Sparkling Delights of Northern Sardinia

“I’ve heard of Sardinia though I’m not quite sure where it is” was the usual statement I heard upon my return from a week away in Sardinia. So let’s tidy this up straight away and elaborate on things with some interesting fact about Sardinia / Sardegna:

• It’s 2nd largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (Sicily is 1st place).
• Highest point is Mount La Marmora at 1,834 metres located within the Gennargentu massif.
• It is located some 285 km from mainland Italy.
• Corsica is only 13 km away.
• It holds some 1,850 km of coastline.
• Traditional dishes include Pane Carasau (tosted bread), Pane Frattau (pane carasau, tomato sauce/stew), Culurgiones which is a typical Sardinian pasta that’s filled with potatoes, mint or cheese.
• It holds one UNESCO site, Su Nuraxi di Barumini.
• It is home to a number of caves, approximately 300.

 

@glassofbubbly That’s a wrap for the 2024 #ConcoursMondialdeBruxelles sparkling #wine judging that took place in northern #Sardinia #Alghero region. This island of #Italy ♬ Boney M.- Sunny (Remix) – 泽鹿Music

What about the wines of Sardinia? Previous to my trip of discovery to Sardinia, I had heard rumours that the wines were just good, though nothing more, quite particular in style and mostly lighter in body/flavours. I landed at Riviera del Corallo Airport of Alghero without high expectations!

The bubbly wines were great! There’s a great selection to explore from tank to traditional method:

Malvasia di Bosa Silattari – Spumante: “Fresh floral, white fruit flesh nose. Sweeter fruit flavours showing pear blossom, and pear puree. Quite delicious and a tremendous compliment to those warm sunny, clear blue sky days.”

Borgo Sells & Mosca – Oscari: “24 Months lees contact. Citrus, minerals, white floral, subtle pasty nose. White fruits continue in the flavours with chalks, pear blossom, pastry and powdered salt notes. Quite excellent balance of flavours with decent acidity telling me that ageing potential exists.”

Cantina Santa Maria La Palma – Akenta MIllesimato Alghero: “Dry style aromas showing grapefruit, limestone. Fruity and refreshing in the palate with a smooth aromatic display along with yellow fruits, green pears.”

Viticoltori della Romangia – Sabbia Brut: “Yellow candy and plenty of floral on the nose. Touch soft expression in flavours with yellow floral, apricot flesh. A relaxing glass of bubbly with fine fruitiness and a delicate / elegant taste to enjoy.”

 

Coral / Under Sea Sparkling Wines:

A delightful discovery was the coral wines, the underwater aged selection from Cantina Santa Maria La Palma with the grape variety Vermentino di Sardegna DOC.

Akènta Sub, the Underwater sparkling wine, a great excellence of Sardinia and Italy.
A limited number of bottles of Akènta sparkling wine are selected for underwater refinement, carried out at a depth of about 40 meters in the sea waters in front of the coasts of the Porto Conte Natural Park, in the Underwater Cellar of Alghero and Sardinia. (source: https://www.santamarialapalma.it/i-nostri-vini/akenta-sub/)

We got to taste the Akènta Sub both on a boat whilst we enjoyed a dip in the clear blue Mediterranean waters (what an experience that was) and also during a masterclass with selected food pairings to accompany three different aged labels from this range:

Charmat Method – Extra Dry 2023: “Fresh and fruity taste experience with an added smoothness. Very easy to drink and a most enjoyable flavour experience. The coral effect on the bottle makes for an even more intriguing wine to have on your bucket list. A great advert for tank method sparkling wines.”

Traditional Method – Extra Dry 2022: “Fruity and floral notes. Very more’ish.”

Tradition Method – Chardonnay 2018 (disgorged 2020): “What a great taste experience this magnum was. The bubbles were fine, it held a shade of sunset orange. The aromas were so tempting giving golden fruits, pasty and yellow floral. Flavours were magnificent also with a Trentino / Blanc de Blancs Champagne style character. Smooth yet refreshing fruit flavours with a growing apricot pastry in length.”

 

@glassofbubbly First day of the #concoursmondialdebruxelles 2024 Sparkling #Wines in #Sardinia ♬ Yeshua – Prophetic Worship – HERIKANT

Concours Mondial de Bruxelles & Alghuer Wine Week:

It is thanks to the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and their Sparkling Wine competition that we received the invitation to enjoy Alghero region and Sardinia. This all coincided nicely with the Alghuer Wine Week that showcased a vast selection of wines of Sardinia and exhibited well the depth of styles, grapes, terroirs and taste varieties this island holds.

“What I took from Sardinia is that you have an incredible opportunity to have a peaceful, healthy and long life. It is one of the leading locations with higher life expectancy and you can certainly see why whilst you travel from the mainland to coastal destinations. Stress free seems to be the way forward with not even a toll on any road to increase the heart rate and a generous 25% of the island being environmentally preserved (3 National Parks on the island (Asinara National Park, Arcipelago di La Maddalena National Park & Gennargentu National Park), and 10 regional parks).” Christopher Walkey