Giovanni Montisci Barrosu Cannonau 2022

100% Cannonau (Grenache) from a bush-trained vineyard of nearly 70-year-old vines at 700 metres on the decomposed granite of Mamoiada, in the Barbagia hills of central Sardinia. Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts in wooden vats, about three weeks on skins with daily punch-downs, then twelve months in 1,000-litre casks and bottled without fining or filtration. Wild cherry, raspberry and blood orange over myrtle, dried flowers, spice and warm granite; ripe red fruit wrapped in fine, chalky tannins with a line of bright acidity — powerful and Mediterranean, yet the balance carries the strength.

Giovanni Montisci was a mechanic until his mother-in-law left him two hectares of abandoned vines in Mamoiada. For years he sold the wine in bulk around the village. In 2004 he bottled 700 bottles and named them Barrosu, dialect for bold, after the way his friends reacted when they tasted it.

The sands up here are porous and poor, so the vines struggle and ripen slowly. Big day-to-night swings and a persistent mistral stretch the season out. The slopes are steep, so everything is picked by hand in small lots. In the cellar there is no sulfur and no filter, and he waits until the wine is ready.

About 6,000 numbered bottles leave the estate each year, and 4,500 of them are this wine. It sits at 15.5 percent, so give it food. Roast or grilled meat, or a slow red-meat stew.