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This so-called “orange wine” is a honey-blonde bombshell, and we’re the first in the US to offer the 2009, one of Paolo Bea’s favorite vintages. Equal parts Grechetto, Malvasia and Garganega blended with other white grape varieties and aged on the skins for almost three weeks, Santa Chiara 2009 throws the sweet aromatics of a dessert wine, yet it’s dry, delicious, and lushly palate-coating. Sun-warmed peaches, a dusting of cinnamon and nutmeg, sour apple, wildflowers and marmalade swirl and turn as if at a country dance in this stunning natural wine. Drinking to the end of the decade.
- Country: Italy
- Region: Umbria
- Subregion: Montefalco
Paolo Bea is a quintessential artisanal producer steeped in the traditions of the Montefalco, which date back to the early part of the 12th century. He currently remains the guiding force behind the production of his estate, sharing his traditional, noninterventionist approach with his two sons—Giuseppe, who farms the vineyards, and Giampiero, who assists in the vinification. Each bottle provides an indication of the total produced that year, and many feature a slight presence of sediment, demonstrating the wholly natural methods of production.
While Sangiovese is the most prolific of the Umbrian varietals, Umbria’s identity is intimately connected to Sagrantino, a grape that has enjoyed premier positioning in Umbria for centuries, conducting an extensive and noted history as a passito wine. In fact, though an exceedingly rare native—limited to a mere 400 acres of vineyards—this distinct minority mediates between the two discrete flavor profiles that characterize this region’s offerings—earth-driven Sangiovese-based wines and modern-oriented blends crafted from the principal international varieties. The wines of Paolo Bea, however, are slightly “off center,” veering more towards the former profile—headlined by the wines of Lungarotti—than the latter. This stylistic predilection is enabled by Bea’s rejection of barrique, yet his wines do not take on a distinct profile; rather, distinctions are realized both between vintages and, at times, within the context of a single vintage.
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