Mandrolisai DOC Superiore "Baioe" 2022 - Giacu

Agricola Giacu – Sorgono (NU), Sardinia

Sorgono is a village of 1,700 people at the very centre of Sardinia, far from the sea, between 500 and 700 metres above sea level. This is the home of Mandrolisai, one of the island's most distinctive wines, and it is here that in 2016 brothers Sergio and Massimiliano Mura founded Agricola Giacu, to fulfil the dream their grandfather had entrusted to them.

Grandfather Baioe's dream. Grandfather Salvatore, known to everyone as Baioe, left his grandsons the vineyards, his passion and a clear request: to devote part of their time to a small winery where the family wine would be made and bottled. The winery was born in the very rooms where, in his last years, he taught them to turn grapes into wine. The name comes from him too: Giacu is what he called his youngest grandson, Giacomo. Today the team also includes Marta, Sergio's daughter, who holds a degree in viticulture and oenology.

Vines among menhirs and nuraghi. The vineyards lie near the Sanctuary of San Mauro and the archaeological site of Biru 'e Concas, one of the most important menhir complexes in the Mediterranean, among nuraghi and giants' tombs. The Mandrolisai landscape is listed in Italy's National Register of Historic Rural Landscapes: vines, woodland and pasture have lived side by side here for centuries.

Monte 'e Pischina. The main vineyard: two hectares at 500 metres on weathered granite soils, surrounded by Mediterranean scrub. It is also the place of childhood memories, of days spent with their grandfather learning to work the vines. Bovale Sardo (Muristellu), Cannonau and Monica are spurred-cordon trained; Guyot is reserved for Nebbiolo, a grape their grandfather held especially dear. For the white wine, the grapes come from vines 50 to 80 years old. Harvesting is by hand, into crates.

Mandrolisai the traditional way. The DOC is made from three grapes, and at Giacu they are harvested and vinified together, as has always been done in this area. Alongside the Mandrolisai come single-varietal wines: Bovale, Cannonau, Nuragus and a Sardinian Nebbiolo in red and rosé versions, a genuine rarity.

"Modern glimpses of Mandrolisai", as they call it: family memories, worked with today's tools.