Paolo Bea Arboreus 2018

"References in the archives of Montefalco, the beautiful hill town in Umbria, document the presence of the Bea family in this locality as early as 1500. Azienda Agricola Paolo Bea is a classic Italian fattoria, producing wine, raising farm animals for trade and home consumption, and working the land to produce olives, fruits, and vegetables. At the time Neal began working with the family in the late 1980s, a young and ambitious Giampiero Bea was learning the ropes alongside his father Paolo—a through-and-through farmer with an Umbrian dialect so thick as to be nearly incomprehensible to outsiders. Paolo produced shockingly expressive wines using a bare minimum of technology, and while these staunchly old-school wines were out of step with the modernization-happy Italian trends of the 1980s and 1990s, they resonated deeply with Neal and with our clients—and they continue to do so decades later. Giampiero has long been at the helm of Azienda Agricola Paolo Bea, and his commitment to healthy farming and low-intervention cellar work has made him a pillar in the Italian natural wine community. But it is Paolo’s approach—so bred-in-bone as to seem instinctual—that guides the estate to this day, given voice and definition through Giampiero’s remarkable work.

“Arboreus” is made from a Trebbiano clone known as Trebbiano Spoletino which is trained so that the fruit hangs high above the ground. The vineyards are planted in the low hills between Trevi and Montefalco at an elevation of 650 to 700 feet with a range of parcels facing both to the east and to the southwest. The soil is essentially clay and gravel. Harvest generally occurs during the first two weeks of October. The wine is left in contact with the skins for up to three weeks or more and is then aged in stainless steel tanks for at least two years prior to bottling. Sulfur is never added. Annual production is in the range of 3000 bottles." - Rosenthal Wine Merchant