Torbato

Torbato is one of the most tangible signs of the Catalan domination of Alghero, in the upper part of Sardinia, which lasted from 1324 to 1479 by Peter IV of Aragon and is still well present from a linguistic and cultural point of view. Grapes belonging to the malvasia family, torbato in Italy is grown exclusively in the Alghero area; brought here from the Iberian peninsula, however, it has Greek origins. In Europe it is only grown in Portugal and in the French region of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees, where it is called malvoisie de Roussillon and mainly gives some vins doux naturels. Not easy to vinify, in Alghero, it goes perfectly with its calcareous-clayey and sandy soils and arid but breezy Mediterranean climate. In the best versions, which are among the best Sardinian whites, it expresses on the nose hints of broom, mastic, citrus fruits and aromatic herbs, in an overall picture of strong minerality; on tasting, it gives sapidity, acidity and a soft vein, especially with evolution. It also has great class in the spumante version.