With so many responsible people practising social distancing, the hot topic right now is what you can do from the comfort (or isolation) of your own home. You can’t go out to your favourite local Italian spot with a group of friends, but you can all grab take-out and have a Facetime dinner party! If you want to get really savvy, you can all pick up the same bottle of wine to taste together! We broke the budget a bit this week because the Villa Mora Montefalco Sagrantino 2010 would be a perfect match for the occasion.
Tasting Notes: Sagrantino may not be a grape you have heard of before. This thick-skinned grape gives plenty of dried berry notes, leather, dry herbs, and dark spices to a wine. The result is a wine which is far from shy. There is plenty of tannin and a well-balanced acidity, which means you should decant this wine before drinking tonight. It also has excellent aging potential.
Enjoy With: Roasted red meats or game are best, so think steak, roast beef, lamb burgers or wild boar sausages. Pasta with tomato sauces, hard cheeses and charcuterie are also great matches. It sounds like dinner could be a few courses tonight…
Style: A dry, full-bodied and intense red.
Terroir/Region: As mentioned, you may not know the Sagrantino grape well. Until the 1990s, it was only known around the Italian town of Montefalco and made in a sweet style. When locals began making it in a dry style, they brought it out to meet the world. Since then, more and more has been planted throughout the Montefalco region of central Italy, so this may be your introduction and also the beginning of a long friendship.
Producer: Even though Montefalco has a climate more like the Mediterranean than its cooler neighbours to the north, the warmth does little to soften the tannins of the Sagrantino grape. Villa Mora ages its Sagrantino for 5 years before its release, softening the tannins and integrating the flavours of the wine. You can still expect a tannic punch from this wine, but that just makes the steak taste better!
Availability: Villa Mora Montefalco Sagrantino 2010 will be available on March 21in the Vintages section of your local LCBO and will also be available for online ordering. Stay safe, stay in, and drink wine!
Check LCBO store inventory
Price: $26.95
LCBO#: 342394
Size: 750mL
Alcohol Content: 15.5% alc./vol.
