Cannonau
75cl * 15% ABV * Sardinia, Italy
Notes by Michael Palij MW: Perdas Longas means ‘Long Stones’, referencing the menhirs that dot the local landscape. These vines are positively youthful next to these Bronze Age mysteries, although at an average age of seventy years, they produce impressive fruit. Two wines from Cannonau may seem like overkill but such is my excitement for the wines coming out of this remote corner of Sardinia. Overlooked by importers and tourists alike, Mamoiada had never bottled a wine before 2000. This is a ‘Blue Zone’ where troubles are few, life expectancy is high and the food and wine are just off-the-charts good. Francesco Cadinu’s family’s vineyards are to the east of the appellation, as old as Esole’s but the vinification is very different with more extraction and power. I like both of them equally.