Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino di Sardegna 2023

The story of Argiolas is one of a family winery located in the town of Serdiana in the south of Sardinia. It was founded in 1938 by Antonio Argiolas, who lived to be 102 and was the first vintner on the island to convert to modern viticulture. He and his sons, Franco and Giuseppe, replanted the vineyards in the 1980s to reduce yields and focus exclusively on Sardinian grapes. Now run by the third generation—Valentina, Francesca, and their cousin Antonio—Argiolas is regarded as Sardinia’s leading wine producer, with a total of 600 acres spread across five estates in the southern part of the island (Serdiana, Sisini, Sa Tanca, Vigne Vecchie, and Is Solinas).

The estate’s flagship wine is Turriga, which has long been considered the island’s benchmark red. From the very beginning, the family’s goal was to create a great Sardinian wine capable of long aging, using only Sardinian varieties. Founder Antonio Argiolas sought the advice and expertise of Giacomo Tachis, the driving force behind Tignanello, Sassicaia, and other iconic Italian wines, to craft the blend. The wine is made up of roughly 85% old vine Cannonau, with small percentages of Carignano, Bovale Sardo and Malvasia Nera that vary from year to year.

The grapes are picked in different vineyards located in the area of Trexenta, mostly on the Sa Tanca and Vigne Vecchie estates, where Argiolas grows its oldest Cannonau vines. The marble statue of the mother goddess “Turriga” that graces the label was found not far from the vineyards, and can now be admired at an archeological museum in Cagliari, the island’s capital. Turriga sees between 18 to 24 years of aging in French barriques, depending on the vintage, and about a year in bottle before release. It is a powerful wine that requires time in bottle to show its full complexity.