Punica - Barrua Isole dei Nuraghi 2020
Price: $49.96
| Producer | Punica |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Sardinia |
| Varietal | Other Red Grapes |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Sku | 602654 |
| Size | 750ml |
Sardinia, often called insuli vini (wine island) due to its 5,000-year history of viticulture, provides a dramatic and historic backdrop for Agricola Punica’s work. The island's rugged landscape, scattered with ancient nuraghi stone structures dating back 3,500 years, speaks to its deep connection to winemaking. For much of its recent history, Sardinia was known for producing bulk wine, but in recent decades, a shift towards crafting fine, barrel-aged wines with lower yields has transformed the region.
In 2002, Agricola Punica was founded by a dream team of winemaking legends who saw the untapped potential of Sardinia’s unique terroir. Led by Cantina Sociale di Santadi, its president Antonello Pilloni, and the renowned Tuscan enologist Giacomo Tachis, the project sought to elevate Sardinian winemaking to new heights. Tachis, celebrated for his work in creating Italy’s "Super Tuscan" wines, recognized similar potential in Sardinia’s Carignano grape. After years of consulting for the Sardinian regional wine consortium, he partnered with Pilloni to establish Agricola Punica, with the vision of producing world-class wines that would stand alongside Italy’s finest.
Antonello and Giacomo found, in the southwest corner of Sardinia the Barrua vineyard—a parcel that has now become synonymous with Agricola Punica's innovative winemaking. This unique region, boasts optimal growing conditions with well-exposed sandy soils composed of limestone and clay. Carignano (aka Carignan), known for its fruity profile, elegant and velvety tannins, thrives in this environment alongside international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
The winemaking process at Agricola Punica is meticulous, with each grape variety being vinified separately to preserve its distinct character. Hand-harvested grapes undergo temperature-controlled fermentation before being transferred to French oak barriques—40% of which are new, and 60% are second-passage barrels with medium toast. After 18 months in oak, the wine rests in cement tanks for 40 to 50 days, followed by an additional 6 months of aging in the bottle. Each year, the final composition of Barrua varies slightly, reflecting the specific conditions of each vintage, yet it consistently delivers a wine that marries Sardinian tradition with modern winemaking precision. They call it a Super Sardinian, playing on the similarly made Super Tuscans.
With the Nerello, try pairing it with a traditional Sicilian Street food, Arancini. Feeling a little more adventurous, the famous sandwich Pani ca' Meusa might in your wheelhouse, just make sure offal is a welcome ingredient before googling a recipe. Carignan’s intense fruit profile is beautiful with barbecue and wouldn’t you know it. Sardenians know this. Spit roasted pig (porcheddu), a staple of the island, would be my first choice. A rich meat sauce with fregula (a Sardinian cous-cous like pasta). Of course, a little bottarga would help drift any pasta dish towards this wine. You can also try a version of a kebab famous on the island, Ispinadas.
