Cardedu Vermentino di Sardegna 2023

Region: Sardegna, France

Grape Variety: Vermentino

This wine is not a Small Vineyards selection but comes to us from another importer we love, PortoVino. While not dogmatically in search of low intervention wines the common theme of their producers is they do as little as possible in order to let the grape and vineyard site shine. This bottling comes from the spartan, southwest corner of Sardegna from a family who stopped using chemicals on their vines in the early 1900’s.

This wine is made from the local favorite, Vermentino, and gets 6-8 hours of skin contact before fermentation which adds to the color and richness. This wine is not filtered before bottling so some bottles show a little hazy, but that just underlines how little that Sergio Loi, the winemaker/owner, believes in over processing. The nose is a heady combination of cooked peaches, dried pineapple, jasmine blossoms and white pepper. The feel on the palate is savory and dry, with surprising texture for a white wine with a finish kissed with dried herbs. Drink with grilled shrimp or fried sardines.