Winemaker Notes
Fresh aromas of wild herbs and red fruits; on the palate very densely flavored but also very fresh, thanks to the elevation of the vineyards and the early harvest. One of Italy’s most interesting Rosés.
Grenache can make great Rosé in the south of France, so it’s no surprise that it can do the same thing here in Sardinia, particularly given the altitude around Mamoiada. (High elevation vineyards allow the fruit to retain acidity, even in a hot climate, and these sites are planted at more than 600 meters above sea level.) This Rosé is made entirely of Cannonau from Luca’s younger vines (normally those that are between 3 and 5 years in age); it is picked to make Rosé specifically, which is to say about two weeks before the reds; given about two hours of skin contact, then pressed off and fermented in stainless steel.
Serious Rosé is one of the most broadly useful wines with food. Enjoy with everything from grilled seafood to roast chicken, and all kinds of pasta dishes.
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.
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.