Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
needed before drawing conclusions relative to a
synonymity between it, Bovale Sardo, Graciano,
or any other Sardinian variety. In any case, use
of the name Muristellu over the years has been
especially confusing, because locals and
experts alike have also associated this name
with another grape variety, Monastrell (better
known as France's Mourvèdre), to which Bovale
Sardo can show a morphologic resemblance.
However, Monastrell and Bovale Sardo are dis-
tinct varieties: besides some ampelographic
similarities, the similarity between the Mona-
strell and Muristellu names likely also contrib-
uted to the general confusion.
The main point of contention concerning
Bovale Sardo's identity today is whether it is
identical to Spain's Graciano, as some experts
believe. Analysis of the
Bovale
family of grapes
on Sardinia found that Bovale Sardo was identi-
cal to Graciano and to another Sardinian grape
called Cagnulari, but these results were pre-
sented at a conference and published in the
proceedings,
Acta Horticulturae,
rather than in
a peer-reviewed journal (Nieddu, Nieddu,
Cocco, Erre, and Chessa 2007). That said,
genetic testing performed on a grapevine col-
lection in Oristano partially confi rmed the ear-
lier results, fi nding that Bovale Sardo is similar
to Cagnulari (twenty-three shared alleles out of
twenty-four and at least one common allele in
all twelve SSR loci analyzed) and Graciano
(nineteen alleles out of twenty-four) (Nieddu
2011). However, similar does not mean identi-
cal. Furthermore, in an earlier study published
in a peer-reviewed journal, researchers found
no relationship between either
Bovale
and Gra-
ciano or any of the other varieties studied,
establishing that each was a separate cultivar
(Reale, Pilla, and Angiolillo 2006). However, a
careful read reveals that the two samples of
Bovale Sardo and two of Bovale Grande they
took all had different DNA profi les. In my opin-
ion, given all these observations, it's hard to
draw any hard conclusions about what Bovale
Sardo and Bovale Grande really are identical to.
Cipriani, Spadotto, Jurman, Di Gaspero, Cres-
pan, Meneghetti, et al. (2010) conclude in their
study that synonyms can differ from each other
in a number of aspects that may be important
relative to the wines produced with each. As
such differences originate in mutation (not
through sexual reproduction), these synonyms
maintain a common genetic origin, but ought
to be considered singly, because each produces
a wine different from the others.
These considerations aside, given the Span-
ish domination of Sardinia for close to four
hundred years (1327-1720), it's likely that
Bovale Sardo arrived on Sardinian shores by
way of Spain (perhaps of Rioja, should its iden-
tity to Graciano prove correct). Therefore, just
like Bovale Grande, Bovale Sardo is more cor-
rectly viewed as a traditional grape variety of
Italy rather than a truly native one. Of course,
not even that is simple: other evidence has
linked it and other Sardinian cultivars to an
island origin, as the result of natural crossings
with or mutations of local wild vines (Grassi,
Labra, Imazio, Spada, Sgorbati, Scienza, and
Sala 2003; partially confounded by Zecca, De
Mattia, Lovicu, Labra, Sala, and Grassi 2009).
In this respect, Bovale Sardo
would
qualify as a
true native of the island. However, while it once
seemed that Bovale Sardo was strongly related
to the wild grapevines that are still abundant on
Sardinia, the most recent data available makes
this possibility seem less likely.
Bovale Sardo is a very miserly producer, and
for this reason locals call it Baovabi Mascu
(“Male Bovale”). There are no offi cial clones of
Bovale Sardo available. Old vines are so abun-
dant that estates choose massal selections
whenever they need to replant. As of 2009,
Bovale Sardo was grown on 784 hectares on
Sardinia, mainly in the area around Cagliari,
Sardinia's biggest city, but also in the Campi-
dano and Terralba production zones, and dis-
tributed diffusely on the island. It does remark-
ably well on sandy soils like those of Terralba
(
terralba
means white earth, because of its high
white-sand content), Uras, and San Nicolò
d'Arcidano, all
grand crus
for the variety. Due to
the high sand content of these soils, most of the
vines, many of which are roughly one hundred
