Paolo and Giampiero Bea San Valentino Umbria Rosso 2017

70% Sangiovese, 15% Montepulciano and 15% Sagrantino 

Fermented with ambient yeasts and on the skins for 46 days before going into steel tank for eight months and eventually into oak casks for 40 months. This wine actually started off as a Montefalco Rosso, but it was failed by the appellation tasting commission in 2006. Giampiero Bea decided to remove it from the denomination altogether and named the wine after one of Umbria's most celebrated religious figures, Saint Valentine. This hot-vintage expression reveals dark fruit, spiciness from the grape skins and earthy aromas. It is a full-bodied red with lots of Umbrian oomph and power (with a contained 14% alcohol content). - Monica Larner