Questo vino
Vineyard and terroir
20 anni is a one-off Nerello Mascalese cuvée assembled from the finest fruit of all nine Passopisciaro contrade: Chiappemacine, Porcaria, Guardiola, Sciaranuova, Rampante, Malpasso, Favazza, Santo Spirito and Arcuria. The vineyards occupy the northern slope of Mount Etna at elevations between 550 and 1,000 metres. The vines are approximately 100 years old and planted at around 8,000 vines per hectare. Yield was 55 quintals per hectare, equivalent to 5.5 tonnes per hectare. No fertiliser was used; vineyard treatments comprised clay, propolis, grapefruit-seed extracts, copper and sulphur.
Grapes
100% Nerello Mascalese, selected across the estate’s contrade.
Vinification
The grapes were manually selected and harvested from 21 to 31 October 2019. Vinification lasted approximately 15 days in stainless-steel tanks.
Ageing
The wine matured for 18 months between concrete vats and large wooden casks. It was bottled during the waning moon in May 2021.
Technical data
Terre Siciliane I.G.T. 2019. Production was limited to 1,550 bottles, all in 1.5-litre magnum format.
Tasting profile
The cuvée brings together the seductive spice of Sciaranuova, the structure of Guardiola, Rampante’s delicate floral character, Porcaria’s succulent red fruit and the herbal notes of Chiappemacine. The result is presented as an ethereal expression of the Passopisciaro terroir. The 2019 growing season delivered fruit with a fresh, sinuous and vertical profile, moderate alcohol and balance arising from synchronised technological and phenolic ripeness.
Vintage notes
The 2019 season was late. A distinctly cold April and May included a slight frost on 6–7 May, and persistent cool conditions delayed flowering until mid-June. Temperatures then rose steadily, aiding flowering and producing looser clusters. Heat close to 40°C from late June through September allowed the vines to recover their earlier delay, and cluster thinning was conducted around 10 August. Greater diurnal temperature variation in October coincided with a marked advance in phenolic maturity. Rain caused relatively little disruption during the season.
Label / history
Created to mark 20 years since Passopisciaro’s first Etna harvest, 20 anni carries the “Franchetti” signature and was made only in the 2019 vintage. Its blend of fruit from every contrada recalls the estate’s origins before individual vineyards began to be bottled separately in 2008. The cuvée was conceived as a tribute to Etna and to the estate’s past, present and future.
