1996 Montefalco Rosso Riserva

My visit with Marco Caprai a few months ago was one of the highlights of a day in Montefalco. In recent years Montefalco has experienced a boom in interest and new investments. Little of this success would have been possible without the foresight of Caprai, a man who has dedicated considerable time and resources in promoting the unique qualities of Sagrantino and Montefalco after taking over his family's estate in 1988. Never one to rest on his laurels, Caprai's newest project is Montefalco 2015: A New Green Revolution, a collaborative effort involving a number of local wineries which aims to examine and address issues of sustainability in the region.

No expense has been spared at the winey, something that is plainly evident even to the most casual observer. A well-appointed visitors' center lies at the heart of the property. All of the estate's wines are available for tasting and purchase in the beautifully appointed tasting room. By far the most impressive part of the winery is the vineyards. Caprai has experimented endlessly with clonal selection in his drive to understand all things Sagrantino. The vineyards themselves are impeccably manicured. Here, too, Caprai has invested significantly in discovering the optimal vine density for Sagrantino, as is evidenced by the many different vine training systems in place throughout the large, sprawling estate.

Sagrantino boasts a history that goes back at least several centuries. Up until fairly recently, though, Sagrantino was most often vinified as a sweet dessert wine meant to be enjoyed over the Easter holidays. Because of its intense color and formidable tannins, when it was vinified as a dry wine, Sagrantino was traditionally blended with Sangiovese and other varieties in Montefalco Rosso, the standard red table wine of the region. It has only been over the last few decades that producers have learned to tame some of Sagrantino's wilder elements, and the results have been extremely promising, as this tasting attests.

Like Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, Sagrantino is a grape that gives its best results in years where hot days are tempered by cool nights, conditions that allow for full phenolic ripeness to be reached gradually. Caprai and consulting oenologist Attilio Pagli favor fairly lengthy macerations, which they believe help soften the tannins as much as possible, within the context of Sagrantino. Malolactic fermentation takes place either in steel or French oak, depending on the quality of the fruit itself, and all of the wines are subsequently aged in French oak barrels.

One of the best-kept secrets in Italian wine: owner Marco Caprai dedication to quality is absolute and uncompromising, and the work of his winemaker, Attilio Pagli, is simply brilliant. The riserva bottling of the sagrantino has been Italy's best single red wine in the 1990s, outstanding in '91 and '93, superb in '94, '95, and '96, and with a '97 in preparation that leaves one straining for adjectives. But the entire gamut here is first-rate, and the house is admirably staking its bets on native varieties.