WTN: 2006 Paolo Bea San Valentino (Umbria)

I forgot to post this one. This seems to be getting a lot of press in the hipster wine circles ("natural" wine" ) A blend of Sangiovese, Sagratino, and I believe Merlot from Umbria

And...it was pleasant. Light, fruity, soft red with not too much tannic structure. Good acidity.

But...it did not really rock my world very much. If it was $15 it would make a great pizza wine. But, at $40, I expected a little more complexity. Pass on further bottles.

I forgot to post this one. This seems to be getting a lot of press in the hipster wine circles ("natural" wine" ) A blend of Sangiovese, Sagratino, and I believe Merlot from Umbria

And...it was pleasant. Light, fruity, soft red with not too much tannic structure. Good acidity.

But...it did not really rock my world very much. If it was $15 it would make a great pizza wine. But, at $40, I expected a little more complexity. Pass on further bottles.

Either you drank this very quickly (i.e. 5 minutes), we have very different palates, there is some serious bottle variation, or some combination of the above. Because I found this borderline too tannic to be enjoyable, especially once it had been exposed to a few hours of air. My reaction was probably a bit extreme because I don't eat meat and am not a lover of Sagrantino, and I know other Bea fans didn't find the tannins too obtrusive. But they certainly should be noticeable.

In addition, I don't think even the partisan lovers of the wine claim it shows complexity. It is of course declassified and therefore supposedly a good deal. But it's still a Bea "entry-level" wine. Of course his pricing is not user friendly...

Hmmmm. I don't know. We drank it over an evening.

The tannins did not stick out to me, but I am VERY tannin tolerant. (Heck, I enjoyed a shut down hard 2004 ch. Pontet Canet last year!!!)

The Grollet in my other TN ost was much more noticably tannic to me than this wine.

I forgot to post this one. This seems to be getting a lot of press in the hipster wine circles ("natural" wine" )

I just don't get the connection between the "rolling eyes" smily and the "natural" wine, not to mention "hipster wine circles".
I happen to like Paolo Bea's wines, and admittedly have made mention in a TN or 2 about my turn-off regarding their high pricing.
However, I've also had the good fortune, imho, to visit with and taste many wines with the Bea family in their kitchen table, and saw and heard for myself how passionate they were in practicing natural wine-making.

Didn't mean to be insulting to Sr. Bea in any way. Just commenting on the controversy over "natural" wines (see the earlier thread) and the fact that the Bea wines are promoted by wine shops that emphasize natural and artisinal wines.

I did like the wine. I like many "natural" wines and love the natural wine movement because of its passion and the passionate wine shop owners who promote it here in the home of industrial spoof. (ducks and waits for Hoke to weigh in on the spoofy nature of American wines! )

Just didn't like the $40.