Sa Defenza, "Rosso" 2021

In the southern reaches of Sardinia, just upland from the island’s coastal capital Cagliari, you can find Cantina Sa Defenza, a polycultural farm currently run by the fratelli Marchi, a new generation of the Marchi family who’ve transformed their humble winegrowing operation into one of the most exciting endeavors on the island. In addition to the likes of Meigamma who work in Villasimius just southeast from where Sa Defenza is located, the wines produced by Sa Defenza emphasis freshness over and above the typically baroque (think of how hot/dry the climate of Sardinia typically is) reds, composed of majority Cannonau, that have long dominated the wine scene here. They emphasize, figuratively, moreso the dog-rose, wind and sea, than heat and smoke. Working with a property that covers 45 hectares, it would seem the project has outgown itself as a ‘small’ artisanal farm; however, only 20 hectares of the 45 are cultivated (the rest they let grow wild with eucalyptus and myrtle brush forests) and of these 20 hectares only 14 are under vine. The rest of their cultivated land is dedicated various groves of citrus, stone-fruit, and olive trees. A certain kind of paradise whose rare native grape varieties also speak to the specificity of the project: vines of Cannonau, Bovale (Sardo), and Nugarus grow freely with Semidano, Monica, and Vermentino.

This steely, garriguey delight comes from Sardinia and is comprised of a hodgepodge of local varietals, including Cannanou, Bavole Sardo, Monica, Syrah and Barbera, with tiny additions of Carignan, Montepulciano & Sangiovese. The 14-year-old vines are rooted in sandy, granite soils and never see any chemical treatments. After being destemmed, the grapes coferment in stainless steel and spend 1 year aging in tank. Bottled unfined, unfiltered with no SO2.