Summary
Argiolas is the estate most wine lovers name first when the conversation turns to Sardinia. Founded in 1938 by Antonio Argiolas in Serdiana, around 20 kilometres north of Cagliari, the family business has grown from three hectares to an estate with roughly 230 hectares of vines – without ever losing its focus on the island’s native grape varieties. The house became famous with Turriga, a Cannonau-based blend the family developed from the late 1980s with the legendary oenologist Giacomo Tachis. Today the third generation runs the estate, whose wines – Costamolino, Perdera, Korem and Turriga among them – are missing from hardly any Sardinian wine list.
History
The roots go back to 1918, when the father of Antonio Argiolas bought a first vineyard in Serdiana. Antonio Argiolas, born in 1906, inherited around three hectares and officially founded the Cantina in 1938. In the early decades the business was a typical Sardinian farm: wine, olive oil and cheese went mainly to customers on the island.
The turning point came with the second generation. After a trip to Argentina and California in 1979, the sons Franco and Giuseppe were convinced that Sardinia could produce wines of international standing. The family bought further land in the Trexenta hills, modernised the cellar and, from the late 1980s, brought in the most prominent consultant Italy had to offer: Giacomo Tachis, the father of the Super Tuscans. This collaboration produced the first vintage of Turriga in 1988, released in 1991 – and it made Argiolas internationally known almost overnight.
Antonio Argiolas witnessed the rise of his estate well into old age – he died in 2009 at 102 and is still regarded as the patriarch of Sardinian wine. The third generation, Valentina, Francesca and Antonio Argiolas, is now in charge, while winemaker Mariano Murru has shaped the style of the wines for many years.
Location & Terroir
The headquarters are in Serdiana in the Parteolla, a gentle hill country north of Cagliari. Around the winery, the vines of the Tenuta Serdiana grow on calcareous, partly marly soils – this is also the site of an experimental vineyard where the family preserves and studies old Sardinian grape varieties.
Most of the roughly 230 hectares are spread across estates in the Trexenta, one of the classic red-wine zones of southern Sardinia: the Tenuta Sisini with about 60 hectares at 200 to 250 metres, the higher Sa Tanca at 250 to 350 metres, and the Vigne Vecchie near Selegas with around 40 hectares of old vines. This area, between Senorbì and Selegas, is also home to the Turriga locality after which the flagship wine is named. The Tenuta Is Solinas in the Sulcis in the south-west of the island is a different world entirely: here the Carignano vines stand on sandy soils close to the coast – the classic terroir of this variety.
The climate is typically Mediterranean with hot, dry summers. The Maestrale wind and the altitude of the Trexenta vineyards bring cool nights that preserve the aromas and acidity of the grapes.
Style & Philosophy
The Argiolas philosophy can be summed up in one phrase: Sardinia in a bottle. While many producers turned to Cabernet and Chardonnay in the 1980s, the family stayed with the island’s varieties – Cannonau, Carignano, Bovale Sardo, Monica and Malvasia Nera for the reds, Vermentino, Nuragus, Nasco and Moscato for the whites. Giacomo Tachis saw the true soul of the island in southern Sardinia, and with Turriga he proved that a world-class wine could be composed from these grapes.
The style is modern and clean without denying Sardinian warmth: the whites are fresh, saline and aromatic, the reds mature in stainless steel or French barriques depending on the range. The entry-level wines focus on fruit and drinkability, the top wines on density, structure and ageing potential. In the vineyard, the family has invested for years in sustainable farming, water management and the preservation of grape diversity.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range covers the whole spectrum of southern Sardinia:
- Turriga (Isola dei Nuraghi IGT) – the icon: Cannonau with Carignano, Bovale Sardo and Malvasia Nera, 18 to 24 months in French barriques; named after a more than 5,000-year-old statuette of the Mother Goddess found in the Turriga locality
- Korem (Isola dei Nuraghi IGT) – a blend based on Bovale Sardo with Carignano and Cannonau, barrique-aged
- Costera (Cannonau di Sardegna DOC) – the house’s classic Cannonau, warm and spicy
- Perdera (Monica di Sardegna DOC) – juicy, uncomplicated red from the Monica grape
- Is Solinas (Carignano del Sulcis DOC) – Carignano from the coastal estate in the south-west
- Costamolino (Vermentino di Sardegna DOC) – probably the most widely drunk Vermentino on the island, fresh and citrussy
- Is Argiolas (Vermentino di Sardegna DOC) – the more concentrated Vermentino from the vineyards around Serdiana
- Angialis (Isola dei Nuraghi IGT) – sweet wine mainly from Nasco, with Malvasia
Add to these wines such as Iselis and Cerdeña, the Cannonau Riserva Senes in honour of the founder and the Cannonau passito Antonio 100, which commemorates his 100th birthday.
Awards
Turriga is one of the most frequently awarded red wines in Italy: it received the top rating of Tre Bicchieri from Gambero Rosso across many vintages, the debut 1988 vintage was honoured with the Gran Medaglia d’Oro at Vinitaly in Verona in 1997, and recent vintages such as 2020 and 2021 scored 97 points with James Suckling. Argiolas is also a founding member of the Comitato Grandi Cru d’Italia. For Sardinia, the house has achieved one thing above all: it has shown that Cannonau, Carignano and Vermentino can play on a level with the great wines of the mainland.
