The Brutal Beauty of Sardinia: The 2022 and 2023 Vintages

BY ERIC GUIDO | APRIL 10, 2025

There are many things to love about Sardinia. It’s considered a paradise for its beaches. Sardinians live long, active, healthy lives surrounded by family, establishing the region as one of only five Blue Zones worldwide. The cuisine is rich with fresh seafood and hearty mountain fare. Not least, the wines are incredible. Sardinia's grape varieties, many of which are considered indigenous, are descendants of more familiar Spanish and French grapes, having adapted here for hundreds or even thousands of years. While global warming presents challenges, Sardinia's key varieties continue to demonstrate their resilience. Sardinia even has its own emerging winegrowing region in the island's interior that’s wowing international palates, including mine. What’s not to like?

Siddùra's vineyards in Gallura are planted on sandy granite at an elevation 300 meters.

The biggest problem facing Sardinian wine is a worldwide lack of awareness. Though the region is a premier location for vacationing Italians and globe-trotting summer tourists, the island’s wine scene remains a mystery to most consumers. The problem is two-fold. Most Sardinian producers are fully aware of both issues. For one, Sardinian producers lack a marketing push outside their borders. I rarely hear about official tasting events for the press or the public organized by a Sardinian trade organization, though just this year, I was surprised to receive an invitation to a formal press trip. We do not accept these offers at Vinous, but the invitation served as a positive sign that the tide may be turning for Sardinian wine. While Sardinia needs more journalists to explore its regions and communicate their merits to the public, Sardinian producers need to venture outside the area to speak on its behalf and allow consumers the opportunity to taste the wines. Lovers of ageworthy Bordeaux would find much to like in Sardinian Carignano, while fans of Châteauneuf-du-Pape would feel right at home with Sardinian Cannonau. There’s a lot of potential here.

The second problem is Sardania’s lack of enticing restaurants and hotels to attract and support wine tourism. Producers realize this is an impediment. Lia Tolaini-Banville, the new owner of the Pala winery, explained, "To enhance Sardinia's appeal as a wine destination, we must first address the lack of hospitality infrastructure. We need to transform these challenges into opportunities.” Tourism depends on access, ease of travel and the availability of comfortable accommodations. If these existed, tourists would have a better avenue to explore Sardinian wine.

“Indigenous” and Sometimes Confusing

I genuinely love Sardinia’s unique take on grape varieties that originated from international sources. Although Phoenicians brought Cannonau and  Nuragus to Sardinia around the eighth or ninth century B.C.,native Sardinians consider these varieties to be indigenous. By contrast, Spanish imports, such as Monica, Cagnulari, Vermentino and Carignano, only arrived in the 14th and 15th centuries A.D. Sardinia’s incredibly hot, dry climate is categorized as Mediterranean, but it is heavily influenced by Sirocco winds from the Sahara Desert and cold Mistral winds blowing down from the south of France. This leaves a profound imprint of terroir on every variety grown in Sardinia. Cannonau and Carignano are undoubtedly the two most important reds, but curious readers should not stop there.

Cannonau, a direct descendent of Grenache or Garnacha, can be found throughout the entire island, most often lumped into the all-encompassing Cannonau di Sardegna DOC. Unfortunately, the DOC designation does not guarantee a quality wine, nor one that communicates terroir. Buyers must be selective and purchase from the best producers with the longest track records. That said, there are some interesting developments with Cannonau that are worth checking out (more on that below). As for Carignano, the Carignano del Sulcis DOC, located in the extreme southwest of the island, delivers serious wines that mix power and structure. In many cases, the vines here are over 100 years old and ungrafted, thriving in an excessively warm environment that’s balanced by the cooling influences of the sea. Some of the best-known Carignano producers, such as Agricola Punica and Siddùra, label their wines with the Isola dei Nuraghi IGT. This is another all-encompassing Sardinian wine classification used for reds, whites and Rosati. “Isola dei Nuraghi” refers to the thousands of ancient stone towers strewn across the island, which, while romantic, does nothing to help consumers understand where the wine comes from or what to expect in the glass. Readers should also look to Santadi, Cantina Mesa, Argiolas and Angelo Rivano for some excellent examples of Carignano.

Vermentino thrives throughout Sardinia, especially in Gallura, where it yields wines with a distinct saltiness.

Vermentino is Sardinia's most significant white variety. While permitted throughout the island, through the (yet again) all-encompassing Vermentino di Sardegna DOC, the finest interpretations hail from the Vermentino di Gallura DOCG in the northeast. Here, the grapes thrive in poor soils of granitic rock and sand. The best examples of Sardinian Vermentino display a mix of ripe fruit with salty savoriness and develop well in the cellar over the medium term. While the DOCG yields exceptional wines, outstanding examples of Vermentino can be found across the island, such as Pala’s Stellato portfolio. Sadly, widespread planting in less suitable locations has led to an increase in overly ripe, often tropical Vermentinos that prioritze fruit over acidity and minerality.

Nuragus is another mineral-driven white variety that’s lighter in body and higher in acidity than Vermentino. Many of these wines are labeled with the Nuragus di Cagliari DOC, which covers a large swath of the south. These stimulating whites represent a significant departure from the richer, fruitier styles of most Sardinian white wines. I expect there to be more consumer excitement about Nuragus in the future.

Lastly, Vernaccia di Oristano (not to be confused with Vernaccia from the Tuscan coast, which is a completely different variety). deserves an honorable mention, despite my having only tasted two examples for this report. These incredibly long-aging wines can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best Fino or Amontillado Sherry. The wines are refined for extended periods under flor, often in chestnut wood barrels.

What’s Hot, Besides the Climate?

One of the most exciting areas in Sardinia today is the mountainous region of Barbagia. In the past, I’ve written about Barbagia as more of a curiosity, wondering why I didn’t find it referenced in any notable published wine literature or included on any wine maps. The first producer to pique my interest was Jankara. The first time I tasted Jankara’s wines in a flight of Sardinian Cannonau, I was utterly taken aback by how much they stood out. Jankara’s wines were more mineral and finessed yet deeper and bassier. How was this possible? As usual, it was terroir. Subsequently, wines from a producer known as Teularju made it to my tasting table. I was floored by their complexity and sheer gracefulness. Teularju shares stylistic similarities with Comando G (from Gredos, Spain, known for exceptional Garnachas cultivated at high elevations in granite soil). This year, Giuseppe Sedilesu’s site-transparent wines wowed me as well. The potential of Barbagia and, more specifically, the area of Mamoiada is off the charts.

Jankara's vineyards in the mountainous Barbagia region.

So why are we only just now hearing about them? Mamoiada, in the province of Nuoro, has a long history of viticulture, with many vineyards around the town playing host to bush vines more than 100 years old. Historically, most of these vines were used for home winemaking or sold to the regional cooperative, which closed in the 1980s. The townspeople have winemaking in their blood. Francesco Sedilesu of Teularju explains, “Today there are 250 wineries in 700 households and only 2400 inhabitants, yet all know how to make their own wine. Of these wineries, only 40 have become companies and put wine in bottles.” It was only in the last five to seven years that most of these growers became bottlers on a larger scale and started to make it into international markets.

The regions of Barbagia is located in the central mountainous area of Sardinia. Here, cooling influences from the Gennargentu massif in the south and air currents from the sea to the east generate cold winters, hot summers and sizeable temperature ranges from day to night. Barbagia’s vineyards are situated between 700 to 800 meters in elevation and planted in primarily granitic soils, with a small amount of clay and sand dispersed throughout. Cannonau dominates these vineyards, making up 95% of all plantings. The other 5% is made up of Granazza (rumored to be related to Nuragus), a white variety in which local winemakers are showing increasing interest. The reason for such a noticeable difference between Cannonau from around Mamoiada and Cannonau from the rest of Sardinia is undoubtedly terroir, and the region's winemakers have become quite convinced that it will set them apart. As a result, these producers formed the Mamojà Growers Association and mapped out subregions within the area, using valleys and exposures as boundaries and adding specific Ghirade (single vineyards, much like Etna’s Contrade) to their labels. And here’s the kicker: the wines actually communicate their respective terroirs. The style of Cannonau from Mamoiada is pure enough and focused enough that the slightest differences in location translate into the glass. Tasted blind, these wines could stump the most well-trained palates.

One thing Mamoiada lacks is a DOC. Readers will find these wines labeled as either Cannonau di Sardegna DOC, which is useless for the purpose of site-specificity, or, more likely, Barbagia Rosso IGT. I’ll dig deeper into this emerging region in future articles, and I urge readers to keep their eyes peeled. Without a doubt, Teularju, Giuseppe Sedilesu and Jankara represent a great starting point.

Cantina Mesa's Alberello-trained vineyards.

Recent Vintages

In many ways, Sardinia has been very lucky through recent vintages. While much of Italy struggled to adjust to the effects of global warming, locals in Sardinia have dealt with sweltering heat and drought for many decades, as have the grapes themselves. That said, in some cases, alcohol levels can become problematic. Tenute Dettori, in the extreme northwest, crafts wines of remarkable balance through biodynamic principles. Unfortunately, these wines must be enjoyed in moderation, as some can reach as high as 17.5% alcohol. Alessandro Dettori explains, “As a natural producer, we have to take what Mother Nature gives to us.” It’s worth noting that a vintage can be incredibly different from one side of the island to the other. Sardinia, at 9,301 square miles, has highly variable weather patterns. This is especially evident in a vintage like 2023, where the south and center of the island received rain while the northeast did not.

The 2022 reds are charming and fruit-forward, maintaining balance despite the dry warmth of the vintage. Some Vermentinos lean more into the tropical fruit spectrum, yet they still deliver gobs of pleasure. The growing season began with ample rainfall in autumn and winter of 2021, providing adequate water reserves throughout the vegetative cycle. Average temperatures from May onward exceeded norms, coupled with a lack of precipitation. Though the vines were stressed, rain at the end of the season in late August provided relief. Most wineries reported slightly early harvests (five to seven days ahead of usual) and healthy fruit. In the best cases, the 2022s should mature beautifully through medium-term cellaring.

Centennial bush vines in the Carignano del Sulcis DOC.

Inconsistency is a significant issue with the 2023 vintage. Wines from the coastal areas bear the mark of a warm, arid vintage but maintain high acidity, while those from the region's interior suffered like most of Italy due to an outbreak of downy mildew. The season began with a mild winter, leading to extended precipitation through the spring. The coastal areas benefitted, as the rain built up water supplies in the soils and dry air currents from Africa and southern France helped ward off disease. However, in the more mountainous and central parts of Sardinia, an outbreak of Peronospora (downy mildew) disrupted flowering, reducing eventual yields. In the northeastern region of Gallura, there was little to no rain throughout much of the season. The following summer months were arid and warm, leading to an early yet healthy harvest. Readers can expect more fruit-forward and slightly compressed wines overall. In areas such as Barbagia, reduced quantities and inferior fruit swayed winemakers to decide against bottling their single vineyard wines.

I tasted the wines for this article in our New York City offices in February 2025.

© 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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