2014 Terre Brune

Always a formidable wine, the 2014 Carignano del Sulcis Superiore Terre Brune shows its pride and pedigree despite the difficulties you might associate with this vintage (especially with mainland wines, but less so with island wines). This wine represents a historic blend of 95% Carignano del Sulcis and 5% Bovaleddu grapes for good measure. Bovaleddu is another name for Bovale, and the variety comes in two clones: one with large berries and one with tight, smaller berries. This wine immediately paints a Sardinian landscape for you, with aromas that recall the native myrtle (mirto) plants that grow freely on the island and softer tones of scorched island earth and even a veiling of sea salt that reminds you of its littoral Mediterranean identity. The wine spends 20 long months in new oak. Some 100,000 bottles were made. This expression offers an elegant, full-weight approach with a slightly shorter and thinner finish in this cool and soggy vintage. It should be interesting to see how the wine fleshes out with more bottle aging.