Vermentino, Deperu Holler 'Fria'

The northern Sardinian region of Limbara, a windswept land of craggy granite bluffs where the sea is never too far away, is the ideal habitat for the Vermentino vine. Carlo Deperu, who runs a small organic farm with his wife, Tatiana Holler, refuses to follow the enological handbook that homogenizes many local wines: he is one of the only producers in the entire appellation who does not inoculate, relying instead on wild yeasts to kick off fermentation following a brief period of skin maceration—a long-lost tradition here. He forgoes filtration, resulting in a white that is the slightest bit cloudy and benefits from aeration to fully come out of its shell. Carlo’s calculated approach to natural winemaking yields a fleshy, full-flavored Vermentino saturated with herbs, flowers, ripe orchard fruit, and an unmistakable Mediterranean signature.