Santadi, form Sardinia's southwestern coastal region known as Sulcis, is one
of the island's, and Italy's, finest wineries. Founded in 1960 and closely
watched over by Giacomo Tachis (of Tignanello/Sassicaia fame) and oenologist
Davide Pera, its superb quality offerings have confirmed it as a Mediterranean
star of rare brilliance. Today, the winery has 250 dedicated growers, covering
over 600 hectares of prime, gently rolling land reaching right out to sea.
Sulcis is unique in that pre-phylloxera vines survive and thrive in the mostly
sandy soil.
Santadi produces a full suite of Sardinian wines, but is the
Carignano vine that they are most famous for. Originally brought to the island
by the Spanish, it is grown as a bush vines on ungrafted rootstock, hand-tended
and picked and made in a warm, embracing style that Tachis describes as a
combination of "subtlety, richness, tannins and a dolcezza
sweetness".