Review: |
"The 2013 Sagrantino di Montefalco Fracanton captivates with a display that’s like working your way through a basket of freshly picked berries: blue, black, red, sweet, sour, tart. With time in the glass, a whiff of spicy citrus mixes with alpine herbs to complete the expression. This is silky and pliant in feel, with depths of ripe cherries and currants all lifted by nervous acidity, and grippy tannins build tension toward the close. There’s amazing length and concentration throughout the youthfully chewy finale, as rosy inner florals and hints of hard red candies slowly fade. The Fracanton is an old-school, throwback style to the way Angelo Fongoli’s grandfather and great grandfather made their wines. It hails from the estate’s oldest vines, undergoes a long maceration without the addition of any sulfur, and is refined completely in large oak botti for three years. Only 2,000 bottles were made. Fans of Sagrantino, this is worth seeking out. In 2010 Angelo Fongoli took over his family’s farm as the fourth generation to tend these lands, yet with a focus on producing and bottling wine based on traditional techniques and the varieties of the region: Trebbiano Spoletino, Grechetto, Sangiovese, Montepulciano and Sagrantino. Today, Fongoli looks after his 20 hectares of vines using organic techniques and biodiversity to ward off insects and disease, with the ultimate goal of achieving a full biodynamic approach throughout all of his vineyards. In the winery, you’ll find the use of spontaneous fermentations, stainless steel, both with and without temperature control, aging in barrel, demi-muid or amphora, and strictly limited use of sulfur. The style here is decidedly closer to Paolo Bea than Arnaldo Caprai, and the potential is evident. The wines can be quirky, and you may find some variability, that should be expected from any producer that employs similar techniques – but when they are on, they are nearly impossible to resist." |