Bovale is a much more unsung grape in Sardinia than Cannonau but, for many reasons, it competes evenly with her more famous sardo varietal. In the Mandrolisai, we have a smaller version of the Bovale grape, Muristellu or Bovaleddu.

What’s so special about it? This grape is dark and full of tannins and in the mountains, thanks to temperature excursions, the grape gives off more tannins and a wonderful ruby red – going towards purple color. In fact, Sardinians call their red wine “Binu Nieddu”, or black wine, and we think this name comes from the Mandrolisai and Bovale wines.

Winemakers will tell you Bovale is a tough grape to work with “in purezza” (100 % Bovale) but when you get it right, it’s just… WOW! If you like big red wines and are fascinated by high polyphenol counts and Mediterranean bouquets, look no further. This wine has all of that and more. Compared to a Mandrolisai or Cannonau, our Bovale tends to cover similar notes such as  red fruit, abundant  flowers but is more intense on the earthy , woody , spicy aromas and balsamic notes such as mirto.