Sagrantino di Montefalco 1998: the new vintage in a preview tasting made by the team of lavinium.com
The staff of the Italian wine-site lavinium.com had a preview tasting of the new Sagrantino 25 Anni, due to be released next October. Here is their opinion about this new vintage…

“Sagrantino 25 Anni has been going strong for many years now, but this time it has really outdone itself. 1998 proved to be an extraordinary vintage for Umbria in general and Montefalco in particular, even better than 1997.
The grapes selected for this wine have just an unbelievable level of concentration and extract. Indeed Sagrantino 25 Anni is the product of the oldest vineyard of the Caprai estate and it is only made in the best vintages, although thanks to Marco Caprai strong dedication to experimentation and selection on this variety, this wine was produced every year without loosing its charm one bit.

The wine we tasted is going to be released at the end of 2001, after a quite long bottle ageing. Given that it hasn’t undergone any type of clarification, it looks quite clear, very deep ruby red with violet tinges very thick thus proving to be very rich in extract. Naturally, it will loose a bit of colour and concentration once completed its ageing, but it will still retain an impressive look. It shows a very deep, long nose of excellent finesse, with layers of red fruit and blackberry; oak is still very pronounced (25-30 months in oak) with toasty and vanilla notes.
Everything in this wine is rich and concentrated. It is an explosion of energy in the mouth, with evident tannins, that are not aggressive, but not yet tamed – and we wonder if they will ever be, mind you Sagrantino is the variety that boasts the highest concentration of phenolics in the world! It displays an impressive, robust body, still very elegant and full, with an already quite good balance. It is very intense and unbelievably long in the mouth, generously showing all the aromas displayed on the nose, with already a hint of tobacco, spices and layers of lush enchanting fruit.
This wine is almost perfect and is going to deserve far more than our ‘preview’ rating of 95 points. It is going to cost around Lire 100.000 ($50), which in comparison to the wines of our French neighbours, it is a very reasonable price. We strongly suggest you to reserve at least one bottle of this 25 Anni at your local wine store. You cannot afford to loose it!’