Rogers & Company Chateau, Villa and Estate Wines

Each year at Vinitaly Wine Spectator hosts "Opera Wine", an event that celebrates the Top 100 wineries of Italy. This is the event to be seen at in Verona. Annual invitees include Altesino, Antinori, Avignonesi, Fontodi, Gaja, Volpaia and year over year, from the island of Sardinia - Agricola Punica.

Punica was founded in 2002 as a joint venture between Sebastiano Rosa (winemaker at Tenuta San Guido), Sardinian winery Cantina di Santadi, Tenuta San Guido (Sassicaia), Santadi President Antonello Pilloni and legendary Tuscan consulting oenologist Giacomo Tachis (the modest man behind such supertuscan stars as Sassicaia, Tignanello and Solaia).

When we found out that this group was making wines in Sardinia (can we call them Super-Sardinians yet?) we just had to meet them and taste the wines. It was love at first sip.

These are exciting wines. The reds are built around Carignano, the island's best red varietal, but it shares centre stage with a troupe of France's noble performers. The white is a blend of Italian charm in the form of Vermentino with French class by way of Chardonnay, that makes you yearn for a beach vacation and salivate for fried seafood.

While the vineyards sit in the DOC Carignano del Sulcis they fall under the I.G.T. of Isola dei Nuraghi, a name referencing the ancient Nuragic civilization which shaped the island's development from the Neolithic age until 238 B.C., when Sardinia was brought under the Roman Empire.

Please let us know if you would like to secure any cases for your collection. All three wines come in cases of six bottles each. There is no payment needed at this time, allow 12 weeks before we will arrange delivery.

I'm happy to chat about our wines at anytime.

Most sincerely,

Chris.

Samas 2015 IGT Isola dei Nuraghi
(80% Vermentino and 20% Chardonnay)
$29.95 per bottle, cases of 6 bottles

The Vermentino grape can produce full bodied white wine, with an appley, tropical, herbaceous character and a nice clean finish. To preserve these characteristics the fruit is brought in during the night and enters the winery under dry ice. Cryomaceration prevents oxidation while extracting maximum flavour and aroma compounds. The fermentations of both varietals are long and cool and the wines rests on the lees for 40 days before blending.

This is probably the richest Vermentino I have ever tasted, but the wine drinks with verve and freshness and minerality. Deep fry some calamari for this beauty.

The 2015 has just been released and not yet reviewed, but the 2014 received the following:

"This is a fresher, more delicate style of Punica white with melon, honeysuckle and pear character plus hints of mineral. Medium to full body, fruity and fresh. A real beach wine. No wonder it comes from the sea-sprayed vineyards of the island of Sardinia. A blend of mostly Vermentino with some Chardonnay. Screw cap. Drink now."

91 points, JamesSuckling.com, July 2015

Montessu 2013 IGT Isola dei Nuraghi
(60% Carignano, 10% Merlot, 10% Syrah,
10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc)
$34.95 per bottle, cases of 6 bottles

Montessu really over-delivers - tons of ripe red fruit but with an underlying savouriness that takes it from simply nice to simply great. It is a charming, captivating wine presenting fruit flavours and Mediterranean aromatics in an almost familiar way but with more sparkle. This is excellent with grilled foods and braised red meats.

"Very savoury and tangy with a fun fruit-tannin tension. Medium body, fine tannins and a crisp finish. A go-to red from Sardinia. Drink now."

91 points, JamesSuckling.com, Oct 2015

"Floral scents and bright red berry flavours give this Carignan-based blend a bright and lifted appeal, with notes of bay leaf, tobacco and peppery spice that mark it as a Mediterranean wine. Dark mineral notes cool the lasting finish."

91 points, Wine & Spirits magazine, June 2016

"Juicy blueberry and red cherry flavours are lifted by zippy mineral and spice notes, showing excellent clarity and cut. Turns sweeter with air, delivering superb energy and focus on the very smooth, long finish. I quite liked this very precise, impeccably balanced wine."

91 points, Ian d'Agata vinous.com, June 2016

Barrua 2012 IGT Isola dei Nuraghi
(85% Carignano, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot)
$57.95 per bottle, cases of 6 bottles

Barrua is the flagship wine and one of Italy's best kept secrets. If you enjoy dark, brooding Malbecs from Argentina or dense, spicy Shiraz from Australia then this wine is for you. Carignano provides deep colour, heightened aromatics and acidity. The Cabernet and Merlot bring tannin, weight and more complexity to the darker notes.

"I thought the 2011 was the best ever from this stylish wine producer in Sardinia. But the 2012 is clearly better showing vivid aromas of currants, dried cherry, rosemary, citrus and dried chili. Full body, dense but not heavy centre palate, and a long savoury, mushroom, mahogany and berry aftertaste. A blend of local varieties with a hint of international ones. Yeah. Drink or hold."

94 points, JamesSuckling.com, July 2015

"Deep, bright ruby-red. Aromas of ripe red cherry, tobacco and loam, with a smoky cocoa overtone. Coconutty, sweet and fleshy in the mouth, offering tactile red berry and aromatic herb flavours of noteworthy volume and depth. Finishes long and creamy."
92 points, Ian d'Agata vinous.com, June 2016

"Carignano ripens easily in the southwest corner of Sardinia, warmed by the hot scirocco winds from Africa, cooled as the evening temperatures drop, keeping the grapes fresh. Barrua's flavours of black and red fruits are juicy and concentrated, layered with notes of garrigue and black spice. A match for slow-cooked lamb."
91 points, Wine & Spirits magazine, June 2016

"The 2012 Barrua is similar to the hot vintage that proceeds it. This so-called "Sardinian Sassicaia" is made by the same people who brought us the legendary Tuscan red wine. Barrua is a blend of Carignano, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that sees some 18 months of oak aging. This edition shows a soft and slightly jammy style with dark blackberry preserves, dried cherry, black olive and generous secondary aromas of oak spice and tobacco. Barrua always shows impeccable balance. Considering the warm vintage conditions, this edition offers that same sense of overall harmony. The wine is engineered for either near or long term drinking. It should hold for a decade. "

91 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Dec 2015

Chris McLean

direct: 647 955 8872
office: 416 961 2294 x 29