Umbria: Peeling Back the Layers

BY ERIC GUIDO | OCTOBER 10, 2024

Returning to Umbria is always an eye-opening experience. Deciphering the vast mix of vintages, producer styles and varieties is a rewarding process. The region inches forward with each passing year, notably beyond its two major growing areas, Montefalco and Orvieto. Look to Sangiovese from Torgiano, championed by the Lungarotti family, for a more rugged character, or to Gamay, which finds complexity in the hands of Madrevite in Trasimeno. Moreover, I am amazed by how many good IGTs come across my tasting table on each visit. From the south, explore the playful yet serious Ciliegiolo from Bussoletti, the refined-in-amphora Trebbiano Spoletino from Annesanti and the Bordeaux blends around Lake Trasimeno. Even Pinot Noir, produced by two of the region's benchmarks, Arnaldo Caprai and Castello della Sala, are worth seeking out. Umbria’s diversity is its greatest strength. 

Montefalco’s gently rolling hills.

As I have discussed in previous articles, the region’s multifaceted terrain allows the production of a vast array of grape varieties and styles. Umbria cannot be encapsulated into one easy-to-swallow pill for readers. For starters, the main growing areas of Montefalco and Orvieto experience significantly different growing seasons.

Montefalco, a hilltop town surrounded by vineyards, looks like a massive crater encircled by the Apennine Mountains on all sides. Weather systems become easily trapped within or outside this area, forming contrasting conditions compared to Tuscany to the west and Abruzzo to the east. Summer days in Montefalco are sweltering, while at night, cold winds swoop in from the surrounding higher elevations to the point that you need a jacket in the middle of July. This unique combination of climate, soils and topography contributes to the depth, concentration and complexity of its primary grapes: Sagrantino, Sangiovese, Trebbiano Spoletino and Grechetto.

Moving on to Orvieto, one of Italy’s most famous wine towns for decades, a handful of high-quality growers work to keep production relevant despite the significant number of forgettable wines. This vastly vine-planted area straddles the borders of Umbria and Lazio, with the most important vineyards located in Umbria. The terroir here is defined by a combination of influences: the mountains, the Mediterranean Sea and the nearby Lake Corbara. While the wines from the interior of Umbria suffer through the warm seasons, the ones from Orvieto can still find balance, as in the outstanding 2022 vintage.

Beyond describing terroir and climate differences in Montefalco and Orvieto, approaching Umbria from a critical standpoint poses another challenge: the range of vintage releases available to taste each year. During my visits, I often go through seven or eight vintages, even within Montefalco, where, for example, I still found newly released 2016s this year. This makes it difficult to assess the results of the growing seasons as I never have all or most of the wines from the same year in the same tasting. This report covers 2019 and 2020 Reds, some 2021 Rossos and mainly Trebbiano Spoletino and Grechetto from 2022 and 2023. While the abundance of vintage releases can, at times, be overwhelming for wine professionals and consumers alike, exploring this diversity is well worth the effort.