I'm so glad to see this review. My wife and I often holiday in the beautiful medieaval town of Montone in Umbria and are very familiar with Montefalco. We have been long standing advocates of this type of wine for a long time. Most people I know have no knowledge of Sagrantino at all. Sagrantino is a vine believed to have been used during Roman times. It is a small grape with tough skin and has a ton of tannin and that's why it has traditionally been blended with Sangiovese to make it more approachable. However, in recent times it's increasingly associated with the Umbrian food movement and many expressions are 100% Sagrantino. These bottles are more expensive than the more affordable Montefalco Rosso and Riserva. Antonelli and Arnaldo-Caprai are big local guns and very good quality. I have some old single vinyard bottles which I'm ageing and really looking forward to. I think these wines need a few years in bottle, sometimes a lot of years in fact. They are very food friendly though and if you can't wait to open have a bottle with heavy flavour packed food. Some of the better expressions are tricky to find outside the region and usually cost a lot more outside the country. Visiting the wine makers is a lot of fun and they are far less visited than their neighbours in Tuscany, making it a far less touristy and a more personal experience. Excellent review Matthew. WT
Ahhh nice that you know about it! It is a fantastic region for wine that is lesser known… BTW you will see more Spanish wine coverage in the coming months!
I am definitely a fan of Sangrantino! It reminds me of Aglianico a bit, which is also underrated in my view (although more expensive for sure). Well done!
Aglianico probably isn’t underrated though, it’s just underproduced. It’s almost all consumed directly within Southern Italy, very little of it actually gets exported. For that reason, on the world stage it’s a lesser known wine, but if more acres got planted abroad it would very quickly become famous in my opinion
I have spend several holidays in Tuscany/Umbria. It's a unspoiled beautiful region with lovely towns and villages. The sweet little medieval Montefalco is definitely worth a visit. Personally not a huge fan of Sagrantino, the blends in Montefalco Rosso are more up my alley. Arnaldo-Caprai (nice well maintained estate), the Antonelli and Scacciadiavoli are available in my country and worth a buy. In case you visit Umbria, also try some Rosso dell' Umbria. Some wines are bargains for under 10 euro.
I love Sagrantino! I find that a lot of wine drinkers, especially people newer to wine, tend to consider strong tannins to be a fault in wine. I’m of the opposite opinion: often times what I dislike in a wine is it’s lack of tannin and structure. For tannin-lovers like me that love those big chewy tannins often found in Tuscan wines, Sagrantino is amazing! Also a great value as this grape is really not well-known
I love thé format. You show us the wines more than once so it is easier to remember when there are a dozen. Umbria brings the thunder! Their whites do, too! I’m looking forward to the Rerservas!
I love this YT channel I remember when you had less than 10k subs, crazy success, good for you. I appreciate how insightful you are as well as your energy too. Your also very thorough which is nice. Wish you the best Dr. Mathew. Have a great day.
Was in Umbria back in March for lunch before going to Montepulciano for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Amazing food and some good Orvieto wine. Need to find one of those.
Thanks for your effort (and expense) to put another enjoyable video. I think this format -- of immediately revealing the wine-- is much more effective. So perhaps you may want to consider sticking with it… as well as decrease the number so it less overwhelming. (That is if you subscribe to the theory: The “magic number seven plus or minus two” refers to the cognitive limit on the amount of information that can be stored in short-term memory at once. !!!!!!) Always learning a lot. From your videos. Many Thanks.
Thanks the problem is if I decrease the wines and taste and reveal one by one. I will know what the last few are since I am the one that packed them. (I have someone mix them up for me)
@@drmatthewhorkey possible solution: the flash image of bottle on screen while tasting it. Another (if you decide to limit number to say 6) is to discuss them separately a bit before t
Another great video Matthew, thanks for highlighting under the radar wines. I did try a Montefalco Sagrantino at a wine fair here a year or two ago. I remember that it was a pretty structured, intense and built for the long haul. As it was too young and the tannins were a bit too intense. But a great wine with the right cuisine and the right time of year, it just needed some more bottle age. Montefalco Rosso sounds like a good entry point to Sagrantino, as the Sangiovese & Merlot balances it out. I did enjoy the different format of blind tasting, as it is move lively and pacey and you can compare the wines more easily as they are out of the bag already. I say go with this new format for a while to change things up. Cheers!
As a sommelier I truly believe that Italian reds are the most under appreciated world of wines. Sangiovese is fine but nebbiolo has become underrepresented on wine menus and there are some huge, delicious gems in the realm of valpolicella ripassos and primativo di mandurias. Wine snobs seems to poo-poo those wines but for anyone from new to intermediate wine drinkers they can be some mind blowing values. Especially compared to other wines of the same price
I did a video featuring Ripassos a few weeks ago and they can be delicious. Primitivos are well liked by a lot of wine drinkers but often can have a bit too much RS for me
Was lucky to base myself in Perugia for 6 weeks and the Montefalco region was a revelation. I hadn’t heard about that area or Sagrantino before and quickly started enjoying the wines. The bike riding is amazing and it was fun being able to ride my bike through this beautiful landscape of hills and vineyards. Love the Montefalco rosso blends. If you’re visiting around Montepulciano, Cortona, Pienza, I would totally recommend a few days in Umbria, based in/around Perugia and exploring too (also Assisi, Spoleto..). You’ve also got the beautiful Lago di Trasimeno by the border with Tuscany to cool off in.
Was in Umbria earlier this year and tried Montelfalco Rosso and thought it was fantastic. Sangrantino is wonderful with Sangiovese. Wish we carried more selection here in the states. Great video!
I've never tried this wine. I'm going to try and find a version, hopefully, one the wines you tasted here. Thanks for the recommendations on this blend. 🥂😀
Only one of these was available in my area, which was both disappointing but not surprising: the Tenuta Alzatura. So I purchased two to give it a try... Well, I just went back last night and bought the rest. ;}
Sagrantino impresses me. Arnaldo Caprai was my first one. Originally, the producers were making some knuckle dragging beasts that needed a lot of cellar time. That really got Sagrantino noticed. Lately, many producers have backed off to make a more drinkable style. As a wine taster/geek/snob I wish I could love wines that are 100% Sangiovese, but I like the Sangiovese wines more when they are "polluted" with other grapes varieties. Montefalco Rosso is hard to come by around these parts and I was totally impressed that you had a dozen in front of you. By the way, I am the same with Zinfandel wines. Add 15% Petite Sirah? Yes, please. The Sagrantino and the Petite Sirah do the same job of rounding out the primary grape and also making the wine a bit more ageable. In my opinion.
I like both formats in your blind tasting. This was a wine that completely flew under my radar and from your tasting notes one that I definitely have to put a little time in to get acquainted with it. I'm intrigued. Now what would the BEST Italian white wine that NOBODY knows about be? Mine would be Vermentino di Sardegna. To be fair not the best, since that for me is reserved to Südtirol area, but other than that INSANE price/quality ratio: EUR 15,- wines that can score 92+ points easily.
wait, why are you saying mAnte, when its clearly mOnte? 😅 as a side note, if I was a ‘wine president’ of Italy I would ban blending French varietals all together 😅
I have heard of this wine but admit I've never had it and haven't had any luck finding them in my state And I like this format! Keep up the great work! I love seeing the Italian wines. But I notice I don't see much coverage on Spanish wines. But I may recall you mentioning somewhere that Spain just isn't quite to your liking compared to other regions.
was at casa tua last night in miami and they have an extensive italian wine menu but the montelfalco was no where to be found. this seems to be an off market type of wine in america . i will keep and eye on it and will be excited to try. thanks for all your knowledge
As long as im sure you dont know which wine it is the last one, this reveal right after drinking it works well for me. But like this video, doing 1 wine at the time should be great anyway you do it. Thanks for sharing this pearls. I personally have never noticed Montefalco Rosso. Will look for it from now on
Well the problem is that when tasting and revealing one by one, towards the end, I know what the last one or two wines are since I knew what they were before I packed them.
Give some of us non-pros some credit! Montefalco is a known quantity for many of us!! Acetic acid in central Italian reds is, for my palate, a bit like fish sauce in Vietnamese cuisine: there’s a line where it’s prominence becomes deleterious to the experience. Just shy of that line however, it is a wonderful component. It does have a “narrow therapeutic window” , to borrow from pharmacology for analogy
Part II: This RED WINE surpassed my EXPECTATIONS!!!
ua-cam.com/video/FTAjw0qeKH4/v-deo.html
I'm so glad to see this review. My wife and I often holiday in the beautiful medieaval town of Montone in Umbria and are very familiar with Montefalco. We have been long standing advocates of this type of wine for a long time. Most people I know have no knowledge of Sagrantino at all. Sagrantino is a vine believed to have been used during Roman times. It is a small grape with tough skin and has a ton of tannin and that's why it has traditionally been blended with Sangiovese to make it more approachable. However, in recent times it's increasingly associated with the Umbrian food movement and many expressions are 100% Sagrantino. These bottles are more expensive than the more affordable Montefalco Rosso and Riserva.
Antonelli and Arnaldo-Caprai are big local guns and very good quality. I have some old single vinyard bottles which I'm ageing and really looking forward to. I think these wines need a few years in bottle, sometimes a lot of years in fact. They are very food friendly though and if you can't wait to open have a bottle with heavy flavour packed food. Some of the better expressions are tricky to find outside the region and usually cost a lot more outside the country. Visiting the wine makers is a lot of fun and they are far less visited than their neighbours in Tuscany, making it a far less touristy and a more personal experience. Excellent review Matthew. WT
Ahhh nice that you know about it! It is a fantastic region for wine that is lesser known… BTW you will see more Spanish wine coverage in the coming months!
@@drmatthewhorkey Looking forward to that my friend. Stay on your toes. Welsh
I am definitely a fan of Sangrantino! It reminds me of Aglianico a bit, which is also underrated in my view (although more expensive for sure). Well done!
Thanks! I like the grape but prefer it blended with Sangiovese
Aglianico probably isn’t underrated though, it’s just underproduced. It’s almost all consumed directly within Southern Italy, very little of it actually gets exported. For that reason, on the world stage it’s a lesser known wine, but if more acres got planted abroad it would very quickly become famous in my opinion
@@narrowistheway77 yes certainly in the US it is not as widespread as it should be in my view.
I have spend several holidays in Tuscany/Umbria. It's a unspoiled beautiful region with lovely towns and villages. The sweet little medieval Montefalco is definitely worth a visit. Personally not a huge fan of Sagrantino, the blends in Montefalco Rosso are more up my alley. Arnaldo-Caprai (nice well maintained estate), the Antonelli and Scacciadiavoli are available in my country and worth a buy. In case you visit Umbria, also try some Rosso dell' Umbria. Some wines are bargains for under 10 euro.
It is truly a special region!
Little late in trying Montefalco Rosso, but wow, I am now in love! Thank you for the great flight and for the recommendation!
Glad you got your hands on some
I love Sagrantino! I find that a lot of wine drinkers, especially people newer to wine, tend to consider strong tannins to be a fault in wine. I’m of the opposite opinion: often times what I dislike in a wine is it’s lack of tannin and structure. For tannin-lovers like me that love those big chewy tannins often found in Tuscan wines, Sagrantino is amazing! Also a great value as this grape is really not well-known
It can be a great grape for those that love tannins
I love thé format. You show us the wines more than once so it is easier to remember when there are a dozen. Umbria brings the thunder! Their whites do, too! I’m looking forward to the Rerservas!
Stay tuned! It comes out tomorrow
Thank you again for another outstanding post, always edifying and filled with your passion for wine. (We like this format)
Thank you and good lexicon!
I love this YT channel
I remember when you had less than 10k subs, crazy success, good for you.
I appreciate how insightful you are as well as your energy too. Your also very thorough which is nice.
Wish you the best Dr. Mathew.
Have a great day.
Wowww thank you so much. I appreciate the support!
Was in Umbria back in March for lunch before going to Montepulciano for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Amazing food and some good Orvieto wine. Need to find one of those.
Umbria is stellar indeed. I hope your Montepulciano trip went well
Thanks for your effort (and expense) to put another enjoyable video.
I think this format -- of immediately revealing the wine-- is much more effective. So perhaps you may want to consider sticking with it… as well as decrease the number so it less overwhelming. (That is if you subscribe to the theory: The “magic number seven plus or minus two” refers to the cognitive limit on the amount of information that can be stored in short-term memory at once. !!!!!!)
Always learning a lot. From your videos. Many Thanks.
Thanks the problem is if I decrease the wines and taste and reveal one by one. I will know what the last few are since I am the one that packed them. (I have someone mix them up for me)
@@drmatthewhorkey possible solution: the flash image of bottle on screen while tasting it. Another (if you decide to limit number to say 6) is to discuss them separately a bit before t
Before tasting… and then project image of bottle as you blind taste… ending with a second more detailed feedback on the special ones.
BALLER! We love the Montefalco Rosso - Umbria deserves more
You got that right! Hope to see you out there soon!
Another great video Matthew, thanks for highlighting under the radar wines. I did try a Montefalco Sagrantino at a wine fair here a year or two ago. I remember that it was a pretty structured, intense and built for the long haul. As it was too young and the tannins were a bit too intense. But a great wine with the right cuisine and the right time of year, it just needed some more bottle age.
Montefalco Rosso sounds like a good entry point to Sagrantino, as the Sangiovese & Merlot balances it out. I did enjoy the different format of blind tasting, as it is move lively and pacey and you can compare the wines more easily as they are out of the bag already. I say go with this new format for a while to change things up. Cheers!
It’s harder w smaller flights of wines bc I will know what the last two or three are (since I source and pack the wines myself)
Stayed in Montelfalco, loved the little town.Tried the Sangrantino,THE DRIEST wine I ever had!
It is a big tannic monster!
Do you know you can actually find Nebbiolo in Umbria? Cantina La Spina is producing it and it could be interesting to try
Yes I’ve had it!
@@drmatthewhorkey that’s dope!
Just cause I’m here, white wines from Umbria can be really good too
Thumbs-up on taste and score.
🙏🙏
Yes to market from Italy
Haven't tried it, but I also like Sangiovese. I'll keep an eye out for it. 👍
Good format for a large flight like this.
Thanks and I hope you try it!
As a sommelier I truly believe that Italian reds are the most under appreciated world of wines. Sangiovese is fine but nebbiolo has become underrepresented on wine menus and there are some huge, delicious gems in the realm of valpolicella ripassos and primativo di mandurias. Wine snobs seems to poo-poo those wines but for anyone from new to intermediate wine drinkers they can be some mind blowing values. Especially compared to other wines of the same price
I did a video featuring Ripassos a few weeks ago and they can be delicious. Primitivos are well liked by a lot of wine drinkers but often can have a bit too much RS for me
I really want to agree with you because I love Italian wine. However, Spanish wine is really underappreciated and it's just snobbery.
@welshtoro3256 Spanish wines are incredibly under appreciated but I just prefer higher acidity personally
Etna Rosso too, and I hope it stays "under appreciated" and affordable
@weiht6767 a few years late I'm afraid. Etna Rosso's price has already exploded and might just get worse
Tried Paolo Bea Secco Recently, it was magical ❤️
Legendary producer!
Was lucky to base myself in Perugia for 6 weeks and the Montefalco region was a revelation. I hadn’t heard about that area or Sagrantino before and quickly started enjoying the wines. The bike riding is amazing and it was fun being able to ride my bike through this beautiful landscape of hills and vineyards. Love the Montefalco rosso blends. If you’re visiting around Montepulciano, Cortona, Pienza, I would totally recommend a few days in Umbria, based in/around Perugia and exploring too (also Assisi, Spoleto..). You’ve also got the beautiful Lago di Trasimeno by the border with Tuscany to cool off in.
I have been to all places! Umbria is a WONDERFUL place. Lucky you!
What a wonderful video, thank you! I hope one day to see a similar one about the best white wine from Umbria, Trebbiano Spoletino! :)
I really like Spoletino
I spent some time in Umbria drinking Montefalco Rosso- also loved Grechetto for a white
Niceee, yes Grechetto offers bitterness
Was in Umbria earlier this year and tried Montelfalco Rosso and thought it was fantastic. Sangrantino is wonderful with Sangiovese. Wish we carried more selection here in the states. Great video!
There are some out there but they are few and far between for sure
Love the Arnoldo Caprai. Dined in Perugia. Fortunately nabbed some at the airport on the way home!
Niceeee
Montefalco Sagrantino....La Bestia de Italia!!!! The ONE wine Darth Vader would drink and approve.
🤣😂
I've never tried this wine. I'm going to try and find a version, hopefully, one the wines you tasted here. Thanks for the recommendations on this blend. 🥂😀
I hope you enjoy!
I asked you? Are you a brewer or retailer? Because I want a I will market his products here in Nigeria
Neither
I haven’t tried Montefalco Rosso before, but now it’s on my list!
Time to try!
You speak so fast. Slow down buddy, though I love the enthusiasm
🙏🙏
WSJ just wrote an article about this! You beat them by two months.
🤓💪🏼💪🏼😅
Planning on buying a home in Abruzzo within the next year.
Wowwwzas
My favorite wine is Jack Daniels.
Drink what you like
Are nice wine producers or retailer..
Because I want to have a brand from I will market in my country Nigeria
Thanks.
??
Paolo Bee sagratino is rhe only i have had
Great producer
Excellent presentation. Grazie mille.
Grazie!
Only one of these was available in my area, which was both disappointing but not surprising: the Tenuta Alzatura. So I purchased two to give it a try... Well, I just went back last night and bought the rest. ;}
Mine is a 2017, though. So even better. Heh.
Ahhhh nice!!!
Thanks for this comment btw! Feedback helps a lot
Sagrantino impresses me. Arnaldo Caprai was my first one. Originally, the producers were making some knuckle dragging beasts that needed a lot of cellar time. That really got Sagrantino noticed. Lately, many producers have backed off to make a more drinkable style. As a wine taster/geek/snob I wish I could love wines that are 100% Sangiovese, but I like the Sangiovese wines more when they are "polluted" with other grapes varieties. Montefalco Rosso is hard to come by around these parts and I was totally impressed that you had a dozen in front of you. By the way, I am the same with Zinfandel wines. Add 15% Petite Sirah? Yes, please. The Sagrantino and the Petite Sirah do the same job of rounding out the primary grape and also making the wine a bit more ageable. In my opinion.
Ahhh thanks! It was a real pleasure for me to have so many samples of this wine style
I like both formats in your blind tasting. This was a wine that completely flew under my radar and from your tasting notes one that I definitely have to put a little time in to get acquainted with it. I'm intrigued. Now what would the BEST Italian white wine that NOBODY knows about be? Mine would be Vermentino di Sardegna. To be fair not the best, since that for me is reserved to Südtirol area, but other than that INSANE price/quality ratio: EUR 15,- wines that can score 92+ points easily.
I too like Vermentino… which means you will like this video: ua-cam.com/video/_UqMKmjv108/v-deo.htmlsi=agcpuoArjlcuunei
wait, why are you saying mAnte, when its clearly mOnte? 😅
as a side note, if I was a ‘wine president’ of Italy I would ban blending French varietals all together 😅
Pronunciation fail
I like the reveal at the end
Thanks :)
I tell you what Dr. Horkey... I can't wait for the weather to cool down. It's a struggle to enjoy my red wines during hot humid weekly stretches.
Bring on the cooler weather!
I like the reveal as you go.
Thanks for the feedback
I have heard of this wine but admit I've never had it and haven't had any luck finding them in my state And I like this format! Keep up the great work! I love seeing the Italian wines. But I notice I don't see much coverage on Spanish wines. But I may recall you mentioning somewhere that Spain just isn't quite to your liking compared to other regions.
I love Spanish wine and you’ll see more of them here in the coming months
I’ve only had a couple of times. Need to try more. Good job as always DrMH
Thank you!
was at casa tua last night in miami and they have an extensive italian wine menu but the montelfalco was no where to be found. this seems to be an off market type of wine in america . i will keep and eye on it and will be excited to try. thanks for all your knowledge
I hope you get the chance to try it
Never tried! Just did a quick search and I have in the market here ! Will taste! Thanks !
Ahhh I hope you enjoy it
As long as im sure you dont know which wine it is the last one, this reveal right after drinking it works well for me. But like this video, doing 1 wine at the time should be great anyway you do it. Thanks for sharing this pearls. I personally have never noticed Montefalco Rosso. Will look for it from now on
Well the problem is that when tasting and revealing one by one, towards the end, I know what the last one or two wines are since I knew what they were before I packed them.
Maybe if someone else buy the wines for you?@@drmatthewhorkey
It really depends on how many bottles. If you only have 4 blttles. Then at the end. Like today wirh so many bottles. Reveal slowly
🙏🙏
Give some of us non-pros some credit! Montefalco is a known quantity for many of us!! Acetic acid in central Italian reds is, for my palate, a bit like fish sauce in Vietnamese cuisine: there’s a line where it’s prominence becomes deleterious to the experience. Just shy of that line however, it is a wonderful component. It does have a “narrow therapeutic window” , to borrow from pharmacology for analogy
Yes other people do know about Montefalco Rosso but that’s few and far between. Italian wines do have that unique flavor to them
Blind reveal one by one
😎
sorry but Abruzzo is the greenest region in Italy. maybe Umbria is 2nd, but it is not 1st
Abruzzo is gorgeous too
Or if you are reviewing famous wines..then all reveal at rhe end
😎
basically you cant find this wine here where I live in Québec, Canada🤌
Niceee
you misred, I said CANT find it😂, so its not nice!@@drmatthewhorkey