Sardinia - the second largest island in the Mediterranean - is a popular playground for the rich and famous. The main attraction for visitors to the island is the Costa Smeralda in the north-east. The many picturesque beach restaurants naturally also offer the island's excellent wine. Reason enough for me to pick out one of the wines today that I particularly liked and that might put you in the mood for your next travel destination - the Nepente di Oliena.

Profile

Wine: 2013 Nepente di Oliena
Winemaker: Cantina Sociale di Oliena
Grape variety: 100% Cannonau di Sardegna
Vintage: 2013
Region: Nuoro, Sardinia
Soil: medium-heavy clay soils
Ideal drinking temperature: 18 degrees Celsius
Award: DOC - Denominazione di Origine Controllata
Price: from € 11.95 / bottle

The wine

For a long time, wine from the beautiful island of Sardinia led a rather shadowy existence in Germany, as it was hardly available to buy. This was mainly due to the fact that the strong and good wines from Sardinia were blended with the thin wines from the mainland in order to give the mainland wines at least a little character. Today, however, the winegrowers and cooperatives of Sardinia are emancipated enough to bottle their own wines and market them internationally.

An absolute export hit is the Cannonau grape variety, which develops magnificently in the warm, even hot climate of Sardinia. As the island was repeatedly invaded by invaders in earlier times, including Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans and the Spanish, Sardinia has developed its very own grape variety culture that cannot be found anywhere else in Italy. It is therefore not surprising that the Cannonau must have been brought to the island by the Spaniards, as the grape variety is known there as Garnacha.

The characteristics of Sardinian Cannonau are special, as the clay soils and hot climate make it extraordinarily powerful, aromatic and rich in extracts. The Nepente has a wonderfully juicy cherry red color. Its bouquet is reminiscent of dark, ripe berries such as blackberries and cherries, complemented by delicate floral notes of roses and a touch of vanilla. It has plenty of power on the palate. Ripe, velvety tannins give the red Sardinian a wonderful structure and fullness.

The winemaker and the region

The Cannonau vines for this wine grow and thrive in the east of the island, in the Nuorese wine region. "Nepente di Oliena" is a sub-region of the growing area. The best grapes of this grape variety ripen mainly in the high altitudes around Oliena. After all, there are more than 43,000 hectares of vineyards on the entire island and Cannonau is one of the most important varieties in Sardinia.

As is well known, the grape variety alone does not make a first-class wine, which is why a few winegrowers from the small village of Oliena joined forces in 1950 to form a cooperative. Their aim was to combine traditional cultivation and pressing methods that had been preserved over generations with modern winemaking methods in order to preserve the essence of Cannonau and produce outstanding wines.

But there is also something special about the organizational form of the Cantina Sociale di Oliena. As the name suggests, it is a social cooperative in which all shareholders have an equal share in the decision-making processes and profits. This ensures a good balance between entrepreneurial activity and the high standard of producing wine of the highest quality.

Goes perfectly with

Roast meat and game, strong, spicy cheese (e.g. Sardinian pecorino), lamb, kid, ravioli or hearty dishes with beans

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