New Release of Paolo Bea Montefalco Sagrantino, Pagliaro | 2020

A longtime ambassador of organic farming and low-intervention cellar work, Paolo Bea has earned the kind of loyalty that’s immune to the ups-and-downs of the wine industry. When these wines land, they disappear straight into the cellars of beloved neighborhood restaurants and serious wine shops. And within the lineup, Pagliaro is the showstopper. The vineyard sits at 1,300 feet on a sun-soaked hillside of limestone, clay, and gravel, planted to the famously not shy Sagrantino grape. Raised in steel and large casls, then bottled unfiltered, the 2020 is a wild ride of pitch-dark fruits, brambly spice, molten earth, and a palate that moves in every direction at once, spilling into every nook and cranny. It’s over-the-top, but somehow seamless. Delicious, organized chaos. That’s PAG. ~Allegra Angelo