Cantina Mossa: Sardinia’s Cannonau Wine Redefined Through Marble Aging

Posted by Rowena Dumlao Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 4/05/2025

Cantina Mossa: Sardinia’s Cannonau Wine Redefined Through Marble Aging

While Sardinia’s coastal wines and beaches command global attention, the island’s untamed interior beats to the rhythm of Cannonau, a red grape synonymous with Sardinia’s soul. In the Baronia region, near the historic town of Irgoli, Cantina Mossa weaves this heritage into every bottle, marrying ancient traditions with boundary-pushing experimentation.

Its defining innovation? Marble vats carved from Irgoli’s quarries, which cradle Cannonau as it ages, suffusing the wine with a stony touch unique to Sardinia. As the sole producer in Irgoli bottling Cannonau commercially, Marco Mossa stakes his reputation on bottles like Marmus—a marble-aged red lauded by critics for its mineral depth and audacious balance of old-world grit and modern finesse.

Marco Mossa: Innovator of Marbe Vat Aging of Cannonau

Marco Mossa, a native of Irgoli, channels both agronomic expertise and ancestral reverence into his craft. Driven by a mission to amplify the island’s indigenous grapes, he experiments with materials deeply tied to the region like Orosei marble. “Marble isn’t just stone here; it’s part of our identity,” he explains. Marco’s hands-on approach extends from nurturing old-vine Cannonau to collaborating with a local marble artisan, creating wines that defy expectations while respecting tradition.

Vineyards, Winery & Marble Innovation

Cantina Mossa thrives in Irgoli, a town of 2,000 in central-eastern Sardinia, where Mediterranean mists cloak the granite slopes of Mount Senes—a valley revered for viticulture since the Nuragic civilization’s earth-and-water rituals 3,000 years ago. Today, the winery honors this legacy through organic farming and low-intervention winemaking, focusing on small batches to let terroir speak unadorned.

Every grape is hand-harvested, with only flawless clusters making the cut. In the cellar, minimalist techniques amplify the raw minerality of granite and limestone soils. But the defining twist lies in marble: thick, locally quarried slabs form 750-liter aging vats, a collaboration between winemaker Marco Mossa and a Sardinian stone artisan. “Wood would mask the land’s voice,” Marco explains. “Marble is our bedrock—literally.”

Marmus: The Marble Experiment

Crafted from single-block slabs (5cm thick to prevent surface damage), these vats cradle Cannonau blended with a touch of Muristellu. While marble’s calcium carbonate risks stripping acidity, meticulous monitoring revealed a surprise: after five months, the 2021 vintage retained vibrant freshness. Now sold as Marmus (1,000 bottles), it channels blackberry, crushed herbs, and a flinty edge—proof that Sardinia’s stones can shape wine without silencing vibrant life. The 2022 vintage has refined excellently however showing more evolution than its previous vintage with dark fruits, supple and soft in the mouth.

A bold blend of 90% Cannonau and 10% Bovale (Muristellu), this wine redefines Sardinian tradition through its six-month aging in a 750-liter Orosei marble tank, followed by five months in bottle. The marble’s influence gently softens tannins while imparting a flinty minerality, all without masking the purity of fruit preserved by stainless-steel fermentation.

The 2021 vintage shines a vivid ruby-garnet hue, with aromas of jammed strawberries, wild blackberries, and sea-spray salinity layered with black pepper and dried Mediterranean herbs. On the palate, vibrant acidity balances its 14.5% alcohol, framing ripe fruit against a backdrop of forest floor and fine-grained tannins. Lean yet broad, it finishes with savory juiciness and remarkable persistence—a testament to limestone-clay terroir. Limited to 1,000 bottles, Marmus marries agility with depth, proving that innovation can amplify, not obscure, the soul of Sardinia’s iconic grape.

Notante: Cannonau's Pure Self

A Cannonau di Sardegna DOC from Irgoli’s granite soils, Notante bursts with red cherry, wild herbs, and hints of smoked granite. Aged in stainless steel, it captures the purity of old-vine Cannonau with red fruit-forward characteristics, lean and supple, silky tannins and vibrant freshness.