Surrau Sciala Vermentino di Gallura DOCG Superiore 2020

Although Vermentino is featured on a growing number of the country’s finest wine lists and it is winning the palates of Americans in search of an authentic dry white wine without a preponderance of oak, the knockout 2020 Surrau Sciala Vermentino di Gallura DOCG Superiore is truly in a class by itself. The 2020 Surrau Sciala Vermentino di Gallura DOCG Superiore offers up a brilliant straw color, seductive aromatics, and plenty of mouth-filling palate appeal. Intoxicating floral notes redolent with citrus, honeysuckle, pear, and exotic fruits dominate the nose and caress the palate. In the mouth, crisp acidity and gracious minerality provide freshness and pinpoint precision, allowing the 2020 Surrau Sciala Vermentino di Gallura to flow effortlessly down the thirsty throat. The 2020 Surrau Sciala Vermentino di Gallura ranks among the very finest Vermentinos we have ever tasted. For optimal enjoyment we suggest chilling this distinguished Vermentino to about 38° F, before allowing it to slowly warm as you sip and savor its many delightful flavors. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2024. Enjoy!

As Sardinia is an island surrounded by a sea rich in the delicacies of the deep, seafood provides many of the favored accompaniments to Surrau’s premier Vermentino, the 2020 Surrau Sciala Vermentino di Gallura DOCG Superiore. Grilled or sautéed calamari in the company of a heady sauce makes a wonderful starter and a delightful companion to this delectable, racy Vermentino. Pan-seared halibut, sea bass, or rockfish served with mushroom risotto also warrants two thumbs up. Wood-fired oysters served with sautéed spinach, naturally cured bacon, and a creamy cheese sauce over a bed of organic greens provides another winning accompaniment. Equally satisfying is an authentic Salade Niçoise. Seafood lasagna with delicate layers of pasta, swordfish, salmon, mussels, cured tomatoes, spinach, and fine herbs in a saffron seafood broth also wins the day. For those not beholden to seafood, consider Mediterranean Chicken Salad: grilled chicken served over a bed of organic greens with toasted walnuts, grapes, and wild herbs. Buon appetito!

Surrau takes its name from the Surrau Valley, which lies in the heart of the Gallura DOCG, just 15 minutes from Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda and the gleaming, sun-splashed Mediterranean Sea. Surrau is the handiwork of Tino Demuro, a native Sardinian whose family, which includes 11 siblings, have worked Sardinia’s stony vineyards for generations. In 2001, Demuro, a successful construction company owner, decided to invest in the Gallura appellation and built a state of the art winery dedicated to the production of Vermentino, Gallura’s special and most traditional grape variety.

With the goal of making the finest Vermentino di Gallura (Sardinia’s only DOCG wine), Tino hired famed consulting oenologist Beppe Caviola and together they assembled a young dynamic team, consisting of agronomist Fabio Isoni and oenologist Mario Siddi, to make truly world-class Vermentino. We invite you to taste the team’s exceptional 2020 Surrau Sciala Vermentino di Gallura DOCG Superiore (this month’s feature) from the estate’s finest selection of award winning Vermentino grapes.

Surrau also fashions an excellent lighter Limizzani Vermentino and several other fine white and red wines from the domain’s 148 acres of vines, including Cannonau di Sardegna DOC, the island’s much heralded red wine.

Vermentino is one of Italy’s finest yet least known white grape varieties. Although not nearly as ubiquitous as Pinot Grigio, Trebbiano, Malvasia, and other white-skinned varietals, Vermentino flourishes along Italy’s Mediterranean coastline where it produces fine, floral wines with crisp, racy finishes. This is especially true in Liguria, where it often takes the name Pigato, and on the island of Sardinia, whose Vermentino di Gallura is Sardinia’s only DOCG wine. Corsica and the south of France are also excellent sources of Vermentino, though one would hardly guess that Vermentino thrives in France, as Vermentino is almost exclusively known as Rolle in that country.

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (only Sicily is larger) and an autonomous region of Italy endowed with a long history. In spite of its varied and stunning landscapes, rich culture, proliferation of indigenous languages and mysterious Bronze Age ruins known as nuraghi, and some of the finest beaches in the Mediterranean, Sardinia remains “Italy’s Forgotten Island.” Agriculture and tourism are Sardinia’s most important industries, with viticulture playing an increasing role in introducing Sardinia to the rest of the world.

Blessed with an abundance of microclimates born of the island’s varied landscapes and surrounding seas, grapes thrive in the mostly mild, arid climate of Sardinia. The most important autochthonous grape varieties are Vermentino for white wine and Cannonau (a grape related to Grenache), Bovale, and Carigano for reds. Sardinian wines are increasingly sought after for their quality, strength and vigor. As the island boasts an extremely high life expectancy and one of the highest percentages of centenarians in the world, Sardinian wine may just be one of modern life’s true elixirs.