Passopisciaro

Mount Etna had two lighter years, ‘09 and ’10 that produced some fine and elegant wines, able to represent the gentle sophistication that grapes growing on the north side of the mountain can transmit to wine. Instead, 2011 is what one calls a great vintage. Late rains and long season made it possible for growers to pick grapes that were able to convey extraordinary richness to the wines in every Contrada of the mountain. This is not, however, the overwhelming kind of vintage where massiveness chokes out some of the finer features of its wines. There is in this vintage a measured and hard structure that contains and will elevate the growing richness of 2011. Guardiola produces complex wines with rich flavors, typically of marzipan, orange and crying red fruit. This wine comes from a parcel of older plantings on the bottom edge of the contrada.

Vineyard age: over 100 years old

Vineyard density: 8,000 vines per Ha

Vineyard altitude: 800 m a.s.l.

Yield per hectare: 14 Hl/Ha

Fertilization: None

Spraying: Propolis, sulphur, copper, vitamin C

Vinification: Alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel vats for 15 days

Aging: Malolactic fermentation followed by 18 months aging in large, neutral oak barrels

Bottling: April 2013

Production: 3,000