Rosso de Véo Umbria Rosso Sagrantino

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple hours. The 2015 pours a deep ruby/purple color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with fairly significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe black and red fruits: black cherry, mixed bramble berries, spices, horse blanket, espresso…powerful. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and wild. Whoa, the structure is significant. Drink now and through 2040. Bottle No. 07992/14373

Big, spicy Sagrantino with tannin that isn’t excessively muscular. Cinnamon, red hot candies. 15% abv. VA a bit aggressive for me.

Delicious, bold, grippy, monster red. Word to the wise: prepare to filter this wine when pouring… I’ve never encountered more sediment on a 3rd glass.

The 2015 Rosso de Veo is monstrously intense yet wonderfully balanced, showing masses of crushed black cherry, balsamic spice, stone dust and wild, exotic florals on the nose. Velvety textures give way to ripe red and blue berries with a spicy-citrus twang, backed by stimulating acids, as saline-minerality saturates under a coating of liquid violets. This finishes long, staining the palate with fruit concentrate and grippy tannins, yet considering how structured this is, there’s a balance here that provides plenty of pleasure already. This is simply gorgeous and has a very bright future ahead of it. (Eric Guido, Vinous, August 2021)

100% Sagrantino from young vines in Cerrete vineyard - highest point in Montefalco. Clay and limestone soils with small pebbles. Long cuvaison of 45-50 days, one year in stainless steel, two years in large oak, one year in bottle before release. Pomegranate, rosemary, mint, licorice, bright red cherry, curry, baking spices. Medium acid and tannins. 15% abv well balanced.

This week, the world lost an icon and one of my wine heroes 😔.

I’ll never forget the first time I experienced a wine made by Paolo Bea. It was a bottle served with friends and without fanfare. I remember where I was at. I remember the company. I don’t recall anything about any of the other wines that were poured that night but that bottle of San Valentino gave me a whole new perspective on winemaking.

In honor of Paolo, I will not be sharing my “score” to this bottle of Rosso de Véo. What I am happy to share, is that this bottle of the 2015 represents everything I have come to love from his wines. It’s an unmitigated expression of Montefalco: powerful…wild…soulful. The structure is enormous; so is the need for air. This bottle was decanted an hour before dinner and the remaining 1/3rd was returned to the bottle for the next day. On Day 2, the wine had opened considerably and the structure was better integrated with the fruit. These will drink better after 2025 and drink well through 2040.

Grazie Paolo! Your legacy lives on, not only through your son but also through the new generation of winemakers you have undoubtedly inspired.

stylistically not for me but glad it was poured. lots of christmas spices, black fruit and prickly tannins. big, boisterous bastard but still, wore the 15% quite elegantly if i do say so myself.

Plum Market find (West Bloomfield, MI); delicious …I much prefer it to the Pipparello Riserva

Lots of VA on the nose. Bold and intense with notes of dark cherry, herbs, and oak. Strong tannins smooth out pretty quickly. A streak of acidity makes for a well-balanced and nicely-structured wine. Purchased at Popina in Brooklyn, NY.

Gururaj wine