Wine of the Week Profile 02/05/07
2004 Fratelli Pardi Montefalco

’04 Fratelli Pardi Rosso di Montefalco $14.49
From 1919 to 1945, the Pardi family hand-harvested vines in a vineyard located on the church grounds of Saint Francis in Montefalco. The wines produced there were sold all over Italy and the most prestigious buyer was the Vatican. For the last 5 years, the present generation of Pardis have been reviving their great-grandfathers’ winemaking legacy with stunning results.

Fratelli Pardi is located just outside of Montefalco at 260 meters above sea level. The town's hilly vineyards are blessed with sunny eastern to south-eastern exposures. They cover just over a thousand square meters and include an underground barrel cellar, where the grapes are harvested in the beginning of October. A blend of 70 % Sangiovese , 15% Sagrantino , 15% Merlot and Cabernet goes into this delicious Montefalco Rosso. The grapes are crushed and fermented on skins for ten days before being aged in stainless steel for six months. Finally, the wine spends a year in barrique before it is bottled and released.

This Montefalco Rosso required no aeration and was delicious right out of the bottle. This medium-bodied red offers up fresh ripe cherry, raspberry and smoky herbal notes with hints of creamy chocolate. A delicious, rich red with silky tannins, juicy red fruit, and buoyant acidity. I enjoyed it with spicy pasta and grilled pork chops and it was perfect.

—Donald