Paolo Bea 'Santa Chiara' 2021 Bianco Montefalco, Umbria

750ml bottle

14% abv

Deep, golden, semi–skin-contact white showing ripe peach, apricot, citrus peel, and warm floral spice. The palate is textured and slightly tannic yet fresh, balancing rich stone-fruit weight with bright acidity and gentle herbal lift. It finishes long and savory, combining grip, fruit depth, and Bea’s signature rustic complexity.

Farming: Organic, Biodynamic
Variety: Grechetto (20%), Malvasia (20%), Sauvignon (20%), Garganega (20%), Chardonnay (20%)
Terroir: Trained in Cordon (Arboreus vines are trained up trees), vines for Pipparello and Cerrete are at least 20 years old. San Valentino vines are 50 years old. Vines for Arboreus and Lapideus are over 80 years old
Vinification: After crushing and destemming, wine ferments spontaneously in stainless-steel tanks, spending at least 2 weeks on its skins. The wine is then pressed using a vertical basket press. The wine spends 12-20 months on lees, with spontaneous malolactic fermentation in tank following alcoholic fermentation
Aging: 12-20 months in stainless-steel tanks. Unfined, unfiltered, no added sulfur with 40-55 mg/l total sulfur.

A white wine produced from Grechetto, Malvasia, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, and Garganega, in approximately equal proportions, planted in the Pagliaro vineyard, a site with alternating layers of gravel and clay at 1,300 feet above sea level with both east and southwest facing parcels. After crushing, the juice spends at least two weeks macerating on its lees; sulfur is never added. Fermentation occurs in small stainless steel vats at low temperatures. Two rackings are done early in the fermentation process to remove the heavy deposits and a third is done after three weeks. This wine is then left on the fine lees in stainless steel for one year before being bottled.

For over four decades, Giampiero Bea has been making some of Italy's most uncompromising, singular wines at Azienda Agricola Paolo Bea, the estate named for his father. The Bea family has been documented in Montefalco since 1500, crafting boisterous, wild expressions of Umbria's sun-drenched hills. As a co-founder of the ViniVeri ("Real Wine") movement, Giampiero refuses shortcuts: no green harvesting, no sorting, no temperature regulation, no pumping, no fining, no filtering. Just patience and trust in time over technology.