The red Umbrian wine Montefalco Sagrantino (see earlier blogpost, in Dutch) has gathered a devout group of followers in the 21st century.
The Lunelli Family, owners of Tenuta Castelbuono, even erected an altar for the powerful drops, in the rolling hills near Bevagna.
Expanding from their native Trentino, where they successfully built THE brand name of Italian sparkling, Ferrari, the Lunellis fell in love with the Umbrian potential for high quality ánd characteristic red wines.
Architect and artist Arnoldo Pomodoro was commissioned to design a monument that would be both a place to make and store the wines, ánd to receive its pelgrims.
The Carapace, as the dome that resembles a turtle shield is called, is open for tours and individual visitors.
But be sure to like tannic reds, because Castelbuono only produces Montefalco Sagrantino and Montefalco Rosso.
We tasted a range of several vintages; the older ones were the ones to enjoy!
The lunch that followed the tasting was one of the most memorable I have ever had: especially the crunchy filo dough pastry with rabbit and sweet potato, together with a glass of Castelbuono Sagrantino, was a match made in heaven.
Or the lasagne, tarte tatin-style, with green vegetables and a reduction of Sagrantino … mama mia…
A pity dessert, a delicious little custard pie with orange, was not accompanied by a sweet Sagrantino passito. Castelbuono is aging its first passito in the cellars at the moment. It will be available next year.
More on Tenuta Castelbuono
More on our recent trip to Umbria
Photos: Nico Poppelier and Mariëlla Beukers
Mariella zegt
From Sara Grünwald comes an addition: “The greens we had were field greens from the vineyards. The chef foraged them, I think. The greens were called Ciccoria and then Boraggine, chicory and borage.”