Moretti Omero Montefalco Sagrantino 2016

If you’ve never tried a Sagrantino di Montefalco, you’re in for a surprise – or a shock. This indigenous Umbrian speciality is hugely characterful, and perfectly illustrates Italy’s almost limitless capacity for wine intrigue. It’s a dark wine, and this oaked example smells brooding, almost smoky but complex, too: the smell of the hills in autumn. It’s deep and fiercely intense as well as amply tannic – but not harsh for all that, since the wild forest plum fruits are sweet and sumptuous, and those tannins bond happily both to the fruits as well as to the wine’s glycerol and oak chamfering. It is, in sum, a complete original – but our judges loved it, so there’s a good chance that readers might too. [Drink through 2028+.] Score – 97. (Decanter World Wine Awards, 2020)