Girò

Girò makes something Italy has very little of: a sweet red wine that is not aromatic. Where Aleatico and the sweet Malvasias lead with perfume, Girò is light, refreshing and easy to drink, and D’Agata finds it a good deal more refined than most sweet reds made anywhere. It is also disappearing, from roughly 500 hectares in 1990 to 121 in 2009.

Origins and history Like many Sardinian varieties, Girò is most likely traditional rather than native, a Spanish import arriving during Spain’s long domination of the island, which its synonyms record: Girone or Zirone di Spagna, alongside the Sardinian dialect names Nieddu Alzu and Aghina Bar-ja. Its cultivation was later encouraged by the Piedmontese during their own brief rule, particularly by the Marquis di Rivarolo. Phylloxera, or rather the replanting that followed it, did most of the damage.

How many Giròs At the end of the eighteenth century Manca dell’Arca described three Girò varieties around Sassari: Zirone, round-berried and early-ripening; Zirone di Spagna, with larger berries; and Zirone Barzu, similar to Negro but less dark. Later documents distinguished at least Girone and Girone di Spagna. Several coloured versions have been described too, Girò Nigro, Girò Rosso, Girò Chiaro and Girò Bianco, and Spain’s white Giró Blanco has been shown to be a distinct variety rather than a colour mutation.

Four grapes under one name A study analysing 196 Sardinian vines at six SSR markers identified four different Girò varieties: Girò Morbido from the Sarcidana, plus three genetically distinct vines all called Girò, from the Campidano di Sanluri, the Campidano di Cagliari and the Planargia. Because these lived for centuries in remote inland mountain areas, genetic contamination was unlikely, which is precisely how the island preserved so much biodiversity. Separate work suggests Girò may be one of the two parents of the rare Albaranzeuli Bianco.

In the vineyard Bunches are medium to medium-large and usually pyramidal or conical, with medium round berries. Girò wants relatively warm, dry microclimates and deep marly-clay soils. The fruit is robustly resistant to poor weather but struggles with most common diseases and vine pests. It ripens in September and grows around Sassari and the Basso Campidano in the province of Cagliari, with less near Oristano.

Appearance and structure Girò is not a dark wine, and the reason is measurable: it has possibly the lowest anthocyanin concentration of any Sardinian red grape, between 130 and 250 milligrams per kilogram. The result is a pale, delicate sweet red, light on its feet, which is exactly what makes it drinkable where heavier sweet reds become wearing.

Aromatic profile Candied red cherry, milk chocolate and plums macerated in alcohol define the nose. The palate is delicately sweet and spicy with abundant very ripe red fruit. It is a wine of charm rather than power, and the absence of overt Muscat-family perfume is what sets it apart from Italy’s other sweet reds.

In the cellar The wine is Girò di Cagliari DOC, which requires 100 per cent of the variety. It is made dry, sweet, liquoroso secco and liquoroso dolce, the last two also as riserva, though it is almost always found sweet. Around fifteen IGT blends may also include it, among them Barbagia, Isola dei Nuraghi, Planargia, Romangia, Trexenta and Valle del Tirso.

Key expressions

• Girò di Cagliari DOC sweet, the classic and best expression.
• Liquoroso dolce riserva, fortified and long-aged.
• Rare dry versions, which show the variety’s pale delicacy.
• Old inland plantings from the mountainous areas that preserved the biodiversity.

The question of aging The sweet versions age well and are the ones to keep, their sugar and gentle spice deepening over a decade while the delicate red fruit turns towards dried cherry and orange peel. The fortified riserva bottlings last longer still. Dry Girò is a curiosity and should be drunk young.

At the table Sweet Girò suits seadas, almond pastries and dried figs, and its light frame makes it one of the few sweet reds that works with soft cheeses rather than only blues. It is also good on its own after dinner, which is how most Sardinians drink it. Serve it at around fourteen degrees.

Why it matters Girò is falling away because sweet red wine is hard to sell, not because the wine is poor, and the collapse from 500 hectares to 121 in under twenty years shows how fast that happens. It is also a live ampelographic puzzle, with at least four distinct varieties sharing the name in different corners of Sardinia. Both facts argue for paying attention now rather than later.