Cantina Gungui Cannonau di Sardegna Rosato 2024
We have 5 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
The Berteru En Rosé comes from Cannonau grown around Mamoiada, in the Barbagia hills of central Sardinia, one of the island’s most serious zones for the grape. The 2024 bottling is listed by the producer as coming from Vigna Pulenaria, a high-elevation site at roughly 730 meters above sea level with a southwest exposure. These are not the flat, hot Cannonau sites people often imagine when they think of Sardinia. Mamoiada sits high, dry, windy, and sunlit, with dramatic day-night temperature shifts that help preserve acidity even in a warm Mediterranean climate. The soils here are based on decomposed granite with a medium-textured mix and sandy components, giving Cannonau a leaner, more saline edge than the variety often shows elsewhere. This is Grenache country, but mountain Grenache, not beach wine.
The Wine
100% Cannonau (Grenache), harvested by hand in small 20 kg crates after summer thinning. The rosato is fermented with indigenous yeasts, given roughly three hours of skin contact in simple vats, then raised in stainless steel before bottling. This is not a pale, anonymous rosé built for ice buckets and pool floats. Aromas move through plum, dried orange, tomato leaf, licorice, rosemary, eucalyptus, and a slight smoky edge. The palate is fresh, saline, and more structured than expected, with enough fruit to feel generous but enough granite-driven grip to keep it serious. The finish carries a savory licorice note and a little Mediterranean herb character. Drink it cool, not freezing cold.
The People
Cantina Gungui is the work of Luca Gungui, who returned to Mamoiada in 2015 after leaving a career in law and took over his family’s vineyards, including Nuraghe Sas de Melas. His grandparents and parents had previously sold bulk wine locally or delivered grapes to larger wineries in the area; Luca chose instead to bottle the family’s own work. The name Berteru means “sincere” in the Mamoiada dialect, which fits the style: organically farmed, bush-trained Cannonau, massal selection, native fermentation, and very little cellar manipulation. The estate remains tiny by design. Luca works with wind, altitude, granite, and old local material rather than trying to polish the wine into something more international.
Food Pairing
Charred octopus with lemon and herbs, bottarga pasta, grilled prawns, roast chicken with rosemary, fregola with shellfish, pork skewers, or lamb with salsa verde. This has the salt, structure, and savory edge to handle seafood, but it is not fragile. It can absolutely take meat. That is the point.
We ship wine to most states with a $100 minimum order for shipping. We don't ship spirits nor beer.
Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
Grenache is a widely planted grape variety that thrives in its Mediterranean home. In Spain, it's known as Garnacha, where it reaches its peak in the Sierra de Gredos as a pure varietal wine, while also being a key blending component in Rioja. France's Southern Rhône, notably Châteauneuf-du-Pape, is another well-known region, where Grenache is often the base of a blended wine. Grenache also finds a home in Sardinia as Cannonau, and it has spread beyond its Mediterranean origins, most famously to Australia's Barossa Valley. The resulting wines are typically light in color, yet they possess a full body and flavor, displaying mature red fruit notes, herbal spices, and often a hint of orange peel, along with soft tannins and moderate acidity. It is an incredibly versatile grape, showing different expressions based on its terroir and the winemaking style employed.
