Rare Wines, two pearls from Serdiana and Ventotene

Feb 2 2023, 16:19 | by Gambero Rosso
Discovering Pandataria, the only still wine produced by Candidaterra on the tiny island of Ventotene, and a Malvasia, macerated on the skins, by Tenuta Faragò, in one of the most suitable areas of Sardinia: Serdiana, in the province of Cagliari

Two islands linked by wine. We are talking about one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean, Sardinia, as well as one of the smallest ever, Ventotene, off the coast on the border between Lazio and Campania. Here we know Il Vino del Confine, it is the Pandataria, the white wine produced by Candidaterra, the only winery of this patch of land in the Tyrrhenian Sea. On the island that hosted the exile of several illustrious characters, starting with Giulia, the daughter of Emperor Augustus, we tell a story of a return to the earth, in a context of progressive depopulation, in winter there are less than 500 inhabitants.

The credit goes to the Sportiello brothers who, with the fundamental contribution of oenologist Vincenzo Mercurio, have recovered the local viticultural tradition, planting new vineyards of Fiano, Greco and Falanghina that grow on the volcanic and very friable soils of the island. Of the two wines produced, we offer Pandataria 2021 (from the Greek 'dispenser of all things good'), a tribute to the ancient name of the island. Beyond the scents of wild herbs, the wine fascinates with its undulating and relaxed gustatory rhythm, driven by a very multifaceted minerality.

Equally worthy of attention is the story of three friends who started a new reality, in the province of Cagliari, in Serdiana. Here we discovered an elegant and chiselled white: Malvasia Macerato 2021 from Tenute Faragò. This is another very young winery, starring Paolo Faragò, a professional footballer – now playing for Como in Series B – who played for Cagliari for four years, ending up falling in love with these lands.

Rare Wines. Two white wines from Sardinia and Ventotene island

 

Pandataria 2021

Candidaterra
Lazio
white
Score: 
93
/100
VINEYARD | The proprietary vineyards, planted in 2013, cover approximately 2 hectares, out of a total area of the island of just 189 hectares. The soils are barren, of volcanic origin, fine and prone to erosion, the two plots in the central part of the island, approximately 50 metres above sea level. Here we find rows of Greco, Fiano and Falanghina grapes, trained on the Guyot system and facing south. For the first time, with the 2022 harvest, the grapes were vinified in the newly owned cellar, for a closed-cycle cellar. The Pandataria grapes, an almost equal blend of the three varieties, undergo vinification and maturation in steel for about 6 months, and then rest for at least 3 months...
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Malvasia Macerato 2021

Tenute Faragò
Sardinia
Score: 
91
/100
VINEYARD | The vineyard from which the Malvasia grapes used for Macerato come is a small plot of one hectare. The western Mediterranean variety is widespread in Sardinia especially in the Bosa area (hence the famous Denomination) and - as in this case - in Southern Sardinia. Located in Serdiana, a town with a strong wine vocation which has given birth to some of the most famous Sardinian wineries, a few kilometres from Cagliari, in the hills. The sea breezes are evident, and the soils are silty and clayey, with an important calcareous presence. PERSON | Very young winery recently born from the passion of three young friends who became partners in the name of wine. The glue of the...
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