Di Fillippo, Montefalco Sagrantino 2016

£38.00

Out of stock

WINEMAKER : Andrea Pesaresi & Nazzareno Pieroni

REGION : Montefalco, Italy

GRAPE : Sagrantino 100%

VINTAGE : 2016

ABV : 15.5%

NOTES : Vegetarian, Organic

 

The Di Fillipo family vineyard is like taking a step back in time to a dreamy nostalgic view of an Italian wine producer where you would half expect Woody Allen to make a dainty romance film about the daughter of an old Mario looking farmer and American sommelier student who can’t speak any Italian. There’s no machinery, everything is mostly animal assisted with horses ploughing the fields and geese apparently bred to clean the vineyard and no doubt act as bouncers for any visitors (400 of them apparently…cue comic relief scene where 400 geese attack the American student and he bumps into said daughter in a haystack). We digress anyway, the wine is epic! Sagantino is a beautiful grape not seen enough and it thrives in the terroir and hot summers. This wine is rich and sumptuous. Big berry fruits come through with a touch of spice and oak and sleak tannins that last! It’s also where Saint Valentine was born… more ammunition for the screenplay we’ve now decided to write. Pairing wines, go big and chunky. Rich on rich. Working with a chunky hearty beef dish will release all the hidden chocolate and fruit notes in the sauce and the fine tannins won’t overload the hits of chilli.

WINEMAKER : Andrea Pesaresi & Nazzareno Pieroni

REGION : Montefalco, Italy

GRAPE : Sagrantino 100%

VINTAGE : 2016

ABV : 15.5%

NOTES : Vegetarian, Organic

 

The Di Fillipo family vineyard is like taking a step back in time to a dreamy nostalgic view of an Italian wine producer where you would half expect Woody Allen to make a dainty romance film about the daughter of an old Mario looking farmer and American sommelier student who can’t speak any Italian. There’s no machinery, everything is mostly animal assisted with horses ploughing the fields and geese apparently bred to clean the vineyard and no doubt act as bouncers for any visitors (400 of them apparently…cue comic relief scene where 400 geese attack the American student and he bumps into said daughter in a haystack). We digress anyway, the wine is epic! Sagantino is a beautiful grape not seen enough and it thrives in the terroir and hot summers. This wine is rich and sumptuous. Big berry fruits come through with a touch of spice and oak and sleak tannins that last! It’s also where Saint Valentine was born… more ammunition for the screenplay we’ve now decided to write. Pairing wines, go big and chunky. Rich on rich. Working with a chunky hearty beef dish will release all the hidden chocolate and fruit notes in the sauce and the fine tannins won’t overload the hits of chilli.

 

WINERY & PRODUCTION

Tradition oozes from the Di Fillippo estate. While only established in 1971, it feels like they’ve been doing this for 100’s of years. Now run by Emma di Filippo and her two sons they were certified organic in the early 90s and haved lived and breathed that ethos ever since. The summers are sweltering and the yields of low but very concentrated. As previously mentioned, horses plough the fields and geese roam free to keep the vineyard in check. The grape Sagrantino is native to the area and the most planted varietal for centuries. The terrain his hilly and mineral rich with clay-calcareous soils which helps retain the little rain they do get. The wine itself is fermented in traditional methods but moderated in temperature controlled stainless steel vats using wild local yeast, which give the wine great character. Longer maceration extract more flavour without tannins and is matured for 24 months in french oak barrique before another 24 months in the bottle!