Contini, Vernaccia di Oristano 'Flor', 2021

One of the wine world's great oddities, and a Sardinian treasure: Vernaccia di Oristano aged for years in part-filled chestnut and oak casks, under a living veil of flor yeast. If that sounds like Sherry, it is a cousin in spirit, though entirely its own thing. The Contini family pioneered the style, and 'Flor' is their classic bottling, built from long, slow oxidative aging that pulls out aromas of toasted almond, dried fruit, and a salty tang. It is dry, nutty, and endlessly food-friendly. A bottle for the genuinely curious.