Wine of the Month - January 2013

Yes, Yes, I know it's February - but I bought and fully intended on drinking and talking about this wine in January - but I've been laid low by the lurgy for two weeks and until yesterday had not touched a drop of wine..... I must have been very ill.......

I have some very fond memories of Sardinia, we spent our honeymoon there and it holds a special place in my heart.  Alghero, on the North West corner is my particular favourite - known for its winding alleys, fantastic Lobster and some incredible wine.

When we were there, we stayed in this amazing Hotel, once a holiday home of Itallian Royalty, it sits on its own little rocky outcrop, surrounded by gardens just outside of the centre of Alghero.

Anyway, I digress, back to the point in hand, or rather glass in hand...and a Sardinian Red to be precise.  Today's recommendation is a Cannonau di Sardegna.  Now you may well not have heard of Cannonau, but you will no doubt have tasted it somewhere.... for Cannonau is actually Grenache  - where in Sardinia it is one of the principal varieties used in red production.

This wine is a beautiful plummy colour - almost damson-like, a rich, deep, purple.  It just invites you to get stuck in.  On the palate it is full, rounded and smooth and bursting with the fruitiness it's colour suggests - a real find for Eur5.99 in my local Edeka.