The intense, ruby red color of this wine tends toward orange with age. The full bouquet of sweet black cherry, pepper, and licorice is typical of the Cannonau grape. Warm and full bodied on the palate with excellent texture, ripe fruit flavors and pleasant tannins.

TASTING NOTES Colour: Intense ruby red with garnet tinges. Nose: Intensely vinous, typical of Cannonau. Palate: warm, well-rounded, well structured and excellently balanced. FOOD MATCHES First courses with tasty condiments, roast suckling pig and lamb, Sardinian pecorino cheese, medium or long matured.

Review

Vintage 2007 Wine Advocate - Issue #178/ August 31, 2008 - 90 points - Discovering Italy's Finest Wine Values "A massive, generous wine, it literally bursts onto the palate with waves of game, earthiness, mint, spices, herbs and bacon fat notes that swirl around a core of ripe, dark fruit. There is outstanding harmony and balance in the glass, especially at this price point. Costera is 90% Cannonau, 5% Carignano and 5% Bovale Sardo, (all native varieties), that spent roughly 6-8 months in French oak."

Wine maker notes

Type of Press: Soft Press Method of extraction: punch down on the cap Length of Maceration: 16 days Fermented in tanks at a temperature of 82-86 degrees for 13-15 days. Aging Container: Type: French barriques The wine is aged for 6-8 months followed by an additional minimal in bottle prior to release from the winery.

Technical notes

CLASSIFICATION Cannonau di Sardegna DOC. PLACE OF ORIGIN Costera estate in the countryside of Siurgus Donigala, ‘Sarais e Sisini’ area, 220 metres above sea level. SOIL Limestone, clayey elements, medium mixture tending to loose, small and mediumsized pebbles. GRAPE VARIETIES Cannonau, Carignano, Bovale. CLIMATE Mediterranean, mild winters, limited rainfall, very hot and windy summers. HARVESTING By hand, in the early morning. VINIFICATION TECHNIQUE Fermentation - maceration at controlled temperature of 28-30 °C for about 10- 12 days. Malolactic fermentation in cement glass-lined tanks and development in small oak casks for 8-10 months. Brief refining in the bottle.

Other text

Our history began in 1918, when Francesco Argiolas started from scratch and planted the first vineyard with the assistance of some prisoners of war. But it was only with Antonio Argiolas, today 97 years old, that a new way of running the business began. A man of great enthusiasm and long experience in viticulture, he bought new estates, not only vineyards but also olive groves, with the aim to set up a new, modern farm. He succeeded. At the end of the 70's, when the EEC used to pay farmer for reducing the size of their vineyards or even for removing their vines, Franco and Giuseppe Argiolas, the two sons of Antonio, made a courageous choice: by means of big investments, they effected gradual changes and involved the business in a stage of reorganization of all aspects, from the vineyards to technological innovation in the cellars. For their staff, they chose one of Italy's leading oenologists, Giacomo Tachis, who joined its forces with oenologist Mariano Murru.Now three generations of our family are present together: the patriarch Antonio, his two sons and his grandchildren.