Agricola Punica Montessu Isola Dei Nuraghi 2021

A deep violet color, the wine presents aromas of red fruits and Mediterranean herbs. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied with black fruit flavors and soft saline notes along with elegant traces of capers, rosemary, and black pepper. The finish is long and silky.

Montessu comes from Sulcis Iglesiente, a region within southwest Sardinia whose brown earth has sandy soil that is a mixture of clay and limestone. This combines with warm, well-exposed terrain to form ideal conditions to produce great red wines. The blend’s predominant grape is Carignano, an indigenous variety that gives Montessu its soft and elegant tannins. Exceptional vine growing conditions are also ideal for the international varieties Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Low base production per hectare (about 6,000 liters/ha) and the climate conditions favor optimal phenolic maturation. Hand harvested grapes undergo temperature-controlled fermentation. Each variety is vinified separately, and the wine is transferred to French oak barriques. The wine ages for about 12 months in barrel then rests for about 45 days in cement tanks and 3 months in bottle. The final composition varies each year based on the specific conditions of each harvest.

An undertaking between world renowned names in the winemaking business, Agricola Punica is a joint venture between Dr. Sebastiano Rosa, Sardinian winery Cantina Sociale di Santadi, Tenuta San Guido, Santadi President Antonello Pilloni and legendary Tuscan consulting oenologist Giacomo Tachis. Sebastiano Rosa, oenologist and winemaker at Tenuta San Guido since 2000 and Santadi, the highly respected Sardinian cooperative, represent the majority ownership, with forty percent each. Tenuta San Guido, under the direction of Marchese Nicoló Incisa della Rocchetta, holds ten percent, with Giacomo Tachis and Santadi president Antonello Pilloni equally sharing the remaining ten percent. The ties among these entities are many. In collaboration with Mario Incisa della Rocchetta and his son Nicoló, Tachis was instrumental in the development of Sassicaia, the ground-breaking “Super Tuscan” wine produced at Tenuta San Guido since the 1960s. He continues to act as consultant with oenologist Sebastiano Rosa, Nicoló Incisa’s stepson, and will serve as the technical director for Agricola Punica.

Sardinia is an extraordinary land with thousands of years of unique history dating as far back as 6000 B.C. To look at much of the island today, particularly the Barbagia region in the island’s mountainous middle, one might feel as though one has stepped back in time. From the dusty roads to the tiny towns miles apart from one another to the 7,000 prehistoric stone towers known as Nuraghi (that date back 3,500 years) scattered all over the island, much of Sardinia remains “untouched”.

From the first time Tachis visited the island, he was convinced of Sardinia’s outstanding winemaking potential. In the mid 1980s, he began to consult for the Sardinian regional wine consortium and eventually, more specifically, for Cantina Sociale di Santadi. It was during this time he first began thinking about a joint venture. Dr. Rosa recounts, “It was Giacomo Tachis who turned us on to Sardinia and Carignano. He convinced us that we could make a great Carignano-based wine. We bought the estate in 2002 because we knew what the region is capable of. In fact, we’ve released our first vintage and we all agree, it’s going to be an amazing wine.”