Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
second half of September; it is vigorous and
productive, and adapts readily even to diffi cult
environmental conditions, making it a favorite
of farmers. It has good resistance to most com-
mon grapevine pests. There are three offi cial
clones available: CVT 3 and CVT 101 were
developed in 2002, and CVT 18 has been avail-
able since 2008. Today, Bosco is most common
on Liguria's eastern side, while in the Cinque
Terre it is especially abundant in Manarola and
Riomaggiore. It is essentially unheard of any-
where else in Italy.
Grande (also called Bovale di Spagna or Bovale
Mannu) is much rarer than Bovale Sardo. But
like Bovale Sardo, Bovale Grande has multiple
biotypes, characterized by small, long, and
even compound bunches. Its leaf is remarkably
different from that of Bovale Sardo: the lateral
sinuses are small and subtle and the petiolar
sinus (the indentation between the leaf margin
and the leaf's main stalk) is large and U-shaped
as opposed to Sardo's very large, lyre-shaped
lateral sinuses and tighter, U- or V-shaped peti-
olar sinus. The berries of Bovale Grande I have
observed are lighter colored and usually taste
sweeter and less tannic than those of Bovale
Sardo, and are far bigger; the grape bunch is
also much bigger, but stockier. Not surpris-
ingly, the anthocyanin concentration in the
skin is much less than that of the obviously
darker Bovale Sardo.
These and other differences between the
two
Bovale
varieties were apparent to Cettolini
already in 1897, who distinguished the two and
wrote that Bovale Grande was also known as
Cagnulari, Nieddera, Moristeddu, Cadinissa,
and Mostaia: we now know that the fi rst two
are erroneous synonyms. Modern genetic anal-
ysis (Nieddu, Nieddu, Cocco, Erre, and Chessa
2007) has found that Bovale Grande is identical
to the Spanish variety Mazuelo, better known
as Carignano in Italy. Recent SSR profi ling at
twelve microsatellite loci on a grapevine collec-
tion in Oristano speaks of a strong similarity
between Mazuelo and Bovale Grande. Bovale
Grande and Carignano do look alike and so this
synonym may be correct. Fabio Angius, direc-
tor of the highly respected Pala estate, told me
fl at out that most of the Bovale Grande growing
on the island (the little that there is) is probably
Carignano: “In the 1970s, the commercial
grapevine nursery of the Sardinia regional gov-
ernment simply delivered Carignano to all
those looking for Bovale Grande, because they
already thought the two were identical.”
Therefore, it appears that Bovale Grande
(like many other Sardinian varieties) is of Span-
ish origin, a logical enough conclusion, given
Spain's four-hundred-year domination of the
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Few people have ever tried a monovarietal
bosco, since the variety is always blended in
with Albarola, in DOC wines Cinque Terre, Val
Polcevera, Colline di Levanto, and Sciacchetrà,
as well as IGT blends such as Colline del Gen-
ovesato and Golfo dei Poeti. However Walter De
Batté has been consulting for a few estates and
is now making two different monovarietal bos-
cos, a rarity. The wine is mineral and high acid,
with much bigger structure than anything
made with pure Albarola or Vermentino, and
hints of herbally, ripe yellow fruit that will
remind you of some dry Austrian Rieslings.
Clearly, Bosco is most important in the produc-
tion of the sweet wine Sciacchetrà (made from
air-dried grapes), characterized by thick, hon-
eyed, apricot jam, dried fi g, and herbal aromas
and fl avors, with hazelnut and toffee notes.
When good, Sciacchetrà can be a memorable
experience.
wines to try:
For monovarietal Bosco, try: De
Batté***. For Sciacchetrà, try: Buranco***
(unmissable) and Possa**. Sciacchetrà is never
a monovarietal wine, so these are not examples
of pure Bosco wine.
Bovale Grande
where it's found:
Sardinia.
national regis-
try code number:
37.
color:
red.
At only twenty-seven hectares under vine,
almost all located around Cagliari, Bovale
