An undertaking between world renowned names in the winemaking business, Agricola Punica is a joint venture between Dr. Sebastiano Rosa, Sardinian winery Cantina Sociale di Santadi, Tenuta San Guido, Santadi President Antonello Pilloni and legendary Tuscan consulting oenologist Giacomo Tachis. Sebastiano Rosa, oenologist and winemaker at Tenuta San Guido since 2000 and Santadi, the highly respected Sardinian cooperative, represent the majority ownership, with forty percent each. Tenuta San Guido, under the direction of Marchese Nicoló Incisa della Rocchetta, holds ten percent, with Giacomo Tachis and Santadi president Antonello Pilloni equally sharing the remaining ten percent.

The ties among these entities are many. In collaboration with Mario Incisa della Rocchetta and his son Nicoló, Tachis was instrumental in the development of Sassicaia, the ground-breaking “Super Tuscan” wine produced at Tenuta San Guido since the 1960s. He continues to act as consultant with oenologist Sebastiano Rosa, Nicoló Incisa’s stepson, and will serve as the technical director for Agricola Punica.

For many travelers who journey to the island of Sardinia for the first time and for those who are returning after many years away, this island located 125 miles off the east coast of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea, is but a mystery.

Sardinia is an extraordinary land with thousands of years of unique history dating as far back as 6000 B.C. To look at much of the island today, particularly the Barbagia region in the island’s mountainous middle, one might feel as though one has stepped back in time. From the dusty roads to the tiny towns miles apart from one another to the 7,000 prehistoric stone towers known as Nuraghi (that date back 3,500 years) scattered all over the island, much of Sardinia remains “untouched”.

Among this vast region of extraordinary landscape there survives a history of viticulture that reaches back 5,000 years, earning Sardinia the name “insuli vini” (wine island). The Romans, Sardinia-Piedmontese kingdom, Tuscan and Genovese fiefdoms and the Spaniards each left their mark on the traditions and techniques of Sardinian winemaking.

For many years, the winemaking in this region focused on bulk production. Large co-ops producing significant amounts wine to be sold as “branded wine” or cutting wine used by producers all over the mainland was the norm. It is only within the last twenty years that a number of Sardinian producers have begun lowering yields and turning their focus to barrel aged wines. As quality and winemaking standards improve, superior sub-zones have started to emerge around the island and the wines from Sardinia are now counted among Italy’s top wines.

From the first time Tachis visited the island, he was convinced of Sardinia’s outstanding winemaking potential. In the mid 1980s, he began to consult for the Sardinian regional wine consortium and eventually, more specifically, for Cantina Sociale di Santadi. It was during this time he first began thinking about a joint venture. Dr. Rosa recounts, “It was Giacomo Tachis who turned us on to Sardinia and Carignano. He convinced us that we could make a great Carignano-based wine. We bought the estate in 2002 because we knew what the region is capable of. In fact, we’ve released our first vintage and we all agree, it’s going to be an amazing wine.”

The Vineyard
In 2002, Agricola Punica purchased a 370 acre estate divided between two sites: Barrua and Narcao, located in the southwest region of Sardinia, in an area known as Sulcis Meridionale. Though the vineyards lie within the D.O.C. of Carignano del Sulcis, the wine falls under the I.G.T. of Isola dei Nuraghi, a name referencing the ancient stone towers built by the Nuragic civilization which shaped the island’s development from the Neolithic age until 238 B.C., when Sardinia was brought under the Roman Empire.

The Barrua vineyard lies inland from the coast and is planted to 25 acres of old, bush trained Carignano vines and 50 acres of new Carignano, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines. Soils are primarily clay mixed with some sand. The Narcao vineyard lies roughly four miles north and a little west of Barrua, slightly further inland.

The southwest corner of Sardinia is a near perfect environment for the hot climate traits of the Carignano vine. Winters are mild and wet and summers torrid and dry with temperatures, stoked by the fierce scirocco African winds blowing across the Sardinian Sea, among the hottest in Italy. An extraordinary average of seven hours of sunlight daily enables the fruit to reach a level of ripeness such that polymerization of the tannins begins within the berry while it is still on the vine. “It is the amount of light that makes this the perfect region for Carignano based wines! The sun provides heat and light which causes grapes to mature very well. The Cabernet and Merlot mature much faster than they would in Bordeaux, for example. And on top of that, the wonderful influence from the sea regulates the extreme heat and stabilizes the climate,” recounts Giacomo Tachis.

The Future
When asked about what the future holds for Agricola Punica, Dr. Rosa thought for a moment and had this to say: “We are currently on track to plant another 70 hectares (154 acres) of vineyards by 2008, and our plan is to produce another two Carignano based wines sometime in the next 10 years, bringing our maximum production up to 25,000 cases. Through our combined knowledge of both the land and our winemaking capabilities, our plans for Agricola Punica are to make the best Sardinian wines possible.”