Deperu Holler Fria Vermentino di Gallura Superiore 2021
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This unfiltered Vermentino fulfills my fantasy of what island whites should be. From one of the island’s top terroirs for the grape, it is a pristine reflection of sun and sea, like a coastal breeze infused with wildflowers, citrus rind, and salty minerals.
In the north of Sardegna, Carlo Deperu and his wife Tatiana Holler are crafting some of the most serious whites of the Mediterranean basin. The couple met in Milan, where Carlo earned his degree in viticulture and enology while Tatiana had come to study advertising from her native Brazil. In 2005, they settled back to Carlo’s hometown of Perfugas, where his family had long made some wine for their own consumption. Carlo and Tatiana replanted the family vineyards and added new parcels, ultimately bringing the surface under vine to six hectares.
At the intersection of the hilly Anglona region and the more mountainous Gallura (home to Sardegna’s only DOCG, Vermentino di Gallura), soils alternate between limestone and granite with varying proportions of clay, chalk, and fossil-rich stones. Situated less than ten miles away, the sea brings constant fresh breezes, while nearby Lake Coghinas also has a similar moderating effect. The cleansing maestrale wind blows frequently, playing a crucial role in facilitating organic viticulture. In fact, Carlo and Tatiana eschew herbicides and synthetic fertilizers in the vineyard, opting instead for natural solutions like planting cover crops to maintain balance in the soils.
Vermentino thrives here, giving aromatic, mineral-driven wines that rank among the Mediterranean’s most complex and food-friendly whites. "Fria" is a mouth-watering, almost salty, delightfully thirst-quenching expression of the grape, while "Prama Dorada" pays tribute to the Sardinian peasant wines of the past: a blend of Vermentino co-planted with Nasco, Malvasia, Moscato, Arvesionadu, and other heirloom varieties, this deep, fleshy white is richly saturated with local wildflower and herbal nuances. Both wines see a cold soak (up to seven days for Prama Dorada) to extract texture and aroma, but not color or tannins. Fermentations are natural and both wines complete their malolactic fermentation in tank before an unfined, unfiltered bottling. Carlo and Tatiana also produce a perfumed, chewy red from Cannonau and Muristellu. These wines are loaded with local character and brilliantly complement Mediterranean cuisine.
A fantastic, aromatic white grape that grows with great success in Sardinia, Tuscany and in lesser proportions on the island of Corsica. Somm Secret—Vermentino is thought to be genetically identical to Liguria’s Pigato grape and Peidmont’s Favorita. It comprises a large proportion of the whites in southern France where it is called Rolle.
Hailed for centuries as a Mediterranean vine-growing paradise, multiple cultures over many centuries have ruled the large island of Sardinia. Set in the middle of the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Phonoecians, Ancient Rome, and subsequently the Byzantines, Arabs and Catalans have all staked a claim on the island at some point in history. Along the way, these inhabitants transported many of their homeland’s prized vines and today Sardinia’s modern-day indigenous grape varieties claim multiple origins. Sardinia’s most important red grapes—namely Cannonau (a synonym for Grenache) and Carignan—are actually of Spanish origin.
Vermentino, a prolific Mediterranean variety, is the island’s star white. Vermentino has a stronghold the Languedoc region of France as well as Italy’s western and coastal regions, namely Liguria (where it is called Pigato), Piedmont (where it is called Favorita) and in Tuscany, where it goes by the name, Vermentino. The best Vermentino, in arguably all of the Mediterranean, grows in Sardinia's northeastern region of Gallura where its vines struggle to dig roots deep down into north-facing slopes of granitic soils. These Vermentino vines produce highly aromatic, full and concentrated whites of unparalleled balance.
Today aside from its dedication to viticulture, Sardinia remains committed to maintaining its natural farmlands, bucolic plains of grazing sheep and perhaps most of all, its sandy, sunny, Mediterranean beaches.