Paolo Bea "Lapideus" 2017

Natural wine legend Paolo Bea's newest wine ia an Umbrian white of 100% Trebbiano. Lapideus spends a month on its skins after pressing (making it a 'skin-contact' or 'orange' wine), followed by 200 additional days on the lees (the dead yeasts). Leaner and racier than Arboreus , Lapideus has a subtle, honeyed quality at its core and a whisper of cheese rind in the aroma.

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. This tiny estate is the classic Italian fattoria, producing wine, raising farm animals for trade and home consumption and working the land to produce olives, fruits and vegetables. To this day, the Bea family raises and produces much of what they consume on a daily basis. Paolo Bea, the senior member of the family, is the guiding force behind the production of this series of intense and idiosyncratic wines. He is assisted by his two sons, Giuseppe, who farms the vineyards, and Giampiero, who assists in the vinification and is responsible for all commercial aspects of the winery.