Contrada G 2015
ABOUT THE VINTAGE
2015 was a quick and early-ripening year on Etna. It was a year of great vitality within the plants, fertilized in the well-watered soils from the rainy winter, followed by tremendous heat during the summer. The long period of rain in early October weakened the skins, with a nasty cloud hanging and dripping humidity for weeks, leaving dew every morning. The grapes began showing color, ripeness, and sweetness quite, while maintaining their searing acidity, bringing advanced ripening across our vineyards.
The rains brought with them mold and other problems, so to keep them healthy, we returned again to the vineyards after our green harvest and began to pick out the unhealthy grapes from each bunch, one by one. Because of the altitude, we were able to wait longer for the higher vines to come about, due to the cold, the sparser bunches, and lots of propolis to keep them healthy, finishing on October 27th. We picked our selection of oldest vines from Guardiola on the last day of harvest.
The nerello wines from this vintage are good: mineral, salty, varietal wines. The vintage is not like 2012, not like 2014, but nonetheless a complete and structured picture of Mount Etna, with a good skeleton, high acidity, and low alcohol.
REVIEWS
Ian D’Agata, Vinous Media, 94 points: “Bright dark red. Intensely aromatic nose of superripe red cherry, spices, minerals, balsamic vinegar and broom. Then clean, vibrant and tactile, with polished tannins providing noteworthy backbone on the long youthful, chewy finish. This will need a long time to smoothen out. The G in the wine’s name stands for Guardiola (800 meters asl). First made in 2011, so much later than the other single contrada wines by Franchetti. (Drinking window: 2021 – 2028)”
Kerin O’Keefe, Wine Enthusiast, 90 points: “Aromas of red berry, grilled herb, balsamic notes, sea breeze and a whiff of wet flint lead the nose. The elegantly structured palate delivers crushed raspberry, strawberry, star anise and a saline mineral note alongside refined tannins.”
100% Nerello Mascalese
