Superiore is a Carignano del Sulcis DOC red wine made from 100% organic Carignano grapes from free-range vines, produced by the La Sabbiosa estate of Calasetta.

The vines are bush-trained, aged between 90 and 100 years, with a yield per vine of 0.8/1Kg and a yield per hectare of 25/30 quintals. Two plants one bottle.

Superiore is a child of the sands of the dunes of Calasetta, where unique monumental vines have endured for a hundred years or more, with free-rooted roots on sea sand, surrounded by myrtle, lentisk and juniper trees.

Since the dawn of time, small vineyards on this minor island have been worked and regenerated using ancient techniques that have been handed down from father to son and which, with propagation on vines bred as saplings, have kept the plants alive for centuries. It is impossible to determine the age of the plants from which the Superiore grapes are harvested, certainly 90 years, perhaps centuries…

Centuries-old plantsthat incredibly manage to survive on soils that to call sandy is an understatement: the percentage of sand reaches 99 percent. Sand is a soil that starves and thirsts vines, the yield inevitably is very low, but it saved them from the terrible plague of phylloxera.

Tasting the Superiore, one immediately senses the natural, light savoriness of the sea that is only a few hundred meters away. Sea that also regulates excessive heat and stabilizes the climate by lowering temperatures in the vineyards “in cooperation” with its greatest ally: the mistral, which blows powerfully and constantly all year round. Without their “conditioning,” the slow and perfect ripening of the grapes that give rise to Superior would not occur.

Irradiated year-round by the Sardinian sun, the carignano vines from which Superiore is made suffer from thirst and heat, are whipped by strong, salty mistral winds, and starve on sandy soils: these are the ingredients for making a great wine, or as G. Tachis put it, “An exceptional wine.”

Fruit from at least 2 plants is needed to obtain Superior since careful selection of the best plants and clusters is made in the field. They are then transported to the winery, in small shaded crates to protect them from the sun, and a sorting of the best berries is carried out before vinification.

The winery’s winemaking is managed by Antonio Manca with advice from Beppe Caviola.

The harvest began in mid-September, one week earlier than usual. 2017 was a year of great drought in Sardinia and particularly in the south of the island, where the heat was high throughout the summer and there was no rain for months. However, thanks to the proximity of the sea, evening and night temperatures were mitigated and allowed healthy ripening of the grapes, which gave a wine with strong balsamic notes that characterize a great vintage.

Vinification: De-stemming the grapes, leaving the berry whole and intact. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature 27-28° C with the addition of about 20 percent whole-cluster unstemmed grapes, 3 to 5 percent pied de cuve with indigenous yeasts (prepared 1 week before from the same plants). Maceration for 15 to 20 days with careful use of the technique of pumping over and delestagé. Aged in fine-grained, 2nd-passage French wood tonneaux for 17 to 8 months, refined for another 6 months in steel barrels and final aging in bottles for at least 6 months.

The Superiore Carignano del Sulcis DOC surpriseson the nose with an effluvia of medicinal herbs and balsamic notes typical of the Mediterranean scrub growing on the sand dunes. You sink your nose in and wonder if what you smell is mint. No, it is myrtle, we are in Sardinia. A wine that releases the scents you smell in the air as soon as you land on the island: lentisk, cistus, rosemary, helichrysum and especially myrtle and iodine. All enclosing a ripe, enveloping, silky red fruit. The mouth starts right there. It gives a silkiness that makes the sip soft, warm. Then, however, to support the palate, a burst of savory freshness.

The sea is there, really close. And you can hear everything.

It is exalted at the table with first and second courses of meat, cured meats, cheeses and mushrooms.

It is recommended to serve at a temperature of 16-18 °C.

Tenuta la Sabbiosa’s Superior Carignano del Sulcis is produced in 1333 bottles.