Ask any experienced sommelier for list of iconic Italian producers, and Paolo Bea is sure to be on it. Bea is most known for his incredible and age worthy expressions of Sagrantino, and he has been an icon and champion for native Italian wines for years. For those unfamiliar, Sagrantino is Umbria's signature indigenous grape and by far their most prized. It's a burly, powerful variety known for roaring tannins and crunchy, ripe black fruits with notes of smokey cedar and tons of herbs and spices like anise and rosemary. If high tannins are your thing then Sagrantino is your perfect match. These wines are intense and fiery in their youth but also bursting with charm and powerful fruit that stands up to and even harmonizes with the muscular structure. Paolo Bea is an icon for a reason as he somehow manages to tame this wild beast of a grape and turn it into some of the most seductive and pleasurable wines of Italy.
While Paolo Bea's style is sometimes put in the natural wine camp, the family's winemaking experience dates back over 500 years, and the wines are just incredibly traditional and without any modern, flashy winemaking techniques. In essence, Paolo was making "natural wine" before natural wine was even a thing. Despite their low sulfur additions, zero new oak, and more rustic traditional winemaking, these powerful, tannic, behemoths crafted from the classic varieties of the Central Italian waistline are generously ripe and fleshy and often clock in around 14.5 to 15% ABV. These wines are often so big in youth they would make any Napa wine but Harlan Estate pink in the cheeks. As high-end Italian importer Neal Rosenthal puts it "Bea’s wines remain singular—boisterous, unabashedly wild expressions of their undulating, sun-drenched hills of origin, each new vintage of which is eagerly anticipated by a legion of loyal clients." Their opulence and grippy tannic structure is balanced by a space opera of exotic spices, herbs and aromatics tantrically woven into a velvet fabric. These are a must try for vinous explorers and all those passionate about Italian wine. If you love rustic, traditionally made wines or native Italian grapes and have not discovered these yet, welcome to your next dream wines. - BRANDON KERNE, MASTER SOMMELIER
Per Rosenthal Wine Merchant (Paolo Bea's US Importer): “Arboreus” is made from a Trebbiano clone known as Trebbiano Spoletino which is trained so that the fruit hangs high above the ground. The vineyards are planted in the low hills between Trevi and Montefalco at an elevation of 650 to 700 feet with a range of parcels facing both to the east and to the southwest. The soil is essentially clay and gravel. Harvest generally occurs during the first two weeks of October. The wine is left in contact with the skins for up to three weeks or more and is then aged in stainless steel tanks for at least two years prior to bottling. Sulfur is never added. Annual production is in the range of 3000 bottles."
95 Points from Eric Guido of Vinous: "The 2016 Bianco Arboreus has gained volume and depth since I lasted tasted it, wafting up unexpectedly rich and tropical in the glass, with a burst of exotic florals, ginger and spices giving way to freshly sliced nectarine. It's round and supple on the palate, with a flourish of saline minerality, lime-tinged pit fruits and hints of sour kiwi that cascade throughout. This tapers off with a honeyed inner sweetness contrasted by a salty twang, lasting incredibly long yet still remarkably fresh. The 2016 is flat-out gorgeous.'
