2021 Sacred & Profane Heathcote Sagrantino

The sagrantino variety is mostly only found in one small area in Italy, the historic village of Montefalco in the heart of Umbria. It is one of the rare red varieties to have colour in both the skin and the pulp, making it typically an intensely dark and tannic wine. Historically the grape was used for sweet passito wine, but since the 1970s it has more often been made as a dry table wine, sometimes blended with other local varieties. It is believed that the name Sagrantino comes from Sacristry, most likely as the grape was used to make the revered sweet wine that was donated to the Abbey in Montefalco. The sacred-profane dichotomy was a concept posited by Ēmile Durkheim, where the sacred represents the interests of the many, whereas the profane serves the interest of the individual. I also like the way wine is a representation of nature (sacred) and human (profane). After harvesting at optimum ripeness, I de-stemmed the entirety and pressed after two weeks once the ferment was complete. The wine was transferred to a mixture of unused French oak puncheons and five-year-old French oak hogsheads, and after a rack and return in Spring, it was blended and bottled in February 2022. This is a bold and tannic wine that is nonetheless bright and fresh thanks in part to its high level of acidity. Dark fruits are complemented by robust tannins on the palate, for those who prefer their reds powerful but not heavy or oaky.