Passopisciaro, Passorosso, Etna Rosso, Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily, Italy, 2020

Overview of the Wine
Volcanoes are gloomy places, and when I arrived, Mt. Etna was even gloomier because it was an abandoned volcano. Wineries lay collapsed all over its slopes; stonewalled terraces disappeared everywhere up the mountain in the bushes. There was the misery of blackened streets and ashen churches in large old towns. These were the feelings I had in the winter of 2000 when I first came to Etna. It seemed crazy to restore vineyards so high up the mountain – above, it was erupting – but I liked that they were planted so high.

At the top of the steep Passopisciaro property looms a hump of black gravel. It’s where the lava spill from a big eruption in 1947 had stopped, caking up just before it could submerge whole terraces below it, vines, walls, and buildings: on Etna you can lose it all.

Here, it’s always very cold at night, even in August. During the day in the vineyards the lava powder penetrates in the skin and you get intoxicated, tired. The first wine I made was pale and meager, and I was discouraged. I planted other grapes; whatever is planted there the wine always tastes of citrus and camphor, without that generous body that you like earth to lend right away to a wine.

There’s no mold, no moss; the ground sparkles black like the night; the wine slowly becomes very elegant and strange. During the day a soft light penetrates everything and then there are starry nights; Etna has enormous poetry. Making wine, you have access to it. There isn’t Mother Nature here. You are conducting your viticulture on stuff that comes out of the terrible below.

Winemaker
Andrea Franchetti

Grape / Blend
100% Nerello Mascalese

Origin
Sicily, Italy

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
A blend of ancient grapes of Nerello Mascalese from different vineyards located at different altitudes on the northern side of Etna. In general, the highest districts lie on more gravelly soils to coarser grain, while the lower ones on the finer and deeper soils composed of older lava flows, now oxidized and reduced to lava dust. This wine concentrates the characteristics of different terroirs in a single bottle to offer a global idea of a territory.

93 Points - Vinous
The 2020 Passorosso is spicy, showing dried flowers, hints of cardamom and white pepper before its dusty cherry fruit comes to the fore. Soft and enveloping, this impresses with a pure mix of red fruits and inner rose tones guided by cooling acidity. It finishes lightly structured and with a bitter twang of sour berry concentration. While the Passorosso is typically a more forward expression, the 2020 could use another year of cellaring before showing its best. That said, it’s a very pretty wine that is packed full of potential. Drinking Window: 2023 – 2028

91 Points - Wine Advocate
The 2020 Etna Rosso Passorosso has a bright and punchy bouquet with blackcurrant, rosemary sprig, white pepper, cola and ferrous earth or rusty nail. There is a sanguine, almost metallic element to the bouquet. The wine proceeds with medium texture, firm tannins and good length. Much of that power is fueled by a 15% alcohol content. This vintage saw 29,800 bottles made, which is much less than normal production numbers. Drink Date: 2023 – 2028

91 Points - Falstaff
Bright ruby red. Fruity and savoury aromas on the nose, with notes of undergrowth, ash and some vegetal hints. Tasty, elegant and soft on the palate, with dense tannins and a medium length on the finish. 

Product size: 750ml