2016 Andaras

Not only is Sardinia home to some of the oldest Carignan vines in the world; the volcanic sub-island of Sant'Antioco in South West Sardinia claims to be the birthplace of the variety, with its viticultural history dating back to the pre-Roman Phoenician era around 5,000 BC. On Sant'Antioco, where the local industry revolves around fishing, sandy banks decorate the island's periphery. These sand dunes are dotted with 100 year-old ungrafted vineyards - protected from the sand-shy phylloxera louse that plagued the rest of Europe. These vines are the original clones of the Carignan variety that have since propagated around the world. Our friend Marco had a few of these old vineyards in his family for generations, but the wine was never bottled for consumption outside of family and friends. Local farmers tended the vineyards and made the wine in a simple, rustic fashion. However, Marco's connections in the wine industry and with local experts led him to suspect that he had something of greater potential on his hands. Knowing that old-vine Carignan when grown at low yields and fully ripened on infertile soils in a warm summer can produce wonderful expressions of the variety, he set about creating a Carignan worthy of this exceptional land and heritage. He identified 2 hectares of the best plots with vines of an average age of 40 years (the oldest up to 100 years), planted in 100% sandy soil, some as close as 50 metres to the sea, producing exceptionally low yields. Thus Andaras was born. 2016 was the inaugural vintage and he made a total of 900 bottles. Marco asked us to taste the wine to see if we thought he had made something with the potential to interest serious wine drinkers. And we were impressed. The wine has wonderful varietal expressiveness evoking a Mediterranean climate through its dark fruit, herb and spice profile, paired with a stylishly smooth texture and suave structure. This is a wine that transports you to a time and place, and that we think is really quite special. We would love for our clients to try it and tell us what they think. This is the first ever offer worldwide of this truly artisanal heritage project. The 2016 Andaras has an expressive and exuberant nose with attractive black and blue fruit: plums, dried figs, blueberry and blackberry abound. There is plenty of sweet and exotic spice: liquorice, fenugreek, cumin and cinnamon, with fired earth and dried garrigue herbs completing the Mediterranean bouquet. The palate is deep and concentrated, with layers of flavour echoing the fruit and spice nose, and a smooth, velvety texture that is testament to the careful handling of this powerful variety. Fresh acidity keeps the power in check and the whole wine feels well balanced and elegantly held together.