“It will be a collector's item”:
the exceptional 2005 vintage for Montefalco Sagrantino is given a five star rating

There could not have been a better subject for ths year's
preview.
This will be a collector's item to count amongst the finest
of recent vintages: the experts from The Quality
Commission presided over by Corrado Dal Piaz having
tasted 36 samples of Montefalco wine from the excellent
2005 vintage, decided on a maximum “five out of five”
rating. This rating has been confirmed by the Consorzio
del Sagrantino after careful analytical and sensory evaluation
as well as taking into consideration the weather
patterns throughout the growing season.
Còlpetrone played host to the occasion.“The 2005 vintage
is characterised by two distinct phases to the growing
season: the first from May through to the end of
July saw higher than normal temperatures and lower
than average rainfall” explained Lorenzo Landi who
introduced the vintage at the Round Table on
September 19th. “During the
second phase, ripening followed a
linear pattern without excessive
stress due to lack of water, while
relatively low temperatues favoured
the development of aromas.
The diluting effect of frequent rainfall
made little difference to the highly concentrated fruit thanks to the stress the
vines suffered prior to the period when the grapes change colour; because of this,
the wines are remarkably powerful.”