Description
The 2017 Montefalco Sagrantino Cerrete is sourced from one of Paolo Bea’s highest vineyards above Montefalco, a steep, cooler site where nights drop sharply and diurnal swings stretch the ripening cycle. Rocky clay and limestone soils limit vigor and push roots deep, and the family’s viticulture follows their established organic stewardship, extensive hand labor, and deliberately restrained yields. Cerrete’s altitude often delays harvest, making selection and timing central to managing uneven ripeness across terraces in a variety as structurally intense as Sagrantino. Fermentation proceeds spontaneously, and maceration is long and observation driven, consistent with the Bea preference for non corrective cellar work that allows the grape’s tannic architecture to develop on its own terms. Aging continues in large neutral casks to integrate structure gradually without redirecting the wine through overt oak influence. In the context of the estate, Cerrete occupies the most elevated and severe position, providing a study in how lean soils and altitude shift Sagrantino toward a more austere, tension driven expression within the broader Montefalco landscape.