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Paolo Bea

San Valentino Rosso 2015

Price: $55.95
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Tasting notes

Thirty-nine days of skin maceration at 14% ABV produces powdery tannins and a savory mid-palate of black cherry, wet earth, and citrus peel that is distinctly Umbrian and not easily replicated. The Sagrantino fraction contributes structural grip while the Montepulciano softens the frame, making this more complete than either grape alone at this price. At nearly a decade from harvest, it is drinking with remarkable integration.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Black CherryWet EarthBlack PlumDried Herbs
  • Style: Full-bodied red; medium-dark garnet; earthy, savory, and structured; 14% ABV; unfiltered, no added sulfur
  • Grapes & Terroir: 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino, 15% Montepulciano; organic; clay-dominant soils; San Valentino vineyard, Montefalco; 1,300 ft elevation; vines approx. 50 years old
  • Winemaking: Hand-harvested; total destemming; 39-day skin maceration; spontaneous fermentation; no temperature control; aged in stainless steel then 44 months in large neutral Slavonian oak botti; unfiltered; no added sulfur
  • Serving: Serve at 62-66F; decant 45-60 min; can age further through 2030+
  • Pairing: Braised lamb, wild boar ragu, beef short ribs, aged Pecorino Umbro, mushroom-based pasta
  • Similar To: For fans of aged Barolo or Brunello who want Umbrian earthiness and natural wine authenticity

San Valentino is a single-vineyard red sourced from the San Valentino site in Montefalco, Umbria. The vineyard sits at approximately 1,300 feet elevation on clay-dominant soils and is planted to vines around 50 years old. The blend is 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino, and 15% Montepulciano, all co-planted and co-harvested from the same parcel during the first two weeks of October.

Grapes are hand-harvested, fully destemmed, and fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks without temperature control. The 2015 underwent 39 days of skin maceration before racking. The wine then aged in stainless steel followed by 44 months in large, neutral oak barrels. It is bottled without fining, filtration, or added sulfur.

Because the wine was rejected by the Montefalco Rosso DOC tasting panel in 2006 for what the panel described as low color and slight oxidation, Bea relabeled the wine as Umbria Rosso IGT and has maintained that classification since. The 2015 carries 14% ABV and represents one of the longest-macerated and longest-aged wines at this price point in the estate's lineup.

Paolo Bea is a founding member of the Vini Veri consortium and has farmed organically without synthetic chemicals since the beginning of commercial production in 1980. Son Giampiero manages vinification and co-designed the estate's distinctive handwritten labels.

The wine's earthy depth and bright acidity make it a strong match for braised lamb, wild boar ragu, or beef short ribs. Aged Pecorino Umbro or Parmigiano cut nicely through the tannin. Avoid delicate preparations; this wine needs food with fat and umami.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Full Body
Grapes:, Sangiovese, Sagrantino, Montepulciano
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2015
Alcohol:, 14%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Umbria
Appellation:, Umbria Rosso IGT
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

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If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


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If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

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Placed an order. What next?

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2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

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Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Paolo Bea

Records in the Montefalco municipal archives place the Bea family in this locality as early as 1500. The estate, formally called Azienda Agricola Paolo Bea, operates as a traditional Italian fattoria: producing wine, raising farm animals, and cultivating olives, grains, fruits, and vegetables across 15 total hectares. Only five hectares are planted to vine. Paolo Bea began commercial wine production in 1980. His son Giuseppe manages the vineyards and son Giampiero oversees vinification and all commercial aspects of the winery.

The vineyards are farmed organically without synthetic chemicals or fertilizers. Canopy is controlled through severe winter pruning and debudding. Vines for the San Valentino bottling are approximately 50 years old. Sagrantino accounts for roughly 60% of total vineyard plantings. All grapes are harvested by hand and sorted in the vineyard and again at the cellar. Wines are bottled without fining, filtration, or added sulfur.

After hand-harvesting and total destemming, grapes are soft-crushed into stainless steel tanks where spontaneous fermentation begins with indigenous yeasts and no temperature control. Maceration for the reds ranges from 35 to 60 days depending on the cuvee. For the 2015 San Valentino, maceration extended to 39 days. Wines are then aged in stainless steel before moving to large, neutral Slavonian oak barrels called botti. The cellar is not temperature-controlled; Giampiero Bea designed the space using underground ventilated tubes and stone walls with groundwater humidity to regulate the aging environment passively. The San Valentino is released only when Giampiero considers it ready, typically well after most other producers have moved on to younger vintages.

Wine region

Umbria, Italy

Montefalco is a walled hill town in the province of Perugia in central Umbria, sitting at approximately 470 meters elevation and often called the Balcony of Umbria for its views over the Spoleto valley. The Montefalco DOC covers five communes: Montefalco, Bevagna, Gualdo Cattaneo, Giano dell'Umbria, and Castel Ritaldi. Within the DOC sits the Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG, reserved exclusively for wines from the Sagrantino grape. The climate is Mediterranean-subcontinental: hot, dry summers with cooling evening breezes from the Apennines and cold, moderately rainy winters. Average annual rainfall is around 700mm, concentrated in autumn and winter. Significant diurnal temperature variation during the growing season preserves natural acidity in the grapes.

Soils across the Montefalco zone are primarily calcareous clay, with variation across four general soil types: river-lake conglomerates of yellow sands and cemented gravel, lake sands and clays, alluvial pebbly soils, and calcareous marls. The San Valentino vineyard specifically sits on clay-dominant soils at around 400 meters elevation. The dominant red grape of the appellation is Sagrantino, one of Italy's most tannic indigenous varieties, followed by Sangiovese and Montepulciano. Paolo Bea was among the first producers to bottle Sagrantino commercially, beginning in 1980, and co-founded the Vini Veri consortium, which requires organic farming and non-interventionist winemaking from its members.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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