Another Cannonau From Sardinia

Pinot noir is frequently described as a "difficult" grape. That makes sense — it's literally thin-skinned, fussy in the vineyard, and requires the right conditions (and guiding hand) to yield a wine that's simultaneously deep and graceful. Grenache is never described as difficult, but in its own way it strikes me as just that. Grenache may grow easily and be found at a variety of latitudes in warm climates around the world, but it too requires the right conditions (and guiding hand) to yield a wine that's simultaneously deep, graceful, and transparent. I mean, not everyone in the Rhône is Château Rayas, right?

Grenache — called garnacha in Spain and cannonau in Sardinia — is typically a juicy grape, and a lot of times this means the fruit will be very forward, plush, simple, and often blowsy. So it's often blended with other grapes to provide acidity, lift, depth, and additional interest. But as Rayas proves, grenache can have all these things on its own if all the conditions are right.

I'm not going to tell you that the $17 2007 Ambito Cannonau di Sardegna produced by the Cantina Sociale della Vernaccia has the depth or grace of a $100+ bottle of Rayas Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but I will tell you that this wine, as with the (only) other Sardinian cannonau I have tried, is plenty more transparent than your typical bottle of varietal grenache. Heck, I reckon that even noted grenache-hater Lyle Fass would appreciate this. Yep, it's juicy and imbued with dark, slightly-baked fruit, but it's neither plush nor blowsy. Instead, it's restrained by a strong undertow of juicy anise, bitter pith, wild herbs, and firm, dry earth. It'd be great if it was more structured, but it definitely features a nice slap of acidity.

My attempts to learn more about this wine have been frustrated. The producer's web site mentions nothing about the Ambito and US importer Selected Estates has zip on any of the producer's wines. So I've no idea how the grapes were raised or if this was aged in tank, concrete, and/or oak (although obviously not much of the latter, if any). What I can tell you is that it was terrific with a cashew and herb-laden pasta and I'm pretty sure it would be even better with lamb.

Packt Like Sardinia

While I'm on the subject of Italy (see below), I'd rather like to talk about the Sella & Mosca Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva 2004. I wasn't familiar with the Cannonau grape but I learned that it is an adapted form of Garnacha brought over from Spain way back when and grown on the sandy, eastern side of Sardinia. Sella & Mosca are one of Europe's largest wine growing estates and I see no indication from their web site that they make wines naturally or with any sort of non-interventionist streak.

So it pretty much flips my wig that this 13.5% abv Cannonau Riserva reminds me more of a Teroldego or some such other northern Italian red rather than a cheery, broad-shouldered, alcohol-rich Castillian, as is apparently the rep of Sardinia wines.

Tangy orange peel and pepper notes join marzipan, pomegranate, sweet and sour cherry, and wet earth in this bright, high-toned wine. Robust acidity provides more of the structure than do the tannins, which are fine grained. What's particularly impressive about this is that it achieves this structure despite being aged in oak casks for two years, i.e. the oak is very well integrated. It's broad in the mouth and not particularly focused but it has good staying power at the midpalate. It also tastes about as good on day three as on day one. I'm not gonna go off the deep end and tell you this is the end-all, but for $13 this is a heckuva wine.