Valle del Tirso

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The area extends along both banks of the river Tirso as far as the Gulf of Oristano, with hilly fringes to the north and east formed by rocks of the Sardinian Oligo-Miocene volcanic-sedimentary complex and Plio-Pleistocene basaltic plateaus.
• The alluvial soils closest to the bed of the Tirso are known as Bennaxi — deep, cool, and silt-loam in texture — while the older soils, called Gregori, have a cobbly matrix mixed with tenacious clay and suffer from drainage problems.
• The vineyard soils include Inceptisols and Alfisols such as Palexeralfs and Haploxeralfs, sometimes Ultic intergrades, as well as deep Entisols such as Xerofluvents, with sandy Psamments of alluvial or dune origin.
• In the Sinis area, soils are rich in carbonates, while in the low-lying, hydromorphic zones close to the sea, Aquents and Salorthids are present.
• The Mediterranean climate shows mean temperatures between 15 and 17 °C, with summer peaks above 35 °C, mean annual rainfall of around 650 mm, and prevailing winds from the north-west and west.

• Viticulture in the territory dates back to the Nuragic period, around 1200 BC, as attested by the discovery in Cabras of Vitis vinifera grape seeds and remains of wine vessels.
• Viticulture as the primary crop of the territory is documented by the Carta de Logu of the fourteenth century and by the Rifiorimento della Sardegna of 1776, in which F. Gemelli describes Sardinian viticulture in favourable terms.

• The growing environment, characterised by slow and complete ripening of the grapes, contributes significantly to imparting the distinctive organoleptic characteristics to the various wine types.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-IT-A0816
• Official trade body site — Laore Sardegna