Arnt Egil Nordlien
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Probably the biggest positive surprise (perhaps together with Aosta) was the aged wines of Sardegna. This Island is a big treasure of older excellent wines. Many of them are liquorosos, so it is perhaps not that strange that they age better. But that the quality sometimes found in these wines were so high has amazed me. Firstly there are the Vernaccia di Oristano-wines. I bought several bottles of Sardinian gold as I found an old book of Burton Anderson stating that these were the only Oristano-wines that could match the quality of Contini. W all know Contini, but few knows Sardinian gold. The wines are truly unique. They are not easy to like. To be honest as I poured the first glass of the first bottle I tried the colour was utterly repulsive. I always been of the opinion that the colour of the wine has nothing to say about the quality of a wine. It is more a indicator that gives you information. But these wines looks so darn ugly in the glass. They were brown and I mean brown and cloudy. Like mud really. I wonder what even got me to take the first sniff. On the nose the best of these wines have an almost Amoureuses-like florality and depth. Like the 67 and 65. Besides that they are of course flor-wines. Sometimes they are more oxidative, like the 71 and 61, still very good wines, but a little less interesting.
Vernaccia di Oristano superiore 1976, Jostu Puddu
Dark brownish colour. Very oxidative Vernaccia di Oristano on the nose. Dark nuts, some coffee, slight flowers. Little flor. Dry, oxidative and salty wine in the mouth. Shows more of the fruit in the mouth than on the nose. A salty, nutty amontillado-like wine with more aromatic hints of flowers and some more oxidation. Shows more florality and minerality with air. Fino-like structure with a fine cripsness and lightness. Dry style. Good length. Good wine, but not a great Vernaccia di Oristano. Too oxidative for me.
Vernaccia di Oristano Sardinian gold dry 1971, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
Brown and lightly cloudy colour. Oxidative nose. Raisins, caramel, coffee, nuts. Some salt and floral notes. Powerful and dry Vernaccia di Oristano with quite oxidative character. Hints of caramel, nuts and coffee. A touch of aromatic florality. Lots of fruit and good complexity, but lacking a little of the pure and deep style that the best of these get. Round and kind style with a dry finish. Long taste. A little too oxidative.
Vernaccia di Oristano superiore Sardinian gold dry 1968, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
Brown and cloudy colour. Touch greenish hues at the rim. Great nose. Complex and typical Hints of flor, sea-salt, nuts. Some perfume and florality. A fine mix of hints from the flor and the aromatic hints of the grape. This shows more flor than the equally good ’67. The latter is more aromatic. Powerful and dry Vernaccia di Oristano in the mouth. Typically high content of glycerin. Again this shows a lot of flor and sea-salt-aromas. Refreshing style. But again it shows some of the aromatic compounds of this grape. Hints of flowers and perfume. Some nuts. Well-aged and very complex style. Long and dry finish showing nuts and salt at the finish. Tremendous wine.
Vernaccia di Oristano Sardinian Emerald 1968, Giuseppe Cossu
This seems to be a copy of the Sardinian gold. Even the label is very similar. Deep brownish colour. Greenish hues. Lightly cloudy appearance. It looks really really bad. But the nose reveals something completely different. Lightly oxidative Vernaccia di Orisatno with aromatic flowery hints. Salty, flor-like hints, some caramel. Complex and fine. Dry and quite slim Vernaccia di Oristano in the mouth. Fine fruit. Sweetish floral notes. Lightly oxidative caramel-aromas and hints of flor and salt. Dryish and quite crisp towards the end. Long dry finish. Great wine and a very good Vernaccia di Oristano. Best on the nose.
Vernaccia di Oristano superiore Sardinian gold dry 1967, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
Cloudy brown-yellow colour. Not very appetizing look. But once you get to the nose you forget that. Because the nose is a beauty. Aged flor-based wine with a lot of complexity. Salt, flor, faded flowers. Hints of coffee. Only slight oxidation. Dry, refreshing and powerful Vernaccia di Oristano in the mouth. Dry style and with noticeable glycerin. Highly appealing fruit. Old woods, salt, flor. More minerality than on the nose. Coffe-notes. Lots of fruit left. A bit more aromatic than one is used to from Jerez. Long dry taste. Great wine, still with lots of life.
Vernaccia di Oristano Sardinian gold pale extra dry 1965, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
Brown colour. Clearer than the 67. Great nose. Intense, but perhaps slightly less than the 67. Flor, salt, dried flowers. Complex and evolved. Dry, slim and refreshing Vernaccia di Oristano in the mouth. Intense mouthfeel with medium glycerin-content for such an old VdO. Nuts, flor and dried flowers in the fruit. A core of aromatic floral notes. Refreshing finish with long taste. Fine foodwine. Great wine.
Vernaccia di Oristano Sardinian gold pale extra dry 1961, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
Deep brown colour. Very complex nose. Pretty, but with a more pronounced caramelly style than the 67 and 65. Hints of old woods, dust and a touch of floral high notes. Powerful in the mouth. Very intense wine. Riper and a little more oxidative style. Lots of caramel. Old dust, old woods. Some florality behind. Fine, but lacking a little depth and fine flor-notes. Dry, crisp and pungent finish. Long taste. Another great Sardinian gold, although below 67 and 65 in quality.
Vernaccia di Oristano Sardinian gold pale extra dry NV, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
This is bottled without vintage-dating. I bought this bottle together with several of the others and this bottle clearly looked a lot older than the others. So I humbly guess it was from the 50s, but could also be older. Brown/amber colour. This juice was clear as the only one of these old Sardinian gold-wines. But the bottle had been standing for more than 4 months. Again beautiful nose, yet it lacks a little the intensity of the others. The core are fine floral notes, hints of nuts, old dust and some salt. Less flor than previous bottles. Powerful and dry in the mouth. Mature and lighter weight. The fruit seems more mature. Cleaner and fruitier taste. Fine florality, huge depth. Medium acidity. Yet a refreshing taste. Dry finish with the alcohol showing a little. Very long taste. Fantastic food-wine. Great wine. Drink now.
Giro 1966, Sella & Mosca
Giro is a red wine with little colour. This had the colour of an old white wine, but was a fantastic wine. Loads of sediment and almost no colour left in this red wine. Brown colour. Touch of red at the core, yellow rim. Great nose. Very complex. Oxidative, almost tawny-like style. Hints of nuts, dust, marzipan, citrus. Fullbodied in the mouth with a light sweetness. More glycerin. Lots of nutty notes with hints of figs. Dust and marzipan. Fine acidity. Little tannins. Long long taste. Great wine. Drink now.
Monica 1966, Sella & Mosca
After the glorious Giro I was excited to try this. But was disappointed. Transparent brown-red colour. Brownish rim, but a healthy red core. Mature on the nose. Lots of dried fruit-elements. Old woods, oxidative fruits. Volatile acids, figs. This has complexity, but could be cleaner and more focused. Medium bodied in the mouth. Drier than expected. Very mature fruit. On the way down. Light fruit-sweetness left. VA and dried fruits. Some old woods. Rustic style. Bitter elements and not very appealing. Medium acids and light tannins left. Short taste. Best on the nose. Disappointing after the fine '66 Giro.
Jerzu canonau dolce riserva speciale 1972, Cooperativa vitivinicola Jerzu
This is a red dessert-wine from cannonau. Not liquoroso. According to Burton Anderson 1972 is one of the best vintages on Sardegna. Very fine bottle with fill-level A. Brown-red colour. Great nose. Nuts, dark chocolate, spices and red berries. Aged complexity. Medium bodied and sweet red wine in the mouth, Oxydative, leaning towards a tawny-style with less alcohol. Fine nutty complexity. Good concentration. Some dark chocolate, raisins. The core shows quite some red fruit-elements and it is fruitier than most tawnies. The finish shows some spicey notes. Fine acidity and some tannins in the back. This was very fine red dessert-wine indeed. Fully mature now, but with stuffing to last. Great.
Embarcador vino liquoroso NV, Cantina enologica - A.B.M.
Another dessert-wine from Cannonau a liquoroso this time. This was a very fine bottle. Level A and seemed well-stored. My humble guess is that this bottle is from the 60s or older. In the glass the wine had a deep brown-red colour. Lighly cloudy and lots of sediment in the bottle. Nice nose. Dark berries, anise, leather. Some earthier notes and also some oxidative fruits. Fullbodied Cannonau in the mouth and only light sweetness. Very alcoholic and bitter taste. Not pretty at all. This still has some nice fruit in it.Obvious Cannonau-notes. Earth and anise. Some dark berries. Mature. Medium acids. The finish is brutally bitter and greenish. Very unpleasant. The very high alcohol doesn’t make it any better. Awful wine. The nose is decent though. Well not everything is gold among these wines.
There were more bottles, but I have not kept notes on wines were labels did not provide me the full information on the wine. But I would like to mention another completely outstanding wine. It was a Malvasia riserva smeraldo from Renato Zedda. The vintage was missing, but the bottle was from around 1950. It was a truly amazingly complex and deep Malvasia. The quality really astonishing. Just a few weeks after I had this bottle, strangely enough I got an e-mail from another Norwegian who had just opened a bottle of Malvasia riserva rosso from the 50’s by Renato Zedda. Now this fellow is a person who really drink loads of great old and expensive wines. But this Malvasia had really moved him deeply. I tried to find out more about this producer. They do not exist anymore and I have a fear that it today is a part of Zedda Piras. It would mean an awful ending to a once great wine-company.
Vernaccia di Oristano superiore 1976, Jostu Puddu
Dark brownish colour. Very oxidative Vernaccia di Oristano on the nose. Dark nuts, some coffee, slight flowers. Little flor. Dry, oxidative and salty wine in the mouth. Shows more of the fruit in the mouth than on the nose. A salty, nutty amontillado-like wine with more aromatic hints of flowers and some more oxidation. Shows more florality and minerality with air. Fino-like structure with a fine cripsness and lightness. Dry style. Good length. Good wine, but not a great Vernaccia di Oristano. Too oxidative for me.
Vernaccia di Oristano Sardinian gold dry 1971, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
Brown and lightly cloudy colour. Oxidative nose. Raisins, caramel, coffee, nuts. Some salt and floral notes. Powerful and dry Vernaccia di Oristano with quite oxidative character. Hints of caramel, nuts and coffee. A touch of aromatic florality. Lots of fruit and good complexity, but lacking a little of the pure and deep style that the best of these get. Round and kind style with a dry finish. Long taste. A little too oxidative.
Vernaccia di Oristano superiore Sardinian gold dry 1968, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
Brown and cloudy colour. Touch greenish hues at the rim. Great nose. Complex and typical Hints of flor, sea-salt, nuts. Some perfume and florality. A fine mix of hints from the flor and the aromatic hints of the grape. This shows more flor than the equally good ’67. The latter is more aromatic. Powerful and dry Vernaccia di Oristano in the mouth. Typically high content of glycerin. Again this shows a lot of flor and sea-salt-aromas. Refreshing style. But again it shows some of the aromatic compounds of this grape. Hints of flowers and perfume. Some nuts. Well-aged and very complex style. Long and dry finish showing nuts and salt at the finish. Tremendous wine.
Vernaccia di Oristano Sardinian Emerald 1968, Giuseppe Cossu
This seems to be a copy of the Sardinian gold. Even the label is very similar. Deep brownish colour. Greenish hues. Lightly cloudy appearance. It looks really really bad. But the nose reveals something completely different. Lightly oxidative Vernaccia di Orisatno with aromatic flowery hints. Salty, flor-like hints, some caramel. Complex and fine. Dry and quite slim Vernaccia di Oristano in the mouth. Fine fruit. Sweetish floral notes. Lightly oxidative caramel-aromas and hints of flor and salt. Dryish and quite crisp towards the end. Long dry finish. Great wine and a very good Vernaccia di Oristano. Best on the nose.
Vernaccia di Oristano superiore Sardinian gold dry 1967, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
Cloudy brown-yellow colour. Not very appetizing look. But once you get to the nose you forget that. Because the nose is a beauty. Aged flor-based wine with a lot of complexity. Salt, flor, faded flowers. Hints of coffee. Only slight oxidation. Dry, refreshing and powerful Vernaccia di Oristano in the mouth. Dry style and with noticeable glycerin. Highly appealing fruit. Old woods, salt, flor. More minerality than on the nose. Coffe-notes. Lots of fruit left. A bit more aromatic than one is used to from Jerez. Long dry taste. Great wine, still with lots of life.
Vernaccia di Oristano Sardinian gold pale extra dry 1965, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
Brown colour. Clearer than the 67. Great nose. Intense, but perhaps slightly less than the 67. Flor, salt, dried flowers. Complex and evolved. Dry, slim and refreshing Vernaccia di Oristano in the mouth. Intense mouthfeel with medium glycerin-content for such an old VdO. Nuts, flor and dried flowers in the fruit. A core of aromatic floral notes. Refreshing finish with long taste. Fine foodwine. Great wine.
Vernaccia di Oristano Sardinian gold pale extra dry 1961, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
Deep brown colour. Very complex nose. Pretty, but with a more pronounced caramelly style than the 67 and 65. Hints of old woods, dust and a touch of floral high notes. Powerful in the mouth. Very intense wine. Riper and a little more oxidative style. Lots of caramel. Old dust, old woods. Some florality behind. Fine, but lacking a little depth and fine flor-notes. Dry, crisp and pungent finish. Long taste. Another great Sardinian gold, although below 67 and 65 in quality.
Vernaccia di Oristano Sardinian gold pale extra dry NV, Cantina sociale Vernaccia
This is bottled without vintage-dating. I bought this bottle together with several of the others and this bottle clearly looked a lot older than the others. So I humbly guess it was from the 50s, but could also be older. Brown/amber colour. This juice was clear as the only one of these old Sardinian gold-wines. But the bottle had been standing for more than 4 months. Again beautiful nose, yet it lacks a little the intensity of the others. The core are fine floral notes, hints of nuts, old dust and some salt. Less flor than previous bottles. Powerful and dry in the mouth. Mature and lighter weight. The fruit seems more mature. Cleaner and fruitier taste. Fine florality, huge depth. Medium acidity. Yet a refreshing taste. Dry finish with the alcohol showing a little. Very long taste. Fantastic food-wine. Great wine. Drink now.
Giro 1966, Sella & Mosca
Giro is a red wine with little colour. This had the colour of an old white wine, but was a fantastic wine. Loads of sediment and almost no colour left in this red wine. Brown colour. Touch of red at the core, yellow rim. Great nose. Very complex. Oxidative, almost tawny-like style. Hints of nuts, dust, marzipan, citrus. Fullbodied in the mouth with a light sweetness. More glycerin. Lots of nutty notes with hints of figs. Dust and marzipan. Fine acidity. Little tannins. Long long taste. Great wine. Drink now.
Monica 1966, Sella & Mosca
After the glorious Giro I was excited to try this. But was disappointed. Transparent brown-red colour. Brownish rim, but a healthy red core. Mature on the nose. Lots of dried fruit-elements. Old woods, oxidative fruits. Volatile acids, figs. This has complexity, but could be cleaner and more focused. Medium bodied in the mouth. Drier than expected. Very mature fruit. On the way down. Light fruit-sweetness left. VA and dried fruits. Some old woods. Rustic style. Bitter elements and not very appealing. Medium acids and light tannins left. Short taste. Best on the nose. Disappointing after the fine '66 Giro.
Jerzu canonau dolce riserva speciale 1972, Cooperativa vitivinicola Jerzu
This is a red dessert-wine from cannonau. Not liquoroso. According to Burton Anderson 1972 is one of the best vintages on Sardegna. Very fine bottle with fill-level A. Brown-red colour. Great nose. Nuts, dark chocolate, spices and red berries. Aged complexity. Medium bodied and sweet red wine in the mouth, Oxydative, leaning towards a tawny-style with less alcohol. Fine nutty complexity. Good concentration. Some dark chocolate, raisins. The core shows quite some red fruit-elements and it is fruitier than most tawnies. The finish shows some spicey notes. Fine acidity and some tannins in the back. This was very fine red dessert-wine indeed. Fully mature now, but with stuffing to last. Great.
Embarcador vino liquoroso NV, Cantina enologica - A.B.M.
Another dessert-wine from Cannonau a liquoroso this time. This was a very fine bottle. Level A and seemed well-stored. My humble guess is that this bottle is from the 60s or older. In the glass the wine had a deep brown-red colour. Lighly cloudy and lots of sediment in the bottle. Nice nose. Dark berries, anise, leather. Some earthier notes and also some oxidative fruits. Fullbodied Cannonau in the mouth and only light sweetness. Very alcoholic and bitter taste. Not pretty at all. This still has some nice fruit in it.Obvious Cannonau-notes. Earth and anise. Some dark berries. Mature. Medium acids. The finish is brutally bitter and greenish. Very unpleasant. The very high alcohol doesn’t make it any better. Awful wine. The nose is decent though. Well not everything is gold among these wines.
There were more bottles, but I have not kept notes on wines were labels did not provide me the full information on the wine. But I would like to mention another completely outstanding wine. It was a Malvasia riserva smeraldo from Renato Zedda. The vintage was missing, but the bottle was from around 1950. It was a truly amazingly complex and deep Malvasia. The quality really astonishing. Just a few weeks after I had this bottle, strangely enough I got an e-mail from another Norwegian who had just opened a bottle of Malvasia riserva rosso from the 50’s by Renato Zedda. Now this fellow is a person who really drink loads of great old and expensive wines. But this Malvasia had really moved him deeply. I tried to find out more about this producer. They do not exist anymore and I have a fear that it today is a part of Zedda Piras. It would mean an awful ending to a once great wine-company.