We generally don’t buy wine without tasting it first, but when Giovanni told me he could offer twenty cases of a new Nebbiolo he made from ten rows of vines outside his village of Mamoiada, I knew it had to be something special. “Tutto,” I replied, when he asked how much we’d take.
     You’d be right to be skeptical of a Nebbiolo from Sardinia, but from a top-notch terroir high in the mountains, it is something else entirely. Then there is the Montisci hand—everything Giovanni touches turns to gold. Now with the wine arrived and tasted, I am pleased to report my instinct did not fail me. It does not taste like a Barolo, yet it outclasses all but the very finest wines from Piemonte. Barrolu is simply a masterpiece, a truly epic bottle of wine: mind-melting, jaw-dropping, absolutely regal stuff. It must be tasted to be believed.

Mamoiada may not be a household name in the way that Châteauneuf-du-Pape, for example, is synonymous with world-class Grenache. And yet, with vineyards that reach 2,500 feet above sea level, this tiny village in the heart of central Sardinia’s highlands is emerging as a top site for Cannonau, as the grape is known locally. The mountain terroir is unparalleled in Sardinia or elsewhere, endowing Cannonau with extraordinary concentration while preserving precious freshness that allows its wines to elegantly toe a delicate balance.
     Giovanni Montisci, who farms just two hectares of stubby old vines, remembers the traditional wines of Mamoiada—sweet, alcoholic, rustic brews served with the region’s similarly rustic cuisine—and refined things a bit, taking inspiration from Quintarelli, Rayas, and the best in Barolo. He crafts dry Cannonaus of a regal caliber that channel these legends through the lens of Mamoiada’s high-elevation, decomposed granite soils. The sweetly perfumed nose of rose petals, wild strawberry, and juniper prefaces this deep and powerful, yet exquisitely refined Cannonau, definitively putting Mamoiada on the map for lovers of Grenache and great Italian reds in general.

In past vintages, I have described the Arsenale as dense, inky-black, and tooth-staining. Not so with the 2020. Winemaking adjustments, including the introduction of some whole clusters (known as the metodo lasagna in Italy), have shown the Cagnulari grape need not always be a tannic monster. Vigne Rada’s best version to date, it features the variety’s signature fragrance of eucalyptus and tobacco, only with softer tannins that line the palate like a velvet carpet.

Deperu Holler’s lovely Fria is a dazzling addition to the handful of zesty Vermentinos we import from other regions like Corsica and Provence. This one from Gallura, in Sardinia, offers a whole new take on the variety, proudly displaying classic notes of green almond and lime blossom while painting the portrait of an enviable summer’s eve on an island in the sea: sunny citrus, savory whiffs of wild herbs, and hints of chestnut give this Vermentino a characterful and unique personality all its own.

For this dazzling bianco, Giovanni Montisci pairs organic Vermentino planted in granite soils at an incredible thousand meters above sea level, in the mountainous interior of the island of Sardinia, with a three-day-long skin maceration. This turns out to be the perfect amount of time, as it dials up the zesty and herbal flavors of Vermentino and gives this bottling just the right amount of texture to pair with lobster for an epic late-summer feast.