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ARNALDO CAPRAI
SAGRANTINO DI MONTELFALCO, THE NEW CULT WINE OF ITALY

This exceptional wine is the King of Sagrantinos: Powerful, complex and dense aromas, subtle oak bolstered by elegant acidity and firmly structured yet velvety tannins, provide an expansive and infinitely pleasurable finish. The Arnaldo Caprai winery has achieved in a little over 20 years what important wine regions in the world are still struggling for: exclusivity of the name and origin of the region.

By Simone Zarmati Diament
Click here to listen to winemaker Marco Caprai’s interview on FOOD & WINE TALK

To explain Sagrantino di Montelfaco, the exceptional cult wine of Italy, there’s little need to go through the ancient history of Umbria which can trace its roots to the Umbri tribes before the 6 century BC, goes on with the Roman conquest, the fall of the Roman Empire, the subsequent invasion of barbaric tribes and the German Emperor Federico Barbarossa in the 12th Century before becoming property of the Holy See in the late Middle Ages throughout the Renaissance, nor there is need to tackle the Napoleonic wars, or the history which incorporated it into the Kingdom of Italy in the 19th century. We know that whatever the powers that be were, they all loved wines and planted vines wherever they could or when they deemed the region a strategic point.

Driving to Umbria, a two-hour ride from Rome, I realized it is the center of Italy. It is bordered by Tuscany to the West, the Marche to the East , and Lazio to the South. On the hilltops of the pre-Apenines rounded hills (colli) rise Umbria’s medieval cities: Assisi and Foligno, Bevagna --a lovely village in the foothills of Montefalco surrounded by a fertile valley, rich in water streams and in cultivations, Gualdo Cattaneo -- on the Martani Mountains surrounded by forests and olive groves, Spoleto – best known for its Roman amphitheatre and it cultural festivals, and Montefalco - which has existed since Roman times when it was called Coccorone.

Montefalco, the home base of the Sagrantino di Montefalco is the heart of the DOCG (Denomination of Origin Controlled and Guaranteed) appellation since 1992.

This winter after the harvest in Montefalco, the intense fog enveloped the valley and mountain slopes like a protective blanket over the rows of olive trees and the red-leafed Sagrantino vineyards. “You can tell Sagrantino from its red leaves which owe their color to the high amount of polyphenols. Sagrantino has the highest percentage of polyphenols in all grape varieties, above cabernets and sangiovese,” explained Marco Caprai, winemaker and CEO of Arnaldo Caprai Winery. “It is essential to the color and the tannins of this particular wine and we have carefully researched the method of vinification necessary to achieve optimal extraction of the polyphenols this grape is particularly rich in.”

Research with universities, clonal selections

Passionate about scientific and agricultural improvement and innovation while keen on keeping the flame of tradition, Marco Caprai and oenologist Attilio Pagli established a Bank of Sagrantino to study the best genotype for the production of his fine wines. After collecting over 100 clones from doorways and kitchen gardens, he planted them and handpicked the best. Then, after a long process of microvinification experiments with the Insitute of Oenology in Trentino, Alto Adige, two grapes peculiar to Umbria -- Sagrantino for reds, and Grechetto for white wine--were planted in the 156 hectares the Caprais own, along with sangiovese, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, tempranillo, mourvèdre, tannat. .

Sagrantino, the new cult wine of Italy

Umbria and the five villages that constitute the appellation are full of churches and “enotecas” where experienced sommeliers offer tastings of the many Sagrantino wines produced in the region along with a degustation of regional specialties, from truffles and cheeses to norcinerie -- hams and pork products, olives and the exceptional olive oils.

A good number of fabulous restaurants serve regional specialities as well. At a dinner at the famous Bacco Felice in Foligno, Marco Caprai’s home town, Salvatore Denato prepared all manners of Umbrian specialties to a table full of local politicians. One of the diners, Maria Rita Lorenzetti, the Governor of Umbria, recalled that when the successful textile industrialist Arnaldo Caprai founded the winery in 1971, Sagrantino, an ancient and indigenous grapes and wine, albeit the flagship of the Montefalco wine production, was little known outside the region and no one was making fine wine from it. “Today, she said, there are 40 or 50 producers, and new ones are joining up. Thanks to the efforts of Marco Caprai and the Arnaldo Caprai winery, Umbria is one of the most interesting regions in Italy for the development of quality indigenous grapes, like Sagrantino.”

The turning point was in 1988, when Arnaldo’s son Marco joined the winery. Marco spearheaded a program to research and revive grapes indigenous to the region in collaboration with Institutes of clonal research and with the University of Milan. As a result, the local variety of Sagrantino, mostly used for homemade plonk or for passito (a sweet wine made from Sagrantino grapes dried on straw mats by the method of apassimento) to fortify wines and for liturgical purposes, has become one of the most sought after wines in the market. Since then, the intense ruby, almost inky, red wine that turns a deep garnet with aging , exudes delicious aromas, complex flavors, youthful acidity and potent tannins which become velvety with the long fermentation, has become the new cult wine of Italy, a status achieved previously by the Super Tuscans and the Piemontese wines. The first Sagrantino Montefalco 25 Anni, released in 1993 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the winery, immediately obtained the prestigious Gambero Rosso Three Glasses award -- an award it has never ceased to win with every vintage released -- and the Oscar of wine to Marco Caprai as Best Producer of the year for the entire production including the Montefalco Rosso, the Sagrantino Collepiano and the dessert wine Passito.

Even more importantly, The Arnaldo Caprai winery has achieved in a little over 20 years what important wine regions in the world are still struggling for: the exclusivity of the name and origin of the region.

The combination of indigenous grapes, innovative methods and state-of-the art techniques and equipment produces exceptional wines which exhibit the true character of the grapes and the personality of the terroir of Montefalco, that blessed microcosm where the Arnaldo Caprai winery is deeply entrenched in Umbria, Italy.

The wines:

White
Grecante, Grechetto dei Colli Martani DOC 2005 ($16)
Another indigenous grape of Italy for thousands of years, since the Romans conquered the Greeks, this is a variant of the Greco grape, like the Greco di Calabria, Grecante and its diminutive Grecheto. During the Renaissance these wines were traditionally offered by the farmers to the princes and cardinals of the community, as a token. We should be grateful the grape is still going strong and that Marco Caprai revived the wine making tradition. The first vintage of this Grechetto varietal was produced in 1989, and since then it has competed with the best pinot grigio wines and the Super Whites of Piedmont, Friuili and Tuscany, earning the Gambero Rosso Slow Food award. Hand picked and gently pressed before it is fermented a very low temperatures to preserve its finesse and aromas, this medium-bodied Grechetto, intensely yellow with green hues, is yummy with delicate floral notes on the nose yet decisively fruity. A large wine (13% alcohol), smooth to the point of buttery notes, it bursts in the mouth with vibrant fresh summer fruit and citrus, and is balanced with a great acidity and a long, pleasant finish. It is great as an aperitivo as well as a food wine: fish, seafood, veal, poultry and cheeses.

Reds
Poggio Belvedere Umbria Rosso IGT 2004 ($17)
A blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Ciegolo, another indigenous grape revival, is a light-bodied and soft brilliant ruby red wine, with enough spice to bolster up a pleasantly fruitiness and little tannins. Nice as an aperitivo and easy to drink with cheeses, pastas, red and white meats. Should be opened at least an hour before service and served cool.

Montefalco Rosso DOC 2004 ($25)
In the blend of 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino and 15% Merlot, it is the Sagrantino that imparts elegance, firm structure and freshness to this intense dry wine, with aromas of ripe black cherries and violets typical of Sangiovese and delicate hints of vanilla. It owes its deep red color to several pumping-over during maceration which extracts both color and aromas from the skins. These can be savored long into the pleasant finish. The smooth and velvety tannins balanced by a good acidity make for a great food wine. Pairs well with hearty foods and can be aged a good few years.

Sagrantino di Montelfaco Collepiano DOCG 2003 ($50 - $55)
100% Sagrantino from Collepiano in Montelfalco, literally: gentle slopes, from the pre-Apenines hills in the center of Umbria. This is a huge wine that is aged close to two years in oak barrels and at least 6 months in bottle. Like all Sagrantinos it is full-bodied, densely colored into an almost inky violet than turns to garnet with aging (can be aged up to 15 years). This Arnaldo Caprai Sagrantino has an expansive nose of jammy red berries, dried figs, apricots with hints of spices and chocolate and flows in as a mouthful of deeply concentrated ripe fruit, spices and dried fruit flavors. Velvety in texture it turns out to be surprisingly fresh with a light fruitiness and young acidity with hints of fresh almond that linger in the mouth for a long time; “a combination of polyphenols and acidity,” explain winemaker Marco Caprai. This wine is typically served with meat roasts, game but can be enjoyed with most cuisines.

Sagrantino di Montefalco 25 Anni DOCG 2003 (100 - $110)
This 100% Sagrantino is made from a carefully researched clonal selection of the best grapes of Sagrantino. Released for the first time in 1993 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the winery, all the declared vintages have been awarded the prestigious Gambero Rosso Three Glasses award, and the name has remained. This gorgeous wine is the king of Sagrantinos: it combines all the characteristics of the Rosso multiplied a hundredfold. Powerful, complex and dense aromas integrated with subtle oak are bolstered by elegant acidity and tannins at once firmly structured and velvety, are crowned by an expansive and infinitely pleasurable finish. This monster wine, aged over 24 months in French oak and at least 8 months in bottle, encapsulates centuries of hedonism and history and can keep well over 20 years.

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