If you have seen some of my videos, you know that I definitely have a passion for Italian wines. The great thing about wines from Italy is that you can find a wine to go with any type of food imaginable, you can find great tasting wines at all price levels, and of course you can find great collectible wines from a plethora of grape varieties, as varietal wines as well as blends.
You may have heard of some of the more common wines from Italy like Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti, Prosecco, or Alto Adige Pinot Grigio, but what about wines from Sicily or Sardegna? These islands off the mainland of Italy have some very unique wines to offer, but do these wines have a chance to make a name for themselves on the stage set by some of the finest wines in the world? Well, if Selvatica has anything to do with it, at least the wines of Sardegna have a fair shot in the market.
If you don’t know much about Sardegna, you are not alone. Though it is a part of Italy, it isn’t even discussed in detail in the Advanced WSET course I took as a significant wine producer of Italy. What does this mean? Well, on a positive note, it means you can find some new and interesting wines and some really great values! The unfortunate reality of being a less recognized wine producing area, is just as you would imagine, nobody knows about you, therefore nobody is buying the wines!
I had the great fortune of receiving a couple samples from the marketing team at Selvatica to try out. Now, I did warn them that I would give an honest review, but it turns out that it wasn’t a warning at all, but more of a relief for them!
The 2007 Nuraghe Luas White was a very pleasant surprise! It had quite intense fruit forward aromas, flavors reminiscent of a Pinot Grigio, with plenty of bright fruit to give it some character. The body is light to medium with just enough acid to balance the fruit out perfectly. The finish is long lasting and unique. I tried this with some friends who enjoy white wines, and they had nothing but good things to say about it.
I personally thought it was a great value and an awesome white to bring to a meal!
Then there was the 2006 Tuerra Red. I found this one difficult to find on the website, either because they are not selling it anymore, or maybe it is a new product for them. Either way, I hope it becomes available to the general public, because this wine was very well balanced with nice Italian acidity, good bright red fruit and enough body to really give it some depth and character. On the nose it had some very exciting and interesting gamey developing notes and on the palate it was relatively light and elegant in body yet powerful enough to go with food. This wine was great right out of the bottle, and is ready to drink now. It will go great with any basic Italian dish like Baked Ziti orVeal/Chicken Parmesan, but I could also see having this wine with a hearty red meat. Very versatile, and very reasonably priced.
