If given the choice, I’m always going to pick the wine with a real story behind it—a wine that’s more than just a commodity beverage. But if it’s going to end up on SommSelect, a great backstory won’t supplant (a) deliciousness and (b) value. Luckily, everything is in order with this sumptuous Cannonau di Sardegna from Cantina Gungui. It is delicious, it is well-priced given its rarity, and it’s a labor of love grown in one of the most remote and ancient wine regions in the world: Sardinia’s mountainous Barbagia region.

Centered around the Gennargentu Massif in the province of Nuoro, this is a wild, sparsely populated place that is said to have gotten its nickname from the Roman writer Cicero, who dubbed it a land of barbarians. The Barbagia’s rugged hills are home to one of the greatest concentrations of centenarians in the world—and some of the island’s oldest Cannonau vines. Cannonau, a.k.a. Grenache has been grown on Sardinia for so long most natives consider it an “indigenous” variety, and the Barbagia is considered the ultimate terroir for the variety. Granitic soils, high elevations, and old vines all conspired to make today’s 2019 one of the most profound Cannonau experiences I’ve ever had—an experience greatly heightened by where it is made, how it is made, and who made it. “Berteru” means “sincere” in local Sardinian dialect, and when someone is as sincere about what they’re doing as Luca Gungui is, it shows. This is the ultimate in hand-farmed, hand-made wine and it’ll stand toe-to-toe with Grenache-driven greats from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Barossa, Priorat…you name it. Given how small Gungui’s production is, I’d say today really is our lucky day. Wines this special, and this good, don’t come along very often!

Luca Gungui trained as a lawyer and worked for a time in the Sardinian capital city, Cagliari, but he was eventually pulled back to his home village of Mamoiada, a town of about 2,500 and one of about a dozen central Sardinian villages in what has been dubbed a “Blue Zone”—one of a handful of places in the world whose residents are known for their longevity. When Luca moved home he took control of about three hectares of vineyards, some of them very old, bush-trained parcels that had belonged to his grandfather. He has kept his holdings small—adding just a hectare more a little later—so that he can continue to work the vineyards himself, by hand. He farms organically, aided in this effort by a hot, dry, windy climate that reduces disease pressure on the vines. Soils are rocky decomposed granite and the vineyards climb to some serious altitudes, often reaching past 700 meters in elevation, which allows for wide diurnal temperature swings. This is critical to preserving acidity in grapes that have no trouble whatsoever getting ripe.

As we’ve seen in other Mediterranean growing zones (like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, another Grenache stronghold), we’re living in an era where 15% alcohol wines are commonplace. What’s fascinating is how some wines can “carry” this elevated alcohol with relative ease, while others come off syrupy and “hot.” Grenache is a hot-climate variety with a wide range of expressions—which is to be expected in a variety that’s one of the most-planted reds in the world—but for all of us at SommSelect, the Platonic ideal is the way it behaves in wines like Châteauneuf’s Château Rayas: more red-fruited and floral, with perfumed aromas that almost remind you of Pinot Noir in juicier, chunkier form. Gungui has found the tightrope balance we see in the best Châteauneufs; the combination of richness and freshness is amazing (and rare).

Today’s 2019 was sourced from a vineyard called “Sas de Melas,” at 600 meters. The harvest here wasn’t completed until early October (quite late for this part of the world), allowing time not just for sugar ripeness but phenolic ripeness. It’s a highly extracted, luscious style, but also buoyant, having spent just six months aging in stainless steel before bottling. In the glass, it’s a deep garnet red moving to pink at the rim, with wild and complex aromas of juicy strawberry, Bing cherry, blood orange, dates, licorice, lavender, and dark, dusty soil. It is as lush and velvety as a much-more-expensive cult Cabernet from the Napa Valley, albeit with more freshness and a lot of wild-herb savor on the finish. Serve it cool (55-60 degrees) in large Bordeaux stems and spend the extra time necessary to give it a proper food pairing: I’m not saying you need to get a whole suckling pig and roast it in a pit in the ground (as they do in the Barbagia), but some type of porchetta preparation is the way to go. There’s not much “Berteru” to go around, so act fast—I guarantee it will be well worth the effort!