Arnaldo Caprai's single-vineyard Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG, all Sagrantino from the Vigna del Lago plot. Twenty-four months in French oak give dark fruit, graphite and unusually soft tannin for the grape. A cellar wine for roast meats.
A single-vineyard Montefalco Sagrantino from Caprai's Vigna del Lago, aged 24 months in French oak. Producer notes and Vivino's drinkers agree on dark fruit, graphite and tannin that is unusually soft for the grape.
Caprai's Vigna del Lago Sagrantino opens on cherry jam and dark plum, with the refined graphite note the producer flags and a lift of sweet spice and violet. Vivino's drinkers most often log dark fruit, then oak and a sweet-tobacco edge from the 24 months in French barrique.
Black cherry
Blackberry
Cherry
Plum
Tobacco
Leather
Liquorice
CocoaFull-bodied and firmly structured, yet the tannin is unusually soft and polished for Sagrantino, the fruit of Caprai's research-driven winemaking. Blackberry and black cherry keep real freshness, while leather, cocoa and a graphite-mineral thread run underneath. The alcoholic warmth stays integrated, weight without heat.
Long and savoury, closing on cocoa, dried cherry and the fine, graphite-edged grip that asks for food or further age.
Umbria's flagship native grape from the house that revived it: a single-vineyard cru with a 20-year cellar life that Vivino's 1,300-plus drinkers rate at a steady 4.3. It sits below Caprai's 25 Anni but well above everyday Montefalco red, and rewards roast meat, game and aged cheese now or after a decade down.
Two UK merchants list the 2018 and 2020, from about £46 to £55 a bottle. Caprai makes only around 6,000 bottles of this Vigna del Lago cru each year, so stock is thin.
A DOCG built for the table and the cellar rather than the everyday: high tannin, real ageing capacity, and a benchmark-producer price of around £46 to £55.
DOCG Sagrantino aged 24 months in French oak with firm tannin and a producer-stated 20-year potential: a serious cellar wine that improves for well over a decade.
A prestige single-vineyard DOCG from Umbria's flagship Sagrantino house at a mid-premium price: a wine for a serious dinner or a gift.
High but polished Sagrantino tannin with fresh acidity makes it a natural with grilled and roasted red meat, game and aged cheese; too structured for light or delicate plates, so strong rather than universal.
Around £46 to £55 from the appellation's benchmark producer for a 6,000-bottle single-vineyard DOCG is fair value. No category price baseline was available, so this is judged against the Montefalco Sagrantino price band.
Scoring is rule-based and deterministic. The model and weightings are documented in our editorial methodology.
A compact view of what the Montefalco Sagrantino denomination actually requires, and how this bottle sits inside it. Pulled from the official Italian disciplinare.
Compare tracked offers from verified retailers at a glance. Stock is shown only where the retailer exposes it. Logos, sale pricing, and the strongest offer are surfaced first.
Caprai releases Valdimaggio after 24 months in barrique and at least eight in bottle, with a stated 20-year cellar life. The cooler, classic 2018 and the balanced 2020 are both in the market now.
A balanced Umbrian vintage with even ripening, giving ripe dark fruit and the soft tannin Caprai is known for. Released after 24 months in barrique and eight in bottle, it has the structure for 15 years of cellaring.
A cooler, more classic central-Italian season after the hot 2017, giving Caprai a fresher, more perfumed Sagrantino with firm but already-accessible tannin. Drinking well now and holding into the late 2030s.
Drink-now / hold guidance reflects general style cues for this wine, not a forecast for a specific bottle. Where vintage-level editorial notes exist, they appear above.
Since 1986 Marco Caprai's research turned Sagrantino from a rustic, fiercely tannic grape into Umbria's flagship DOCG. Valdimaggio shows that work in its polished, food-friendly tannin.
Italian wine law sorts bottles into a pyramid. DOCG sits at the top: tightly drawn boundaries, prescribed grapes, mandatory ageing, government tasting before release. DOC is the same idea with looser thresholds. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) is broader still, requiring only that 85% of the grapes come from the named territory.
Montefalco Sagrantino is in the DOCG tier. That is not a quality verdict, it is a description of how much freedom the producer has at vinification and ageing.
Montefalco Sagrantino falls within Umbria , covering Umbria.
Valdimaggio comes from one estate plot at Montefalco; the tiny 6,000-bottle run concentrates cost into scarcity (Caprai technical sheet).
Nearly three years of barrique and bottle ageing tie up cellar space and new French oak before any bottle is sold (producer scheda tecnica).
Caprai crops at 50 quintals a hectare, well under the DOCG ceiling, trading volume for concentration and pushing the per-bottle land cost up.
Marco Caprai's decades of Sagrantino research carry a brand premium; Valdimaggio sits below the flagship 25 Anni but above generic Montefalco reds.
At the 2026 HMRC still-wine rate of £2.67 duty plus 20% VAT, roughly £10 to £12 of a £46 to £55 shelf price is UK tax, not the wine.
Both UK listings sit at £46 to £55, so cross-merchant competition keeps Valdimaggio below its higher Italian enoteca price of about €54.
Dishes that complement this wine
The producer points to roast and grilled meats and aged cheese. The wine's grip and weight want protein and fat, from Umbrian porchetta to a chargrilled steak, not delicate plates.
Sagrantino carries one of Italy's heaviest tannin loads. The seared fat and char of a thick grilled steak bind those tannins and let the wine's dark-fruit core show, while the oak echoes the smoke.
Try with: Ribeye steak · Sirloin steak · Fillet steak · BBQ ribs · More pairings →
The bright freshness Caprai builds into Valdimaggio cuts the fat of herb-roasted porchetta, a dish from the wine's own Umbrian backyard, while the tannin grips the rich pork and lamb.
Try with: Porchetta · Fiorentina steak · Agnello Ragu Lucano · More pairings →
The leather, earth and cocoa notes that drinkers find in aged Valdimaggio bridge to gamey venison and duck, and the wine's structure stands up to long, savoury braises.
Try with: Venison Stew · Roast Duck · Lamb shank · More pairings →
Salt and protein in a mature sheep's cheese tame Sagrantino's grip, and the wine's sweet spice and graphite lift the savoury, crystalline rind of a well-aged pecorino.
Try with: Pecorino sardo e pan carasau · aged Pecorino · Parmigiano Reggiano · More pairings →
A baked lasagne or a lamb ragu gives this full-bodied wine an equally weighty partner; the freshness refreshes the palate between rich forkfuls while tannin holds the meat.
Try with: Lasagna · Agnello Ragu Lucano · Cotoletta alla bolognese · More pairings →
High chilli heat amplifies Sagrantino's alcohol and dries out its already firm tannin, while delicate raw fish and shellfish are flattened by the wine's grip. Keep it to robust, savoury plates.
Skip with: vindaloo · sweet-and-sour pork · sushi · oily mackerel · Pairing guide →
With a producer-stated 20-year potential and a small 6,000-bottle run, the 2020 will reward a decade or more in the cellar. Store it on its side, cellar-cool and dark.
Peak around 2032. Best in the years above; holds without falling over either side.
DOCG Sagrantino aged 24 months in French oak with firm tannin and a producer-stated 20-year potential: a serious cellar wine that improves for well over a decade.
£45.92 is the lowest tracked offer for the current vintage and we have no signal of further discounting.
Read directly from each retailer’s public product page once a day. Last refresh: 7 Jun 2026, 15:07 BST. We do not hold stock and we do not accept payment for placement.
Confidence · HighDrawn from what drinkers consistently report on Vivino and Wine-Searcher, summarised in our own words. A crowd read across many tasters, not a single critic.
Confidence · MediumFrom the official Italian disciplinare for this denomination, cross-checked against the Ministry of Agriculture register.
Confidence · HighOur reading of the price, drawn from the disciplinare, public UK duty rates, and typical landed-cost benchmarks. Not a quote from the producer or a retailer.
Confidence · MediumStyle guidance for this kind of wine at this price point. Treat it as advice, not a forecast for the bottle in your hand.
Confidence · MediumIt is a single-vineyard Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG from Arnaldo Caprai in Umbria, made entirely from Sagrantino grown in the Vigna del Lago plot and aged 24 months in French oak.
Expect dark fruit such as plum and blackberry, cherry, sweet spice and a graphite note, with the soft, polished tannin Caprai is known for and a long, savoury finish of leather and cocoa.
Roast and grilled red meats, Umbrian porchetta, slow-braised game and aged pecorino. The high tannin wants protein and fat, so avoid chilli heat and delicate white fish.
Caprai gives it a 20-year ageing potential. The 2018 is drinking well now; the 2020 will reward a few more years and can cellar into the late 2030s.
UK merchants list the 2018 and 2020 from about £46 to £55 a bottle. Only around 6,000 bottles are produced each year, so availability is limited.
No. Sagrantino is Umbria's own thick-skinned, deeply tannic native grape, distinct from Tuscany's Sangiovese. Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG must be 100% Sagrantino.
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