I went for a brief time to the Winebow tasting yesterday. I cherry-picked what I wanted to try. One of the wines I couldn’t pass up was Turriga- Isola dei Nuraghi IGT 2014 from the Argiolas family. I wasn’t disappointed. Rich and profound with a long lingering finish, I loved the berry, earthy notes of that wine that make me think of Sardinia, an island I love. Made with 85% Cannonau, 5% Malvasia Nera, 5% Carignano and 5% Bovale Sardo. This wine spends 20 months aging in barriques and cement vats and about 12 months in the bottle before release and can age beautifully. It was layered and nuanced with fruit, spice and oak notes coming in waves followed by leather, tar, tobacco and chocolate flavors.

I have met various members of the Argiolas family throughout the years and interviewed Valentina many years ago and wrote about it here.

I had the rare opportunity to try a wine made in honor of Antonio Argiolas for his 100th birthday at Vinitaly 2008. He passed away at 102.

The wine called Antonio Argiolas is made in very small quantities and I don’t think this wine is imported but if you are in Italy, try to get some. It is made from Cannonau and Malvasia Nera which were left to dry on the vine before being harvested. It is wonderful and would be amazing with chocolate. It was rich and deeply satisfying.

I’ve been stateside for three months and my desire to go to Italy is rising everyday. I visit Italy through these posts and speaking Italian everyday but I think I’m in need of the real thing….

I found Turriga on wine-searcher here.  It’s not an inexpensive wine but it is certainly worth it for a celebration. I want to get some 2014 for my cellar to honor my son’s birth year.