Questo vino
Vineyard and terroir
Contrada Guardiola is an ancient domain on Mount Etna, with the wider contrada lying between approximately 800 and 1,000 m a.s.l. near the edge of the 1947 lava flow. The 2024 selection comes from bush-trained Nerello Mascalese vines approximately 140 years old at about 800 m, just below the winery. Around seven hectares make Guardiola the estate’s largest contrada vineyard.
The vines grow in approximately 15,000-year-old pyroclastic, post-elliptic soil composed of pure volcanic ash. Vineyard treatments comprise clay, propolis, grapefruit-seed extracts, copper and sulphur within an organic-viticulture regime. Planting density is 8,000 vines/ha, and the 2024 yield was 55 q/ha.
Grapes
100% Nerello Mascalese, selected from some of Guardiola’s oldest vines.
Vinification
The 2024 grapes were harvested by hand on 11 October. Fermentation took place in stainless-steel tanks and was followed by malolactic fermentation.
Ageing
Aged for 18 months in large Slavonian oak barrels. The broader Contrada range description identifies the large oak vessels as neutral.
Technical data
The 2024 wine is DOC Etna Rosso and has 14.5% alcohol. It was bottled on 17 February 2026, with total production of 4,266 bottles.
Tasting profile
The wine evokes small red berries with pronounced graphite-like mineral accents. Its full, incisive palate is carried by silky tannins and marked tension, emphasizing a vertical profile. The site is also associated with deep, complex wines and a rich red-fruit character.
Vintage notes
The winter preceding the 2024 growing season remained clear, bright and cold through late February, allowing uninterrupted vineyard work. Warm spring days and cool nights reduced the risk of late frost; abundant, well-formed clusters flowered from late May into early June. Intense heat followed, including hot nights, and irrigation was used where possible. Early-August rain brought some hail, damaging bunches in lower vineyards, while prolonged drought caused losses among some plants. Harvesting of the red grapes began on 3 October, with the higher vineyards delivering particularly rich, generous clusters.
Label / history
The older-vine selection from Guardiola has been bottled separately since 2011. From the 2024 vintage, it moved to DOC status and the label changed from Contrada G to Guardiola so that the complete vineyard name could appear.
