|
by Manos Angelakis
Sardinian Wines
Sardinia (Sardegna, in Italian) is an island at the center of the Mediterranean, where Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Francs, Spaniards (from the Iberian kingdom of Aragon), Moors and all the other groups that fought for domination of the Mediterranean nautical trade, sometimes conquered or sometimes only used as a trading base. They all left their cultural, as well as viticultural, stamp on the island. One only needs to look at some of the Sardinian wines, to discover the actual history of this land.
It was the middle of the grape harvest (vendemia) when we visited some of Sardinia’s wineries and, because most are family operations or small cooperatives, we were only able to visit two. But both made some of the better wines on the island.
Argiolas, is a family owned and operated winery in Serdiana, near the southern regional capital of Cagliari. They make a number of different types of wine plus olive oil, and we were lucky enough to be offered five different styles of wine to taste. Looking at the grape content on the labels, it struck me how some of the blends showed the influence of the ancient conquerors of the Island of the Nuraghi; Nuraghi being the name of the original inhabitants. For example, there is a wine called Turriga, a single vineyard blend made of Cannonau – the Sardinian name for Grenache or Garnacha as the Aragonese call it, Carignano (Carignan, a grape also imported by the Aragonese), Bovale Sardo (related to Mouvèdre from France), and Malvasia Nera (brought by the Phoenicians, a grape with roots in the Near East). It was an interesting 2007 wine, young, but compelling when offered with a typical Sardinian dinner. The fruit and herby aromas, with myrtle predominating, frame a faint but mouthwatering brininess. Though a bit austere, the wine was full-bodied and very crisp.
The wine from this winery I found most interesting was the 2007 Costera, a blend of Cannonau, Carignano and Bovale Sardo. Again very young (I will give my bottle at least 2 years in cellar before I uncork it); it has an intense ruby red color with garnet highlights, a fruity and jammy nose reminiscent of a young  Beaujolais, and a palate that is warm and well balanced. It is especially good with some of Sardinia’s roasted pork and lamb dishes.
Is Argiolas is a soft, straw colored wine made from 100% Vermentino, a crisp, acidic grape with herbal hints that grows particularly well in coastal areas such as the Tuscan Maremma or the rocky Gallura in Sardinia.
Another interesting wine from the same winery was the 2007 Serra Lori, a lively pink blend of Cannonau, Monica, Carignano and Bovale Sardo. Delicate and fruity, it worked well with appetizers and antipasti.
Finally, Angialis is a dessert wine made from a blend of Nasco (an indigenous grape that is grown in the Cagliari area) with Malvasia (the Phoenician grape). Intensely colored a pale gold hue, it was very sweet on the palate, aromatic, apricot scented (Malvasia), though it presented a slightly resiny nose, typical of Nasco. It lacked some of the acidity necessary to make it truly food-friendly. I tried a Nasco berry, while the grapes were waiting in 10 kilo bins to go to the destemmer, and they reminded me a little of very ripe, sweet, small sultana  grapes.
The Argiolas wines are imported in the US by Winebow.
The other vineyard we visited was Cantina Oliena, a small cooperative located on the North East coast of the island, in the town of Oliena. The wine was the 2007 Nepente di Oliena (a reference to classic Greek mythology), and is a wine celebrated by the poet and novelist Gabriele d'Annunzio. This was 100% Cannonau di Sardegna, a lovely red wine, opaque in color; it exhibits concentrated ripe red forest fruit, tobacco, spices and cigar box on the nose. It offers medium tart cherries on the attack and forest berry fruit with chewy tannins on the finish. We had first tasted it the previous evening at Sa Festa di Casa Atzeri in Maracalagonis; Vincenzo Atzeri’s very traditional garden restaurant that offers antipasti, hand-made pasta, and roasted piglets on the spit as well as roast lamb and fat little sparrows. At the end of the evening, all waiters and waitresses – dressed in traditional costumes – dance folk dances while Vincenzo sings.
It was the best of all the wines I tasted in Sardinia, though the other two wines that the cooperative produces, Lanaitto Rosso and Corrasi, and the Grappa di Nepente they also distill from whole grape clusters, were very good as well.
To your health!
© October 2008 The Oenophile Blog. All rights reserved.
|
