Winemaker Notes
The intense ruby red color of this wine is typical of the Monica grape. Persistent aromas of ripened cherry, cassis and black pepper carry through to the palate and are followed by sweet hints of chocolate and firm tannins. Very vibrant, rich and rustic.
An excellent wine with spicy food, pasta with tomato or meat sauces, casseroles, and medium aged cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The estate's 2006 Perdera Isola dei Nuraghi is an awesome effort at this level. It offers spicy black pepper and jammy dark fruit on a big, powerful frame, with intense tannins that will require at least a few months of bottle age to settle down. This blend of 90% Monica and 10% Carignano and Bovale Sardo is a great introduction to the reds of Sardinia. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2012.
Beyond the usual suspects, there are hundreds of red grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines, while others are better suited for use as blending grapes. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles, offering much to be discovered by the curious wine lover. In particular, Portugal and Italy are known for having a multitude of unique varieties but they can really be found in any region.
Hailed for centuries as a Mediterranean vine-growing paradise, multiple cultures over many centuries have ruled the large island of Sardinia. Set in the middle of the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Phonoecians, Ancient Rome, and subsequently the Byzantines, Arabs and Catalans have all staked a claim on the island at some point in history. Along the way, these inhabitants transported many of their homeland’s prized vines and today Sardinia’s modern-day indigenous grape varieties claim multiple origins. Sardinia’s most important red grapes—namely Cannonau (a synonym for Grenache) and Carignan—are actually of Spanish origin.
Vermentino, a prolific Mediterranean variety, is the island’s star white. Vermentino has a stronghold the Languedoc region of France as well as Italy’s western and coastal regions, namely Liguria (where it is called Pigato), Piedmont (where it is called Favorita) and in Tuscany, where it goes by the name, Vermentino. The best Vermentino, in arguably all of the Mediterranean, grows in Sardinia's northeastern region of Gallura where its vines struggle to dig roots deep down into north-facing slopes of granitic soils. These Vermentino vines produce highly aromatic, full and concentrated whites of unparalleled balance.
Today aside from its dedication to viticulture, Sardinia remains committed to maintaining its natural farmlands, bucolic plains of grazing sheep and perhaps most of all, its sandy, sunny, Mediterranean beaches.