Cannonau di Sardegna “Ghirarda Fittiloghe”
In the granite highlands above Mamoiada, in a walled plot called Fittiloghe, grow vines that Francesco Cadinu’s family has tended since the 1950s — and which were already old when they acquired them. More than a century on, these gnarled alberello bush vines yield almost nothing: a handful of small, thick-skinned Cannonau clusters, picked by hand each October at seven hundred meters.
Appellation: Cannonau di Sardegna DOCG
Type: Red, dry.
Varietal: 100% Cannonau
Color: Deep garnet with a faint bricking at the rim.
Bouquet: The nose opens on dried cherry, blood orange peel and crushed juniper, with the wild-herb macchia character particular to Barbagia — myrtle, rosemary, a dusting of iron. Chestnut aging lends a distinctive savory spice rather than sweet oak: walnut skin, dried tobacco leaf, a note of smoke.
Palate: Full-bodied and firmly structured on the palate, with fine granitic tannin and an acidity that keeps the 15.5% alcohol in balance. The finish is long, mineral and faintly bitter in the best Sardinian sense.
Serving Temperature: 16-18ºC (61/64º F).
Alcohol: 15.5%.
Food Pairing: Roast suckling pig (porceddu), braised lamb with myrtle, aged pecorino sardo, game, slow-cooked ragù.
Vineyard: "Fittiloghe" — a single historic parcel acquired in the 1950s by the family ancestor known as tziu Simone, and the founding plot of the estate
Vine Age: 120+ years
Training: Alberello (traditional Sardinian head-trained bush vine)
Altitude: ~700 meters
Soil: Decomposed granite; loose structure, slightly acidic
Yield: ~18 quintals/hectare
Farming: Sustainable, hand-worked; estate practices emphasize minimal intervention in vineyard and cellar
Harvest:By hand, early October
Fermentation:Spontaneous, with indigenous yeasts only; approximately 15 days in small tanks without temperature control
Pressing:Gentle
Malolactic:Natural, uninoculated
Aging:15 months in small chestnut barrels (botti di castagno), followed by bottle refinement
Alcohol:15.5%
Production:Very limited
