The 2005 Montefalco Rosso Riserva is a brooding offering. Dark red fruit, earthiness, minerals, flowers and French oak gradually emerge from this reticent, backward wine. Despite its unyielding personality, there is enough inner sweetness, ripe fruit and finesse to the tannins to make me think all the wine needs is further cellaring. This should be a gem when it awakens from its slumber. A second bottle tasted several weeks later had already begun to soften. The Montefalco Rosso Riserva is 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino, and 15% Merlot that spent 24 months in French oak. 2005 is the first vintage of this wine since the 1999. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2020.
This is another strong set of releases from Marco Caprai, the producer most responsible for calling attention to the potential of Sagrantino in these hillside vineyards. The estate itself is sprawling, and covers 150 hectares of vineyards planted to various densities and trellising systems that clearly show the enormous expense Caprai has undertaken to fully understand the unique qualities of Sagrantino. At the heart of the property is a large, well-appointed visitors’ center and tasting facility that looks more like something out of Napa Valley rather than rural Italy. My tasting at Caprai was remarkable as I had a chance to revisit a number of older vintages, which will be reviewed in a forthcoming article on www.erobertparker.com. Caprai’s wines tend towards the modern end of the spectrum, with French oak used for both malolactic fermentation and aging. The wines often appear tough when young, but with a few years in bottle they can develop beautifully. In the finest vintages, Caprai’s top wines drink well to age 15 and occasionally beyond.
Importer: Villa Italia Imports, South San Francisco, CA; tel. (650) 873-6060
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