The 2005 Shardana is an awesome Carignano endowed with exuberant dark fruit, smoke, licorice, sage, rosemary and tar. This is a fairly big, masculine wine with great intensity, depth and roundness. It needs another year or two in bottle for the tannins to settle down. The Shardana is formidable, though, and a terrific choice for hearty cuisines. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021. These are three utterly fabulous Carignanos from Santadi. Importer: Empson, USA, Alexandria, VA; tel. (703) 684-0900

Shardana is a joint venture between Sardinia’s Cantina Santadi and importers Neil and Maria Empson. The opulent wine consists of Carignano with a small percentage of Syrah and the result is a rich and deeply penetrating wine with aromas of black cherry and mature fruit.——M.L.(9/1/2009)—— 90