From Liguria and Sardinia, two great (very rare) meditation wines.

May 18 2023, 17:20 | by Gambero Rosso

A veritable journey down memory lane with this week's rare wines. Let's start from the Liguria-based Ruzzese, which had so much prestige in the past, to arrive at a great Sardinian oxidative wine. Both wines, apart from being rare, are of pure charm, and both worth tasting and remembering

This week's rare wines require us to travel through history by sea. We start from Liguria, precisely from Bonassola. Here Davide and Giuseppe revived the Ruzzese grape, a variety cultivated since 600 AD and then forgotten at the beginning of the last century. Only 1,500 plants give us a sweet wine from dried grapes, of great character and charm. The character comes from the sweetness, perfectly calibrated, made harmonious by the breezes of these lands and the salinity that comes from the sea, all elements that we find in the glass.

The charm is also given by the rediscovery of an ancient grape and wine which at a certain point (in the 1500s) became one of the most prestigious products of Italian winemaking. Congratulations to Ca' du Ferrà who rediscovered it and brought it back to life. We like the idea of sailing south by sea as we said, passing by Corsica, entering the sea of Sardinia, and arriving in the Sinis peninsula, gulf of Oristano.

Here, a few kilometres from the coast, at a vineyard planted with alberello of less than two hectares, a large Riserva di Vernaccia di Oristano is produced. Here too we find grapes rich in sugar, but then a very long ageing in half-filled barrels creates an incredible, unique, original oxidative wine. For both we offer you a culinary pairing, but for both the advice is to find a life situation to match as well: the wines will leave an indelible memory.

Rare Wines: Two great wines from Sardinia and Liguria to discover

wine

Ruzzese Diciassettemaggio 2020

Cà du Ferrà

Liguria

sweet white

Score:

/100

VINEYARD | We are located on the Liguria coast, precisely in some of the most suitable vineyards on the hills of Bonassola. The soils are mostly clayey, the climate is warm but very windy and exposure guarantees correct and constant ripening of the grapes. It is here that Ruzzese was born, or rather reborn, a historic native grape variety that Davide and Giuseppe, owners of Ca' du Ferrà, discovered after participating in a conference on the historic grapes of Liguria. An ancient white grape variety, typical of eastern Liguria Levante, once cultivated in the area between Bonassola, the Cinque Terre and the Colli di Luni, from which historically a wine of great value was produced. The first productions date back...

wine

Vernaccia di Oristano Judikes Ris. 2008

Cantina della Vernaccia

Sardinia

sweet white

Score:

/100

VINEYARD | Just over a hectare and a half, entirely dedicated to the Vernaccia grape, trained as an alberello system. It is here that Judikes is born, a great Vernaccia di Oristano in the Riserva version. Located in the Tirso Valley, an area where the alluvial soils, of sandy texture, arise from the flowing for centuries of the Tirso river and its floods. The soils are very draining, due to the presence of sand and gravel which in these parts are called "bennaxi." The vines are fertilised with only natural organic substances, sulphur and copper are used and weeding is only mechanical. The microclimate is warm, especially during the ripening period of the grapes and enjoys the marine gusts of...