Lunch & Dinner @ Casa Tre Sorelli. Sagrantino di Montefalco 2008 – Spolettoducale. Passito 2006. Greshetto 2011, La Murola, Marche

Sagrantino di Montefalco 2008 – Spolettoducale

A 100% Sagrantino from the dead centre of Umbria: the throbbing smell of sweltering heat in a glass backed up by a berry nose.

Quite strong at 14.5%, Ruby Red, lots of blackberries in the nose – still can’t taste the supposed Blueberries!

Lovely rounded structure.

Sagrantino di Montefalco. Passito 2006.

Desert in a glass: deep purple, very mellow and intense sweet wine – not at all cloying.

A very nice Passito.

2011 Greshetto, La Murola, Marche

A stalwart from the La Murola winery which we visited in Urbisaglia a few years back.

Refreshing, lots of apricots, pleasant with lunch or as an aperitif.

La Murola Sangiovese Novello 2012

Donald & Dale treated us to this Vino Novello, Italian for Young Wine, also from La Murola.

Similar in style and thinking to a Beaujolais Nouveau, which some people get sniffy about, this is produced all over Italy and released on Nov 6th every year, unlike in France where it is released @ 00.01 on the Third Thursday of November

We chilled it – and despite its old (!) age it was a light and fruity, red wine perfect with lunch in the hot weather.

Montefalco Rosso DOC. 2010. Arnaldo Caprai. Bronze Tari. Rocca dei Conte

We had this with dinner on the Terrace at Villa Milani.

Me radish & pistaccio nut salad followed by tagliatelle of sanguigne beef on a bed of rucola. Lesley melon on top of carpaccio of beef followed by pork fillet with endive.

The meal was nice, the wine very nice.

Local – within 30 Kilometres. 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino, 15% Merlot. Arnaldo Caprai started with 5 acres under vine in Monte Falco and now the estate runs to a hefty holding run by his son Marco and they have been championing the Sagrantino grape since 1971.

Sagrantino is the grape indigineous to Umbria / Montefalco which tastes of Blackberry. I must admit I couldn’t detect it. Deep colour in the glass, the 2010 tasted of well structured tanins, lots of black cherry and a satin smooth finish.

For a nightcap we enjoyed this craft Bronze Tari Pale Ale from the Rocca dei Conti brewery in Modica South Eastern Sicily. The ABV was smuged out but I suspect it was quite a bit stronger than the stated 5.8%. Good hops, nice refreshing bite, this would have gone well with our meal too.