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island—and perhaps, its synonym Bovale di
Spagna. Older Bovale Grande might be a spe-
cifi c biotype of Carignano (Mazuelo) that has
adapted to Sardinian
terroirs
over the course of
centuries, but more recently planted grapevines
are liable to be Carignano. It follows that Bovale
Grande is probably more correctly viewed as a
traditional grape variety of Italy, rather than a
truly native one.
CAGNULARI entry), while Bovale Grande is a
close relative (perhaps identical) of Carignano
(more correctly called by its Spanish names
Cariñena and, even better, Mazuelo; see CARI-
GNANO entry). Finally, the most recent
research reported upon by Nieddu (2011) con-
fi rms a previous report by Reale's group (2006)
and other data demonstrating that Bovale is not
identical to Nieddera, to Molise's Tintilia, nor to
Spain's Bobal, as previously believed.
Bovale Sardo is also called Bovaleddu, Car-
dinissia, Moraiola Minora, Muristellu (or
Muristeddu), and an almost endless list of
other dialect names that I'll spare you; some
of these may actually be different biotypes of
Bovale Sardo. Bovaleddu and Muristellu espe-
cially are considered biotypes of Bovale Sardo
by some Italian experts. The Muristellu syno-
nym deserves further analysis. Manca dell'Arca
fi rst mentioned a Muristellu in 1780, while
Moris (a professor of botany at Turin University
and the director of its botanical gardens, who
published the fi rst major work on the fl ora of
Sardinia and adjacent islands) fi rst described
the
Bovale
family only in 1837, so it is only logi-
cal to wonder if these two luminaries meant
different grapes. In this respect, a very interest-
ing study using both ampelographic and micro-
satellite analysis concluded that Muristellu
might not be just one variety but rather a group
of distinct grapes sharing morphologic and
genetic features (Lovicu, Farci, Sedda, Labra,
De Mattia, Grassi, et al. 2010). These results
indicate that Muristellu (or Muristeddu) is
actually synonymous with a variety called
Bovaleddu Antigu, localized in the Marmilla
region of Sardinia, and distinct from the
Bova-
le
s, as well as from Bovaleddu (which other
experts believe to be most likely Bovale Sardo)
and Bovaleddu Mannu (according to some
experts, most likely Bovale Grande). Of course,
one might object that this study only analyzed
six microsatellite loci, and the general consen-
sus is that more are needed to effectively study
closely related grape varieties. This study raises
the issue that Muristellu deserves to be better
characterized and that further research is
wines to try:
I know of no monovarietal
Bovale Grande wines commercially for sale, but
of course, if Bovale Grande really is Carignano,
then monovarietal Bovale Grande wines are far
more common than was previously known (see
CARIGNANO entry): a far cry from most of the
twentieth century, when Bovale Grande was
mainly used to spice up weak Monica or Can-
nonao wines.
Bovale Sardo
where it's found:
Sardinia.
national regis-
try code number:
38.
color:
red.
We know today that Bovale, which used to
be considered one grape, is in fact two different
varieties sharing almost the same name.
Though it was thought Bovale might have, over
the centuries, adapted to Sardinian
terroir
by
forming two different biotypes, called Bovale
Sardo and Bovale Grande, the two are in fact
unrelated (Reale, Pilla, and Angiolillo 2006;
Nieddu, Nieddu, Cocco, Erre, and Chessa
2007). Taking a walk through the vineyards
clearly shows the two don't look anything alike:
Bovale Sardo has smaller berries and a longer,
winged, usually very tightly packed bunch
(some biotypes are so tightly packed that in
humid vintages rot becomes a major problem),
while Bovale Grande has a short, stocky bunch
with very large, also tightly packed berries. As
if that weren't enough, the leaves look com-
pletely different too. Recent genetic testing at
twelve SSR loci has shown that Bovale Sardo
has more in common with Cagnulari and the
Spanish variety Graciano (please note I do not
write “identical”, as others have; for more, see
