Nasco

Nasco is a Sardinian white that local growers have long held to be among the oldest and the best on the island, and one of the rare varieties able to make thrilling wine both dry and sweet. Its name probably comes from the Latin muscus and the Sardinian nuscu, both meaning musky, which describes the wine exactly. Barely a hundred hectares survive.

Origins and history Known locally as Nuscu, Nascu and Resu, Nasco was highly regarded in the nineteenth century as one of the best varieties around Cagliari and was widely believed to be Sardinia’s most ancient cultivar. Its standing was not merely local: of the two hundred producers exhibiting at the Florence Exhibition of 1861, Pietro Marini was among the very few to win a medal, and he won it with a Nasco. Cettolini and Mameli, writing in 1933, regretted that so fine a grape was not more widely planted.

Native or import Whether Nasco is a true Sardinian native or arrived with Greek colonists or, much later, with the Spanish remains unresolved. What is established is that it is genetically distinct from every other Sardinian variety, including the little-known Ogu de Arrana, which was wrongly thought identical to it and in fact shares an allele at only nine of twelve loci studied. Dark-berried vines described as Nasco Nero are unrelated, having been shown to be Aregu Giallo, also called Barberone.

Nearly lost For much of the twentieth century Nasco was uprooted in favour of more productive, more disease-resistant varieties, which is how a grape considered the island’s finest fell to roughly 105 hectares. Estates such as Pala and Argiolas have records of growing it since the nineteenth century, and Pala’s technical director says simply that they only wish they had more of it. Local universities are now working on clones, none yet available, which is itself a sign of renewed interest.

In the vineyard Nasco is a handsome vine, with cylindrical-conical medium-large bunches carrying two wings and medium-large round to oval berries. It is not especially vigorous, produces a great deal of foliage and grows erect, which makes vineyard work easier on the back. Budbreak is early, but spring frost is practically unknown in Sardinia so this costs nothing. It resists disease well apart from oidium.

Where it grows Around 75 per cent of plantings sit in the Campidano area east of Cagliari, with smaller holdings near Oristano and, increasingly, around Nuoro. The best sites are the calcareous-marly hillsides near Cagliari, at Parteolla and Sibiola in the townships of Serdiana and Dolianova, and around Settimo Ninnai and Quartu. Rootstock choice follows the lime content, with 140 Ruggeri suited to the calcareous sites and 1130 Paulsen to the droughtier, less calcareous ones.

Aromatic profile A strong herbal note runs through every Nasco, with rosemary and thyme most prominent, over the muskiness the name records. On cooler sites and more fertile soils the dry wines turn vegetal and lose interest, so site selection matters more than usual. At their best the wines show unexpected complexity for a grape that ripens early, an exception to the general rule that complexity comes from long, slow ripening.

In the cellar The wine is DOC Nasco di Cagliari, made dry, sweet, fortified dry and fortified sweet riserva, and some fifteen IGT wines also permit the variety. The pips are unusually rich in potentially bitter polyphenols while the skins are surprisingly low in them, so pressing needs care. The grape dehydrates easily on the vine and accumulates sugar fast without shedding its already low acidity too quickly, which is what makes the sweet wines work.

Key expressions

• Sweet Nasco di Cagliari, by common consent the finest expression of the grape.
• Dry versions from the calcareous-marly hills around Serdiana and Dolianova.
• Fortified dry and sweet riserva bottlings under the same DOC.
• Old-vine parcels held by the long-established Campidano estates.

The question of aging The dry wines are best inside five years, where the herbal lift and musk stay fresh and the naturally low acidity has not yet flattened. The sweet wines are the ones to keep: concentrated by on-vine dehydration and held together by that same acidity, they gain depth over a decade and more. Fortified riserva bottlings last longer still.

At the table The dry wines suit the island’s seafood, from bottarga and grilled fish to shellfish and herb-driven vegetable dishes, where the rosemary and thyme notes echo the cooking. The sweet versions belong with almond pastries, aged pecorino and dried fruit rather than chocolate. Serve the dry around ten degrees, the sweet a little cooler.

Why it matters Nasco is the clearest example of Sardinia losing something excellent to the twentieth century’s preference for yield and disease resistance, and of how narrow the margin of survival was. A grape that won a medal in Florence in 1861 is down to a hundred-odd hectares. That it makes both a serious dry white and one of Italy’s more remarkable sweet wines is reason enough to want that number to grow.