2009 Paolo Bea Umbria San Valentino- Italy, Umbria (7/26/2019)
Accompanying a pizza, this was youthfully vibrant, a little volatile, and explosively flavorful. It’s still quite drying on the back end, so more cellar time is warranted. The fruit is there to support the aging.
Still haven’t tried the Cerrete I have in my cellar, that’s his newer single vineyard Sagrantino, but the Pagliaro is a beast, pretty wild. His Santa Chiara is one of the few orange wines I really like, super complex. San Valentino and Pipparello are his Montefalco Rosso/Riserva, Sangiovese blends, and at least the Pipparello needs quite a bit of time to unfold.
Pagliaro ages well with medium-to-long term cellaring. Recently dipped into my 2000 and while already silky-smooth good, I feel my remaining 2 bottles can stick around for several more years.