Montefalco is best known for the tannic Sagrantino. Tenuta Alzatura, part of the Famiglia Cecchi family, pushes back with a white grape you would not expect here: Trebbiano Spoletino. Two bottles on the table, same variety, two completely different expressions.
The estate
29 hectares in Umbria, at 370 metres, in organic conversion since 2018, certified in 2021. Three plots: Alzatura, Monterone and San Marco; each with its own soil and microclimate. Vine density 5,000 per hectare, Guyot training.
Trebbiano Spoletino is an old local variety with naturally high acidity; vigorous and well suited to whites that can rest.
Aria di Casa Montefalco DOC Bianco 2021
Specs: 100% Trebbiano Spoletino, 10 months in barriques, 6 months in bottle, 13% ABV, 3,000 bottles.
Deep yellow with a gold cast, clearly viscous. The nose opens on candied lemon, grapefruit pith, white peach and apricot. Then acacia and elderflower, followed by vanilla, toasted almond and a touch of coconut from the barriques. With air: beeswax, dried herbs, a hint of honey.
The palate is dry, high acidity balanced by a full, almost creamy mouthfeel from extended lees ageing. Halfway through, a mineral slide of wet stone and a light salinity. Finish 30+ seconds, toasted nuts, citrus zest and that honey note.
Cellaring potential 5-7 years.
Cortili Montefalco DOC Bianco 2023
Specs: 100% Trebbiano Spoletino, minimum 6 months in bottle, 12.5% ABV, 11,000 bottles.
Bright lemon yellow, lighter in build. The nose throws a fruit explosion: ripe pineapple, passion fruit, a hint of lychee, then lime zest and white grapefruit. Floral (hawthorn, jasmine, chamomile) with herbal lifts of tarragon and fennel frond, and a chalky mineral undertone.
The palate is dry, high acidity, medium-plus body. The mineral note shows stronger here than on the nose; almost savoury alongside the tropical fruit. Subtle creaminess mid-palate, without flattening the lift. Medium-plus finish, citrus zest and white flowers lingering.
What they show side by side
Aria di Casa is the serious, age-worthy expression; Cortili is the youthful fruit-and-mineral take. Together they make a clear case for what barriques and lees time can do with the same variety.
At the table
- Aria di Casa: lobster risotto, gold-smoked sea bream with butter sauce, aged Pecorino
- Cortili: oysters, ceviche, vitello tonnato, goat-cheese salads
Final word
Tenuta Alzatura is redefining what a white wine from Montefalco can be. For anyone willing to look beyond the Sagrantino lens, two bottles wait that show where Umbrian whitemaking stands.
Thanks to Tenuta Alzatura for the bottles. More info at tenuta-alzatura.it.
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