2008 Le Mura Saracene Montefalco Rosso

Happy Cellar Saturday!  It's the first Saturday of the month, and time to raid the cellar for a wine that's at least a decade in the making.  Tonight I've opened a wine that I fully admit was a victim of my lack of short, or even medium term memory.  I bought a couple bottles of the 2008 Le Mura Saracene Montefalco Rosso at G.B. Russo's in Grand Rapids back in 2012 or 2013, and I remember Dave Russo telling me that this wine would benefit from a couple more years in the cellar, and five years later I found it!  At any rate, for those unfamiliar with Montefalco Rosso, it's a wine from a region in central Umbria and is a blend primarily of Sangiovese (60-70%) along with Sagrantino (10-15%), which is a varietal that's very tannic.  The remainder of the blend is up to the wine maker, with many now employing more traditional varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  So let's see how this one tastes!

The wine is a deep, inky black at the center with bright garnet along the edges, a testament to the impact of the Sagrantino and other blending grapes on the otherwise lighter bodied Sangiovese.  The nose is a bounty of ripe red and black fruit, plum, cherry, currant along with earthy aromas of peat and olive.  The taste is at first a wave of earthy mineral and olive, that transitions to some more mellow hints of cherry and prune, before circling back to some rustic hints of cinnamon and mocha.  The tannins are quite robust despite their age, lending to a long, smooth and exceptionally dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's a wonderfully drinking wine, but I think it may be somewhat of an acquired taste that's quite different than a Chianti or Brunello.  This wine would pair well with roasts, wild game, and of course hearty Italian dishes.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some squid ink tagliatelle tossed with shrimp in a tomato basil cream sauce.  Cheers!