2006 Umbria Bianco Arboreus

Bea’s 2006 Arboreus is Trebbiano Spoletino from 80-120 year-old, pre-phylloxera vines. An open, honeyed bouquet leads to exotic apricots, cedar and spices, all of which come together in a rich, textured style. The addition of a handful of partly dried grapes confers depth and an attractive oiliness to the vivid finish. This is a fabulous white from Bea. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2017. Giampiero Bea is one of Umbria’s leading producers. The wines are made in a totally natural, non-interventionalist style, with no temperature control in fermentation, only natural yeasts and no added sulfites. At their best, these are wonderfully pure, expressive wines loaded with character. Because Bea lets nature runs its course, the wines are highly vintage sensitive. In great years the wines are typically fabulous but in weaker vintages the wines tend to reflect both the positive and negative attributes of those years to a higher degree than most wines these days. Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on one’s point of view, but there is no mistaking that when Bea has ideal conditions to work with his wines are stellar. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990