Azienda Agricola Paolo Bea sits in the hills around Montefalco, where the Bea family has lived and farmed since the 1500s. This is a true Umbrian fattoria, a place where vineyards, olive trees, orchards, grains, animals, and family life are woven together in a way that feels timeless. The estate carries a sense of continuity that is almost disarming, as if the land itself shapes the rhythm of each day. Paolo Bea’s conviction that nature should be observed, listened to, and never dominated gives the wines a presence that feels both ancient and deeply personal.
Today, Paolo’s sons, Giuseppe and Giampiero, carry that ethos forward with a devotion that can be felt in every bottle. The vineyards are tended with the same patience and humility that defined their father’s work, and the wines that emerge are unmistakably of this place. They are wild, expressive, full of pulse and emotion, and they remain some of the most meaningful bottles within our cellars, on our tables, and in our memories. These are wines that continually inspire us and create reference points vintage after vintage.
Pipparello comes from a prized hilltop vineyard in Montefalco, perched at 1,300 feet above sea level on soils of clay and gravel. The vines are at least twenty years old, producing a blend that has become a defining expression of the Bea style: roughly sixty percent sangiovese, twenty five percent montepulciano, and fifteen percent sagrantino. The fruit is harvested in mid October and undergoes an extended cuvaison of forty to fifty days before resting for a year in stainless steel, two years in large oak botti, and an additional year in bottle before release. As with the all wines from this iconic producer, the unhurried and deliberate approach in the cellar gives the vineyard site a distinctive voice in the bottle.
The 2018 Pipparello is vibrant and compelling, opening with layers of medicinal cherry, dusty sage, black pepper, and warm spice. The palate carries a lively interplay of sweet and sour red fruits, lifted by zesty acidity that brings the vintage’s energy into sharp focus. Fine tannins guide the finish with a gentle pull, leaving notes of citrus peel, berry skin, and earth lingering in a way that feels both youthful and composed. This vintage favors immediacy and charm, though it retains the structure to evolve beautifully in the mid term.
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This is available as a pre-sale. We anticipate these wines will arrive by December, and will be ready to ship as weather allows. We will contact you at that time to arrange delivery. Please note pre-arrival sales are non-refundable as suppliers require us to make binding commitments and deposits to secure the wine.
