Mamoiada: 30 high-altitude wines to try from central Sardinia

In a region called Barbagia, far away from the crowded beaches and nightlife along the coast of Sardinia, you will find Mamoiada, or Mamojada in the local dialect. Here, 33 small wine producers make wines at high altitude with the Cannonau grape (aka Grenache) and the indigenous white variety, Granatza.

The wines of Mamoiada are Mediterranean in character and display profound elegance and a high-mountain freshness, often imbued with old-vine power and, in the case of the red wines, intense red fruits, rose and creamy sweet tannins typical of Cannonau.

Scroll down for notes and scores for 30 wines from Mamoiada

Wine has always been made in the area but was sold as bulk until relatively recently. Then, in 2015, the producers in Mamoiada created an association called Mamojà. Through Mamojà, they work together, helping each other to promote their wines and being hands-on in the fields, exchanging equipment, ideas and knowledge.

‘Most producers released their first vintage in 2019, and today, altogether, we make a total of 450,000 bottles,’ says Giovanni Ladu, president of the Mamojà association and owner-winemaker at Cantina Ladu.

‘We understood that we could create a better future for our community if we started to focus on quality and bottle our production,’ continues Ladu. ‘The economy took off, we created jobs and there is a feeling of hope here now that is making young people stay or even come back home. Mamoiada is one of the very few places in Sardinia where the population is increasing from year to year.’

Ladu is a young man who works part-time as a carpenter in the family business; the rest of the time he makes wine in the family home’s basement – most producers have jobs on the side and make a small quantity of wine in the garage, shed or, indeed, basement.

Mamoiada is a small town with 2,500 inhabitants, mostly known for the carnival in January when the whole village dresses in impressive and ancient carnival masks known as Mamuthones and Issohadores.

The surrounding countryside looks like a scene from a Western movie, and you could be forgiven for expecting Clint Eastwood to ride by on his horse any minute. Nature here is wild, with high mountains surrounding the vineyards, and woods and old shepherds’ paths in the background.

There’s a large temperature difference between night and day here, even during the hot summer months, meaning the grapes enjoy a long phenolic ripening while keeping acidity high.

‘There are around 400ha of vineyards, 95% planted with Cannonau,’ says Francesco Sedilesu of the Teularju winery. ‘The soil is well-draining granite rock and the average altitude of the vineyards is 730m above sea level, although some vineyards reach 1,000m. We also have a large quantity of old bush vines, with low yields like 20hl/ha, while younger vineyards give a maximum of 60hl/ha. We care for our old vines because, in Mamoiada, to take away a vineyard is like killing a family member.’

Renaissance

In 2001, Francesco’s father, Giuseppe Sedilesu, became the first producer to start bottling under his own name and instigated the wine renaissance in Mamoiada. When the family grew, they split the vineyards and the family members created their own wineries. Francesco started Teularju, together with his wife Rosa and their children, Vincenza, Giovanni, and Giuseppe Jr and his wife Elisabetta, while his second-born, Simone, started VikeVike.

For the moment, there is no IGT or DOC for Mamoiada, and producers can choose from the larger DOC Cannonau di Sardegna, IGT Isola dei Nuraghi (both can be used throughout the whole territory of Sardinia), IGT Barbagia (which falls in 15 municipalities in the province of Nuoro) or IGT Nuoro (which can be used in the provinces of Nuoro, Ogliastra, Cagliari and Oristano).

Many of the Mamojà producers prefer to bottle their wines as IGT Barbagia rather than DOC Cannonau di Sardegna, which was created in 1972. ‘DOC Cannonau Sardegna covers the whole island,’ explains Mattia Muggittu from Cantine Muggittu, one of the youngest producers in the area. ‘It doesn’t focus on the terroir but includes everything: different soil types, styles and prices.’

The Mamojà association has instead created its own member rules. ‘We only use wild yeast to start the fermentation, as we believe this helps maintain the fruit better, and we also ask our members to work organically’, says Ladu. The region is also divided into subzones called ghirade, and if vinified separately these can be written on the label, like the contradas on Etna.

Styles

Wine styles do differ between producers. Some wineries hold on to the more traditional, full-bodied approach, with rich and generous fruit notes and high alcohol balanced by fresh acidity. Others, like VikeVike, have opted for a lighter take, with less extraction and lower alcohol, with the wines being more Burgundian in style.

‘We are so young [as a region] that we still have to understand the longevity of our wines, but we believe without doubt they can improve over time,’ says Piergraziano Sanna, of Cantina Sannas. He is one of the few ‘outsiders’, born in another village in Sardinia. He makes wine in his tiny garage, where there is always a piece of Pecorino cheese, some salami and hand-rolled cigarettes on the table.

‘At the age of 52, I found myself without a job, so I came to Mamoiada and started to make wine because I did not know what else to do. Here you can live simply but with dignity. Wine and this community helped me get my life back,’ he says, while serving a beautiful, intense, nuanced Cannonau called Bobotti.

While the red wines, even though made in different styles, show elegance, finesse and intensity, the whites, made from the autochthonous Granatza, differ hugely.

Sanna makes a quite extreme but interesting orange wine with Granatza macerated on the skins for over 70 days. Others, like VikeVike and Vinzas Artas, prefer a more traditional style with direct pressing, resulting in vertical white wines with intense aromas of Mediterranean scrub, sage and citrus, as well as mouthwatering acidity and a wet stone character.

These producers are small in stature, but their wines are massive. For anyone who loves Grenache or wines full of soul and created from indigenous varieties, they are a must-try; you will drink well and feel Mamoiada´s soul in the glass.

30 characterful wines to try from Mamoiada:

Related articles

• Sardinia for wine lovers
• Sicily report 2023: Latest releases tasted from this extraordinary island
• Pieropan Calvarino: Vertical tasting 1987 – 2021