2001 Arnaldo Caprai Sagrantino di Montefalco 25 Anni
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Tasting notes
First released in 1993 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the estate, 25 Anni is Arnaldo Caprai's flagship wine and most recognisable bottling. It has an enticing aroma of spicy dried fruits and tobacco, with cedar, damp earth and a hint of bonfire smoke. In the mouth it's delightfully mature, with fragrant potpourri and sticky red and black fruits. The tannins have integrated nicely, leaving a subtle structure that supports the still-fleshy fruit. The mid-palate features touches of tobacco, chocolate, spicy cedar, some meaty notes and a waft of smoke, leading to a soft, long finish. Incredibly elegant, and still with youthful freshness.
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Average Score
James Button, Decanter
Wine Spectator
More reviews and scores
The 2001 Montefalco Sagrantino 25 Anni, the selection but 50,000 bottles worth, is warmer, ampler, and decisively more powerful on the nose, richer and fuller in flavor than the regular bottling, but with a velvet in the texture that makes it already approachable. There are, nonetheless, easily 15 years of exceptional drinking ahead. Marco Caprai, the young entrepreneur who created a name and a market for the wines of Montefalco in Umbria all by himself, has a lot more company in the zone than when he started, a period in which Sagrantino was considered a grape for dessert wines and little else. Not that he has all that much to worry about – he started working on his vineyards over 15 years ago, when everyone else was asleep at the switch, and he also enjoyed the not inconsiderable advantage of the services of consulting winemaker Attilio Pagli. About this professional, whose name is too little known outside of Italy, the only thing I wish to say is that no Italian oenologist has given me more pleasure with his wines over the last 20 years, starting with the superb 1985 Brunello di Montalcino of Giulio Salvioni, made when Pagli was a mere 22 years old. Importer: Villa Italia, San Francisco, CA; tel. (650) 873-6060
Intense aromas of blackberry and jam with hints of coffee and toasted oak. Full-bodied, soft and round with beautiful tannins. Long and caressing. Best red I have ever had from here. Best after 2006. 2,500 cases made, 500 cases imported.