Sagrantino

The Sagrantino grape belongs to the very old grape varieties of Italy. And some experts consider it the best autochthonous grape variety in the country par excellence. The red grape from Umbria, Italy's smallest wine-growing region, owes its existence to Saint Francis of Assisi. The most famous son of the Umbrian city founded the Order of the Franciscans in the years around 1200 and it was the same Franciscan monks who, in the Middle Ages, took care of a very special grape around Assisi and lovingly called it the "consecrated one", Sagrantino. It was used to make vino sacro, the wine for the mass and for the feast. Today the small town of Montefalco is the stronghold of the noble grape variety. This enchanting little place is a member of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia, the most beautiful places in Italy. Its Montefalco Sagrantino has been carrying the highest quality standard DOCG since 1992. The wine is famous for its incredible storability, as it takes advantage of another superlative of the grape: The Sagrantino grape has the highest tannin content of all, no other grape in the big, wide world can compete with it. The wine is produced as "Secco", dry, or as "Passito", dessert wine, and is made exclusively from pure Sagrantino grapes. The Montefalco has to be kept in the cellar for at least 3 years by decree before it can be marketed. And after that another 10-15 years do not do it any harm at all, on the contrary, these wines can wait 20 years and more for their appearance. The top wines are full of finesse and elegance, heavy and almost pitch black, a wine that over the years condenses its aromas into a mixture that is otherwise difficult to find, with notes of spices and black fruits, leather and tobacco. Admittedly, a wine for the advanced and lovers with much patience. The sweet wine is produced in the traditional Passito method, from overripe and dried Sagrantino grapes. With its fine residual sweetness and alcohol content of around 14% by volume, it is reminiscent of port wine Even today, Sagrantino di Montefalco is still an insider tip, a wine that radiates the tranquillity it took to mature. And that is exactly what makes it what it is: a wine that rests in itself, measured in decades. Not for the rushed man or the time-driven restlessness. A wine for a special time-out, an opulent deceleration. Umbria's "consecrated" wine is truly divine.