Az. Agr. Paolo Bea, Montefalco, Italy
Tasted Monday, February 16, 2015 by kevinacohn with 1,238 views
In case you missed it: Paolo Bea is my favorite producer. A little over three years ago, my girlfriend (now my wife) and I decided to take a trip to Italy. More or less at the last minute we decided to add a one-night stay in Montefalco to visit with Giampiero Bea, son of Paolo and now the driving force behind this estate and indeed Italy's natural wine movement. That visit had a profound impact on me and I've since become an ardent believer in Bea's approach to winemaking.
For those of you who haven't visited Paolo Bea, the tasting experience is like nothing else. Nearly every wine is tasted—multiple vintages for most—a privilege reserved by most producers for members of the trade. Bottles are opened days ahead of time so they show their best and also to demonstrate the stability of natural wines. Small plates of food are paired with each set of wines. You sit around a table in the family home. Indeed, you're made to feel like family.
We returned to visit Giampiero again, far more knowledgeable but with no fewer questions than the last time. Giampiero and his assistant, Sergio, were again excellent hosts. Over the course of many hours, we talked about winemaking philosophy, recent vintages, the wines themselves, and more.
Speaking of the wines: Knowing that we'd already tasted pretty much everything currently available on the market, Sergio disappeared for a few minutes, returning with bottles of vintages that have yet to been released (in the States, and in some cases in Italy), making this a particularly special (and educational) tasting.
In addition to the tasting notes below, here are various bits of information that I gleaned during the visit and may be of interest to readers here or elsewhere:
- What's drinking particularly well right now, according to Giampiero: The 1999 and 2003 Pipparello (I can attest to the former) and all of the 2006 reds (I can also attest to this). Interestingly, the 2005s, once thought to be a superior vintage to the difficult 2006, are on a bit of a downward slope. This is a good reminder never to judge a book by its cover.
- I asked Giampiero why only the Pagliaro is bottled in magnum, offering my opinion that the Pipparello may be his wine best suited to long-term aging. He said he had never seriously considered it and joked that perhaps he now would. I'm surprised that Neal Rosenthal, Bea’s importer in the States and a self-declared lover of magnums, hasn’t convinced Bea to bottle the Pipparello in large format, especially in vintages like 2007.
- The reason the DOCG Cerrete spent so much time in botti in 2007 is simple: during élevage, each month it tasted better than the last. Sergio jokes that Giampiero suggested aging it for another 12 months, but practicality—there's only so much space to age wine—won out.
- There will be no DOCG Cerrete in 2008. The quality didn't warrant a separate bottling, so all of the Sagrantino from the Cerrete vineyard went into the Rosso de Véo bottling (which, in case you haven't tried it, is delicious right now).
- Bea started renting a second vineyard with Trebbiano Spoletino in 2009 (the vines are of similar old age), which is how the number of bottles of Arboreus was able to more than double in 2010 to 7,636. Bea exercises complete control over the vineyard, e.g., there are no chemicals used, accessory crops are planted, etc. Bea has also planted a small amount of Trebbiano Spoletino in the Cerrete vineyard, an experiment that may find its way into the Arboreus or a separate bottling in the future.
- Bea has also started selecting some of the best Trebbiano Spoletino grapes to be dried in the passito style. Instead of vinifying them separately, however, they're being pressed and added to the Arboreus cuvée, giving that wine more sweetness and richness than it would otherwise have.
- The 2012 vintage is high quality, but the quantity is low. This will result in a string of challenging years for collectors of Bea's red wines, because the 2013 and 2014 vintages are basically non-existent.
- Speaking of the 2013 and 2014 vintages: Unusually wet and humid weather resulted in the loss of most of these harvests to disease. This is terrible for the Beas—imagine working for an entire year and having nothing to show for it, and then having that happen for a second time in as many years—and for those of us who love the wine, because it will be even harder to come by than it is today. Here's a breakdown of these two harvests:
* In 2013, no red wine is being made. I saw a 3 hectoliter tank of Trebbiano Spoletino (normally bottled as the Arboreus), but don't know if there will be any more white wine than that.
* In 2014, 90% of the Sagrantino was destroyed. Only 30 hectoliters of red wine is being made (at only 12% alcohol), to be bottled under the San Valentino Umbria Rosso IGT label. There's also at least 8 hectoliters of Santa Chiara and 15 hectoliters of Arboreus (there may be more—this is just what I saw in tank).
- Lovers of sweet wine, rejoice: A passito is being produced for the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 vintages. Combined with the 2006 and 2008 vintages, which have already been released, this will form an unprecedented run of eight consecutive vintages. Unfortunately, the streak ended in 2013 as there will be no passito made in that year or in 2014. The 2007 has yet to be released because it needs more time to evolve in tank.
2012 Paolo Bea Santa Chiara
Italy, Umbria
Deeper in color than is usual for the Santa Chiara, the result of an additional five days of skin contact in this vintage. This longer maceration has also resulted in greater intensity of aromas and flavors, although not necessarily more complex; part of the appeal of the Santa Chiara is its subtlety. Aromas of overripe nectarines and apricots, honey, and Asian spices. Quite sweet; no evidence of slightly bitter tea, as is sometimes common here. Bottle #1645. Rated 1 on a scale of -1 to 3.
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2011 Paolo Bea Santa Chiara
Italy, Umbria
Opened six days prior. No signs of oxidation beyond what you get on day one. However, the wine has taken on considerably more heft than I imagine it had upon opening: more honey, particularly on the palate, and an intense gummy worm (not gummy bear, as my wife likes to point out) aroma. A healthy amount of acidity gives this plenty of structure. It stands on its own as an aperitif, but I'd serve it with a vegetable course. Bottle #2980. Rated 1 on a scale of -1 to 3.
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2010 Paolo Bea Arboreus
Italy, Umbria
Normally an intense amber hue, in the 2010 vintage the Arboreus in fact has quite a light color and initial presentation of aromas. The aromas build quickly once the wine is given a few swirls in the glass, revealing a truly magnificent bouquet of honey, white flowers, spices, reduced stone fruits, sweet petrol (a contradiction?), and, yes, cat urine. Mild tannins give the wine excellent body and structure. Great persistence of flavor. Bottle #5350. Rated 2 on a scale of -1 to 3.
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