Agricola Punica
Sardinia, ItalyAgricola Punica sits in Basso Sulcis on Sardinia's southwest coast, where sandy soils close to the sea coax bush-trained Carignano into wines of unusual depth. The estate was founded in 2002 by Tenuta San Guido, Cantina di Santadi and the late Giacomo Tachis to prove that Sardinian Carignano, blended with Bordeaux red varieties, could earn a place alongside Italy's most serious reds. Two flagship reds, Barrua and Montessu, both bottled as Isola dei Nuraghi IGT, anchor the winery's reputation in Italy and abroad.
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Sardinia
- Est. 2002
- 2 wines
- Tastings
- Tours
- Accommodation
- Walk-ins welcome
Est. 2002 
2 wines 
Tastings
Tours
Accommodation
Walk-ins welcome 
About Agricola Punica
The name salutes the Phoenicians of Carthage, who controlled this corner of Sardinia from the ninth century BCE and were the first to plant vines on the Sulcis sand. That deep history sits behind a young project: Agricola Punica was founded in 2002 to give Carignano del Sulcis the kind of serious red-wine production it had rarely seen.
The estate is a four-way collaboration. Cantina di Santadi, the cooperative that built Carignano's modern reputation through wines like Terre Brune, brought local Sardinian know-how. Tenuta San Guido, the Tuscan estate behind Sassicaia, brought experience in elevating Bordeaux varieties under Mediterranean light. Antonello Pilloni led the Santadi side, while Giacomo Tachis, the oenologist who shaped Sassicaia and Solaia, drew the blueprint. Sebastiano Rosa now oversees the cellar.
The 170-hectare property in Basso Sulcis is split between two estates, Barrua and Narcao, near the village of Santadi. Of that land, 65 hectares are planted to red varieties trained in counter-espalier, with Carignano at the heart, alongside Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah. Another five hectares carry Vermentino and Chardonnay. The vineyards sit on sandy and calcareous soils that hold the breeze off the sea, conditions Tachis singled out as ideal for ripening Carignano without losing its acid line.
Three wines come out of the cellar, all bottled as Isola dei Nuraghi IGT. Barrua, the flagship red, leads with Carignano and adds Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Its first vintage in 2002 set the house style: a wine of deep ruby colour, sour cherry and liquorice, with the structural patience to age. Montessu, launched in 2005, blends Carignano with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah, and aims to be more open and approachable in its first years. Samas, the white, vinifies Vermentino and Chardonnay with cool-handling cryomaceration and shows what the same coastal sands can do for fresh-fruit aromatics.
Two and a bit decades in, Agricola Punica has done what its founders set out to do: it has put a serious modern Carignano on lists from Cagliari to London, and it has fixed Isola dei Nuraghi IGT in critics' minds as a credible flag for ambitious red blends from Sardinia.
Plan your visit
Plate I · SARDINIA
Agricola Punica on the Sardinia wine atlas
Common questions
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Agricola Punica is in Santadi, in the Basso Sulcis area of southwest Sardinia, in Carbonia-Iglesias province. The 170-hectare property spans two estates, Barrua and Narcao, a short drive from the white-sand coast at Porto Pino.
