REVIEW: 2010 Montefalco Rosso from Giampaolo Tabarrini

Wine drinkers love to try new bottles, for interests sake, to impress friends or just because we can. The good news is that the world has plenty of surprises tucked up its sleeve. Often right under our nose there are great bottles waiting to be discovered from places that even the wine critics fail to spot.

Let’s paint a picture, a romantic Italian scene. Warm blue skies, rolling green hills covered in olive groves and neat rows of vines. Idyllic medieval towns filled with the noise of Italian chatter and the smell of true Italian cooking. We have all dreamt of this, some of us have been lucky enough to experience it for real. Tuscany, surely? Maybe it’s the beautiful fishing villages of the southern Italy?

Actually it’s Umbria.

This landlocked region in the middle of Italy is often overlooked in favour of its more famous neighbour Tuscany, with its glittering jewels of Florence and Pisa. Umbria is the real Italy, unspoilt. Whilst a steady steam of visitors pass through it continues about is business without interruption. The region of truffles, lentils, Pecorino Cheese, St. Francis and the hidden gems that are the medieval masterpieces of Assisi, Orvieto, Todi and Montefalco.

Montefalco is home to some of Italy’s best value wines; Sagrantino Di Montefalco and Montefalco Rosso. The powerful and tannic Sagrantino grape is legendary in these parts and has been producing immense wines from this town for centuries.

Initially produced as a sweet red wine for use at times of celebration, more recently, producers have developed a dry red style with wider appeal. Sagrantino is an incredible wine but its power and structure make it a difficult partner with food.

Luckily its little brother, Montefalco Rosso, is a much better all rounder. The Rosso is primarily a blend of the Sangiovese variety, with a little Sagrantino and other grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Barbera.

One of the regions most exciting producers is Giampaolo Tabarrini, a non stop bundle of energy who has established his family farm near Montefalco as one of the regions great producers of both Sagrantino di Montefalco and Montefalco Rosso. His enthusiasm has helped get the wines of Umbria recognised across the USA.

His 2010 Montefalco Rosso is based on the Sangiovese grape (like in Chianti) but is blended with local Sagrantino and Barbera to produce a wine that is rich, generous and unmistakably Italian. The wine shows off intense red cherries on the nose with a full body and ample sweet fruit and freshness on the palate. Drink it with food now, ideally after decanting, or cellar for a few years. This is a perfect wine for meat, particularly grilled red meats. Umbria’s meat loaded diet is famed across Italy and no meal is truly complete without a main course of grigliati misti (selection of grilled meat) from the fire.

There are certainly more famous regions of Italy, but few provide the quality and individuality that Giampaolo has achieved at a very reasonable price.