Vernaccia di Oristano

Vernaccia di Oristano is one of the great white wines of Italy and almost nobody drinks it. Aged under a veil of flor in partly filled barrels, often for a decade, it arrives somewhere close to a fine Amontillado, and the best examples are not fortified at all. It is also disappearing: 1,500 hectares in the 1970s had fallen to 435 by 2010.

Origins and history Grape and wine share the name, and the grape is also called Garnaccia, Moranina or simply Vernaccia. It appears in a law of 8 June 1327 in which Philip IV forbade tavern keepers from putting water on the tables and required them to display the wines they served, vernaccia among them. Manca dell’Arca described a Garnaccia or Granazza with large long berries, and both Gallesio in 1839 and Molon in 1906 rated it among Sardinia’s best wines.

Not the other Vernaccias Ampelographic and molecular work has established that Vernaccia di Oristano is distinct from Vernaccia di San Gimignano, correcting a 1966 study that confused the two, and separate research has shown it distinct from Spain’s Garnacha. Even on Sardinia the picture is not uniform: several locally named vines such as Vernaccia Santa Rosalia and Granaccia turn out to be the same variety, while those grown around Solarussa and Escalaplano have different SSR profiles, and the Vernaccia of the Ogliastra is different again.

In the vineyard The vine is recognisable by its very round leaf, and carries medium-small conical bunches, usually winged and compact, with small round berries in thin yellow-gold skin. These distinguish it clearly from Vernaccia di San Gimignano, whose bunches are large and pyramidal. Harvest falls at the beginning of October. It is very sensitive to late spring frost and to both oidium and peronospora, and three clones are recognised, CAPVS 1 through 3.

Old vines, small plots A 2007 survey found that only 9 per cent of Vernaccia di Oristano vineyards exceed five hectares while 48 per cent are under one, and that the vines are overwhelmingly old: 28 per cent between thirty and fifty years, another 28 per cent over fifty, and only 6 per cent planted in the preceding six years. That is a double message, promising depth in the wines and signalling that almost nobody is replanting.

The soils Most plantings sit in the lower valley of the Tirso, though rather little is around Oristano itself, concentrating instead near Riola Sardo, Cabras and San Vero Milis. The Sinis area is notable for surviving old vines in highly sandy soils. The variety has traditionally been grown on two soil types held to give the best wines: the gregori, higher, drier, low in limestone and not very fertile, and the bennaxi, fertile alluvial soils rich in loamy clay at lower altitude, once marshland.

How the wine is made The wine is aged in chestnut or oak barrels in a solera, progressively topping up older wine with slightly younger, exactly as fine Sherry is made, so most bottlings blend several ages. Around 20 per cent of barrels are left open to the air for up to ten years, allowing slow controlled oxidation and the development of flor, the powdery white veil formed by the local yeast population. Where the flor does not form, the result is a simple herbal-lemony white for early drinking.

Aromatic profile A good Vernaccia di Oristano gives dried apricot, hazelnut, almond paste, orange rind, fresh aromatic herbs, white chocolate and faded flowers, and after roughly two years under flor it begins to recall a Fino or an Amontillado. Slightly sweeter versions add caramel and chestnut honey. The bitter almond note that runs underneath is a signature rather than a flaw.

Key expressions

• Unfortified Vernaccia di Oristano DOC aged under flor, the finest expression.
• Vernaccia di Oristano Liquoroso, fortified, either secco or dolce.
• Superiore bottlings, carrying higher alcohol and longer minimum ageing.
• Old-vine wines from the sandy soils of the Sinis.

The question of aging Ageing is not an option here but the method itself. The solera means the wine arrives already old, and the flor-aged examples continue to develop in bottle for decades without difficulty, deepening the nutty, dried-fruit register while the oxidative character stays controlled. Wines that never developed flor are the exception and should be drunk young.

At the table It belongs with bottarga, aged pecorino, salted almonds and cured meats, the classic Sardinian aperitivo, and handles artichokes and asparagus that defeat most wines. The sweeter versions suit almond pastries and dried fruit. Serve it lightly chilled, around twelve to fourteen degrees, as you would a good Sherry.

Why it matters Vernaccia di Oristano is a world-class wine made in a style the market has decided it does not want, and the collapse in plantings is the direct consequence. It belongs in the same conversation as the finest biologically aged wines anywhere, it costs a fraction of them, and it is held up almost entirely by old vines that nobody is replacing. If Italian wine has an urgent rescue case, this is it.