Contrada P 2018
ABOUT THE VINTAGE
At 650 meters above sea level, this famed vineyard produces one of Etna’s richest, most full-bodied expressions of nerello mascalese, packed with bramble fruit and mineral flavors.
2018 was one of the rainiest and most tropical vintages we’ve seen on Etna in the last eight years, especially at the end of the summer. This year, we had to increase the number of times we passed through the vineyards to remove leaves mindfully, avoiding any burning but allowing air to pass through the canopy to mitigate the effects of this wet and humid climate. We countered effects of disease with natural products like clay and propolis as well.
With the red wines, we found ourselves with rain, humid, and sometimes fog — not ideal conditions at the end of the of growing season, but knowing how to work our vineyards, we did not let ourselves be deceived and intervened where and as needed, like a mosaic, in the various Contrade and from the vineyards from which we make our Passorosso.
The wines of this year will be varietally correct, linear, with a pronounced acidity, with the long-lived characteristics that define the finer vintage on Etna.
REVIEWS
Kerin O’Keefe, Wine Enthusiast, 97 points: “Intoxicatingly fragrant, this gorgeous wine opens with enticing scents of perfumed berry, new leather, aromatic Mediterranean herb, camphor and forest floor. Showing body and finesse, the savory, structured palate delivers morello cherry, ripe strawberry, orange zest and a hint of hazelnut alongside firm fine-grained tannins and bright acidity. Drink through 2030.”
Bibenda, 5 Grappoli
Walter Speller, Jancis Robinson, 17 points: “Mid ruby with the beginning of orange tinges. Deep, sweet, perfumed red fruit spiked with savoury and minerally notes and with a hint of oak. The palate is quite different with elegant, fragrant, almost racy crushed red fruit, succulent acidity and a rich layer of sandy tannins. Drink 2021-2026.”
Monica Larner, The Wine Advocate, 93 points: “From the Contrada Porcaria (a 1.5-hectare plot at 650 meters in elevation), the 2018 Contrada P shows more intensity and maybe a small degree more concentration and fruit weight compared to some of the other Nerello Mascalese bottles in this contrada-specific series from Andrea Franchetti. This wine sports slightly broader shoulders with tart cherry, dried currant and bitter almond. I also taste the delineation of the wine’s tannic structure with more clarity in this release of 2,750 bottles from Porcaria. Drink 2021-2030”
Eric Guido, Vinous, 94 points: “A rich display of black cherry, licorice, tar and smoke unfolds as the 2018 Contrada Porcaria (P) challenges the imagination. This is dark and brooding in character, the silky wave of black fruit and minerals evolving into a more tactile display of fine-grained tannins and savory exotic spice. The Porcaria is almost salty at times, saturating to the senses and youthfully clenched. Notes of currants and tobacco linger incredibly long. This will require some time in the cellar to show its best, but it will be well worth the wait. Drinking Window: 2024 – 2032”
BLEND
100% Nerello Mascalese
ALTITUDE
2,100 feet (650 meters)
PRODUCTION
2,750 bottles
