Raìca: Sarraiola Rosso 2019

Everybody is forgiven who has never heard of the Pascale grape variety - also we only knew about it from hearsay. But then Eugenio Bocchino and Cinzia Pelazza decided to add a few hectares of vineyards in Gallura, Sardinia, to their Barolo vineyard and make a red wine from Pascale in addition to their formidable Vermentino. 

Pascale, says Eugenio, "feels particularly at home on granite and limestone, of which there is fortunately more than enough in Gallura. Even in the warm conditions of northern Sardinia, it produces surprisingly fresh and elegant wines with a pleasingly moderate alcohol content. The hand-picked grapes are fermented spontaneously in small neutral wooden barrels, in which they are then matured.

The Sarraiolo Rosso smells of blossom and ripe fruit notes, is mellow, soft and balanced, more of a calm than a torrential stream, with fine herbal notes, well-integrated tannins and a supporting acidity that is never overbearing.