2016 Passopisciaro Contrada Guardiola

Highly Rated
The most sought-after of the incredible 2016 Passopisciaro single vineyard releases. "Flat out beautiful." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

Price:
Sale price$125.00
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Sold out

Description

In 2000, Andrea Franchetti found himself looking at the ruins of an ancient vineyard on the northern slopes of an active volcano in Sicily.

Taken with the rare combination of altitude and soils that Mount Etna offered, he, along with his contemporaries, set about rejuvenating these 100+-year-old vineyards. And slowly, piece by piece, the modern Etna wine scene was born.

There's a poetry that comes with making wine in a harsh, unforgiving place like Etna. If the volcano goes, everything could be gone in the blink of an eye. There's a fragility to it. It makes the wines all the more precious. Andrea's wines capture all that nervous energy with incredible purity and are now some of the most sought-after in the region.

The Contrada are single site expressions of Nerello Masclese from different altitudes up the volcano. Contrada Guardiola (Contrada 'G') is set at between 800m-1000m above sea level on the edge of a lava flow from the last eruption in 1947. It's a forceful wine, full of latent power and density. Typically, this is one of the first Contrade to sell out each year.

Passopisciaro produces six different bottlings of nerello mascalese, the native grape to Mt. Etna, in order to showcase the profound differences in the terroir - lava flow, aspect, and altitude - of the various contrade that we work with. The vines are all between 70-100 years old, and the nerello harvest typically occurs at the end of October/early November. The wines undergo fermentation in steel vats, followed by malolactic and 18 months aging in large neutral oak barrels; this minimal intervention approach to winemaking allows the differences in terroir to shine.

Contrada Guardiola (Contrada G) is an ancient domain between 800 and 1,000 m (2,600 to 3,300 ft) above sea level, on the edge of the lava flow from Etna's 1947 eruption. It produces a deep and complex wine with a rich taste of red fruit. We make this wine from a careful selection of some of our older nerello mascalese vines, which we started bottling separately beginning in 2011.

96 Points - "Red berries, almond, rosy, a touch of spice and mint. Medium-bodied, very fine and yet saturates the palate with flavour, brick dust tannin, super length and freshness. Flat out beautiful." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

97 Points - "Enticingly fragrant, this stunning red opens with delicate but alluring scents of wild berry, Mediterranean brush, rose, crushed rock and a whiff of exotic spice. It's full bodied but loaded with finesse, delivering creamy red cherry, raspberry compote, star anise and white pepper. Taut, refined tannins and lively acidity provide support and balance, while a savory mineral note lingers on the close. Drink 2021-2036." - Kerin O'Keeffe (Wine Enthusiast)

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For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.

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