Agri Segretum

And what of the Santino… this wine makes the case for why Sagrantino may be the best variety for red dessert wines. Its insane tannins and resinous fernet-like profile add profound interest to the sweetness created by appassimento. Its epicurean sweetness is carried from bodily pleasures to the realms of the mind by the mnemonic nuances and poetic license of its myriad aromas. Meanwhile, the tannins put a frame around the viscous generosity of such a luscious dessert. The name is linked to the Italian for sacred and for the sacrament, and indeed the dessert version of Sagrantino was the Umbrian eucharist wine throughout the middle ages. It is such a rarefied and elevating experience, perfect on its own or as a sounding board for all kinds of chocolates, patisseries, and confections.

Santino is made from 100% Sagrantino grapes that are picked late (November!) and dried on racks for 45-60 days before being pressed, creating this lusciously sweet passito wine with incredible grip and persistence. The vines are rooted in limestone clays at 200–400m altitude. The grapes come from rows 110–148 are harvested by hand in late November, when fully mature, in the region’s warm, dry Mediterranean climate. Destemmed and fermentated in a small stainless steel vessel for two weeks before being pressed to new French oak, where a slow fermentation and aging continue until bottling.

Served in a pretty little glass bottle with a glass stopper, it’s the perfect end to a night, as spiritual as it is hedonistic (I mean, what’s the difference, really?).

2022 vintage (current release): 840 half-bottles produced