2011 Isola dei Nuraghi Turriga

At roughly 2.2 million bottles a year, you could be excused for thinking of Argiolas as simply another large-volume producer. And yet, the estate remains one of the quality wine leaders not just in Sardinia but in Italy, and their planting years ago in their Iselis vineyard of more than 500 different biotypes of traditional local wine grape varieties is a case in point. Some of the grape vines at that time were 70 to 80 years old, antique massale selections that Argiolas has essentially saved from extinction. More than 11 cultivars (Vermentino, Cannonau, Monica, Bovaleddu, Malvasia, Carignano, Nuragus, Nebbiolo, Moscato, Caricagiola and Nasco) and 16,000 vines have been studied over the years to see which were virus-free and behaved best from a viticultural and winemaking perspective; ultimately, more than 5,000 vines were deemed to be healthy and capable of producing great wines.

After an initial three years of research, another experimental vineyard has now been created in the Su Pranu Vineyard where all the best biotypes have been replanted for future propagation. Clearly, the goal is to create enough suitable genetic material for other island producers to use, thereby safeguarding Sardinia’s viticultural heritage and biodiversity. I can’t commend Argiolas enough for such thoughtful actions, and wine lovers ought to be pretty darn happy too.