Sweet passito wine with concentrated aromas of mango, pineapple, honey and caramel

This is a truly delightful 100% Muscat dessert wine from Sardinia. It’s made in the traditional Italian passito method when the grapes are left to dry on the vine – also known as late harvest. This technique is used to create sweet wines with incredibly intense flavours. Nùali is made from 100% Moscato Bianco – or Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains in French.

Grapes are fully ripe by September. Dino Dini, the winemaker at Siddùra, keeps them on the vines until the middle of October – drying them until they are practically raisins. The level of natural sugar in the grapes reaches a remarkable 360 grams per litre – almost 50% more than usual. After the harvest, Dino crushes the grapes and keeps the extra-sweet juice in contact with the skins at a very low temperature (4°C) for three days. During that time, the juice captures plenty of aroma and flavour from the skins.

After maceration, the juice is separated from the skins and is fermented in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 16-18°C for twenty-five days. When the level of alcohol in the wine reaches 13%, Dino cools it to stop the fermentation. All of the sweetness in this wine is natural: there is so much sugar in the dried grapes that the yeast can’t convert it all into alcohol. The wine spends the next six months maturing sur lie in stainless steel tanks. Dino uses steel rather than oak, to preserve the delicate fruit aromas of Muscat. Finally, the wine is bottled, and continues its maturation in the cellar.

A true masterpiece, Nùali was awarded the highly prestigious Decanter Gold Medal in 2019 as well as numerous other awards.

Tasting notes

“A floral and gently tropical fruit nose with intense flavours of mangos, pineapples, acacia honey, apricots, peaches, cooked pears and caramel. Well made with good acids to keep this fresh and zippy. Great texture and length.” – Decanter.

Ageing potential

10 years

Awards

Decanter – 94 Points, One of The Best Sweet Wines of the Year 2020 | Mundus Vini 2021 Spring Tasting – Best of Show Italy Noble Sweet Wine (2018 vintage) | Decanter World Wine Awards 2019 – Gold Medal (2016 vintage) | Berliner Wein Trophy 2019 – Gold Medal | Mundus Vini 2019 Spring Tasting –  Gold Medal | Concours International De Lyon 2019 – Gold Medal