“Cannonau” is the Sardinian name for the variety Grenache. This is the sort of random wine fact that I didn’t know six months ago, or need to know. But then the wine bug bit and some book learnin’ happened. Now when I see the word “Cannonau” on a wine list or a label, I don’t immediately think of heavy artillery, but instead of heavy red wine.
Building a wine vocabulary feels like a superpower, like X-ray vision. It’s almost as useful, too. For example, when a tricksy New York Times crossword clue says, “Sparkling Italian wine, four letters,” they want you to write CAVA and mess up your puzzle–but I’m not fooled because I know that it’s ASTI. I love having all these proper nouns rattling around in my brain, each one attached to a sensory memory of something delicious.
Today’s wine exploration is Mamuthone Cannonau di Sardegna. Medium ruby with a thin, watermelon-orange rim. Pronounced aromas of wild red cherry, red plum, smoke, and meat with dry, spicy notes of allspice, black pepper, and sandalwood. As swirl, I catch both ethereal violet and that divisive, sweet-or-spoiled(?) aroma of dry-aged steak.
On the palate, it’s very dry and high in alcohol (with acidity and tannins also creeping up there). Mouth-filling meaty and umami flavors beef up the sensation of body, which is just a hair over medium. Plummy fruit and woody oak flavors emerge momentarily, then subside to a funky, savory finish of leather and “granny’s spice cabinet” old dried herbs.
I am a confirmed lover of Grenache, by any name. Big, boozy, and budget-friendly, this is just the kind of red I like to sink my teeth into when no one’s watching. It’s like the wine equivalent of, lemme think…an eye-watering, finger-lickin’ plate of bone-in hot wings!
It is super trendy right now to pair good wine with junk food. It’s become a go-to way to telegraph that you’re endowed with both money and populist taste. That you have a certain depth of wine knowledge, but don’t take any of it too seriously.
Champagne with potato chips and Rioja with Big Macs are already taken, so may I humbly submit…Buffalo wings with Cannonau? The wine’s bold and meaty flavors were highlighted by the tangy, cayenne-laced sauce and blue cheese dip. A dusting of fresh black pepper and a Greek salad with black olives took this takeout-night pairing to the next level.
Bottle: Giuseppe Sedilesu “Mamuthone” Cannonau di Sardegna (2020)
Variety: Cannonau (100%)
ABV: 14.5%
Suggested retail: $28.99
My rating: 8.3 (out of 10)
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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