Paolo Bea Private Dinner

A celebration of Paolo Bea, one of my favorite producers and without a doubt the most traditional in all of Umbria. The goal of the dinner, aside from enjoying as much of this delicious wine as possible, was to show the breadth of Bea's lineup. By including all but one of his bottlings, that goal was certainly achieved. Doing so enabled a number of side-by-side comparisons that I haven't experienced since visiting the winery in 2011, which was great. Finally, while only three of the wines we tasted were current releases, none was more than three releases old, allowing us to dispel the widely-held belief that Bea's wines are undrinkable in their youth.

Whites by classification only, the Santa Chiara and Arboreus are great introductions to the house style and go well with food. It was nice to have each of these with some additional age on them (two and three years, respectively). I was surprised to find myself more attracted to the Santa Chiara, whose depth surprised me.

• 2009 Paolo Bea Santa Chiara

  Italy, Umbria

  Opened 15 minutes prior to serving at cellar temperature. Medium amber color. This is an extremely young wine. Lots of grip on the palate with tannins and acidity out in force. This reinforces the stereotype that, served truly blind, "orange" wines can be mistaken for red wines. With time in the glass this achieved a nice balance of stone fruit sweetness against a slightly bitter and spice-infused acidity. Give it at least another two years of cellaring. Bottle #911. Rated 1 on a scale of -1 to 3.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2006 Paolo Bea Arboreus

  Italy, Umbria

  Opened two hours prior to serving at cellar temperature. Intensely concentrated honey, reduced apricots, and some nuts and spice on the nose. Although almost identical in appearance to the 2009 Santa Chiara, this was (surprisingly) the more traditional "white" of the two. Much lower acidity and tannin, this could almost be described as smooth. Perhaps it's the additional age. Paired great with carciofi alla romana. Bottle #1920. Rated 1 on a scale of -1 to 3.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

The only Bea bottling missing from our lineup was the Montefalco Rosso Riserva "Pipparello." I decided ahead of the dinner that none of the vintages I had were ready to drink and would do it justice, so we were limited to the Montefalco Rosso "San Valentino," which since 2006 has been bottled as an Umbria IGT.

• 2005 Paolo Bea Rosso de Véo

  Italy, Umbria

  Decanted 2.5 hours prior to serving. Sangiovese (70% of the blend) dominates far more so than any other Bea Montefalco Rosso I've ever had. Roasted red and black fruits, pepper, sweet spice, damp earth. I found the palate thin and not fully integrated. Although most everyone else was quite taken with this, I think it needs more time to fully resolve. I'll wait another few years before opening my next bottle and won't give it as long of a decant. Bottle #1089. Rated 1 on a scale of -1 to 3.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Since 2005, the Rosso de Véo has come from Bea's young vines Sagrantino; the fruit from the older and best-located vines go into the DOCG Pagliaro bottling. Vinified and aged nearly identically, the difference in complexity is clear, although the Cerrete vineyard is well on its way to getting its own DOCG bottling.

• 2007 Paolo Bea Rosso de Véo

  Italy, Umbria

  Opened two hours prior to serving. Quite a different experience from my previous bottle: this was darker and more brooding. Olive tapenade, dried red berries, ginger, exotic spice, and a little game on the nose. Lots of acidity on the palate, which is no surprise, but instead of feeling fresh and lively it felt more weighty. Not a bad thing, but not what I was expecting. This has the ability to age for well over a decade. Bottle #1684. Rated 1 on a scale of -1 to 3.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2007 Paolo Bea Montefalco Sagrantino Secco Pagliaro

  Italy, Umbria, Montefalco, Montefalco Sagrantino

  Double decanted 2.5 hours prior to serving. This is a much denser wine than the Rosso de Véo, with noticeably more complexity and "stuff" coming from the old vines. This showed a beautiful combination of power, elegance, and rusticity that makes Bea's wines so appealing. Yes, it's a tannic monster at this young age, but it's quite enjoyable, showing candied red fruit, some prune, and wild herbs. This is going to be fantastic in 5-7 years. Bottle #5735. Rated 1 on a scale of -1 to 3.

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Bea's Sagrantino may very well be my deathbed wine (although I hope not to have to choose any time soon). I've had the pleasure of enjoying every release since 1997 (six in total) and they've all been phenomenal. Of all the pairings, the difference between the two in this mini-vertical was probably the starkest.

• 2006 Paolo Bea Montefalco Sagrantino Passito

  Italy, Umbria, Montefalco, Montefalco Sagrantino

  From 375ml. Decanted three hours prior to serving. I assume this is the first time I've had the 2006 Passito since it was so different than every other vintage I've tasted. At first I was hit with huckleberry jam. Later, anise and a pronounced spearmint aroma and flavor. Some smoke, tar, and earth is also present. The sweetness is extremely well balanced by the acid and tannins. Delicious to drink now and with a long life ahead. Bottle #2247. Rated 2 on a scale of -1 to 3.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2003 Paolo Bea Montefalco Sagrantino Passito

  Italy, Umbria, Montefalco, Montefalco Sagrantino

  From 375ml. Opened immediately prior to serving. Tawny in color and quite cloudy. You can really sense the hot vintage: this is more raisiny and stewed than the 2006. Still, it's absolutely delicious and delivers on the melodia dei sensi (melody of the senses) that the label promises. This would have paired excellently with mature cheeses, but we had it with a phenomenal double-crust Nutella pizza with raspberry sauce and powdered sugar. Bottle #287. Rated 2 on a scale of -1 to 3.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

If I had to rank all of the wines, I'd probably do so as follows:

A cut above:

(1) 2003 Passito
(2) 2006 Passito

Very compelling:

(3) 2009 Santa Chiara
(4) 2007 Pagliaro

Good, but they've been better before:

(5) 2007 Rosso de Véo
(6) 2006 Arboreus

Good, but disappointing:

(7) 2005 San Valentino