sweet/passito. Both styles are made from 100% Sagrantino grapes. Most of today’s Montefalco Sagrantino wines are produced to be dry but very small quantities of the sweet variety are still produced, though they are rare.

The high tannin content comes from the unusually thick skin of the Sagrantino grape. The reason the grapes have such thick skin is for protection against mould which grapes are at high risk of in the rainy Autumn weather in Umbria. The rest of the year is mostly dry.

How is Montefalco Sagrantino aged?

Due to the high tannin levels of the Sagrantino grape, Montefalco Sagrantino needs to be aged in oak for a long time. The long ageing process will turn the harsh tannins into a pleasant and unique wine with complex flavours, depth, and a velvety mouthfeel. Both the dry and sweet versions need to be aged for a minimum of 33 months, including at least four months in the bottle, according to the wine laws. The dry version requires at least 12 months in oak barrels, but most top wineries age the wines for even longer. The oak barrels help soften the tannins without overpowering the fruit aromas.

This minimum is a very long time and much longer than most other Italian red wines. Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino are exceptions and a couple of premium wines that have an even longer ageing time.

Where to buy Montefalco Sagrantino in the U.K.?

Here in the U.K., Montefalco Sagrantino can be bought from Independent Wine. They currently stock two award-winning varieties from Fratelli Pardi which is an old family winery:

• Fratelli Pardi Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG 2016 – Smooth, velvety and bold with deep flavours or black cherry, prune, cocoa and violet flowers.
• Fratelli Pardi “Sacrantino” Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG 2016 – Powerful, bold and complex with flavours of rosehip, blueberry cake, black plums, aged leather and sandalwood.

As always, you can enjoy free next day delivery to Mainland U.K., free wine gift wrapping and 100% recyclable, sustainable and plastic-free packaging when buying wine from Independent Wine.

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