2018 Contrada Rampante
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Tasting notes
Here's a classic "old school" Etna red. From the Contrada Rampante in Castiglione di Sicilia, the Passopisciaro Vini Franchetti 2018 Contrada R opens to a lean garnet color and light ruby highlights. There is a lot of energy and punchy brightness in this wine, mostly fueled by those distinctive white pepper aromas that come across strongly in this bottle. Carrying a shy 12.5% alcohol content, this red is lean and delicate to the palate, with more spice, ash and savory flavors than fruity tones. In fact, the wine's dark currant and tart berry tones take a back seat in this vintage of 3,240 bottles. Contrada Rampante is located at 1,000 meters altitude, which is the highest elevation allowed in the official appellation (although many vintners are aiming to make wines even higher up the volcano). This estate farms a 1.7-hectare parcel here, and like the other wines in this series, winemaking starts off with a quick fermentation in steel (usually 15 days) and ends with 18 months in oak casks.
Critic scores
Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
100% Nerello Mascalese from 100-year-old vines grown in Contrada Rampante at 1,000 m above sea level. Fermentation in stainless steel with a total skin-contact time of 15 days. MLF and ageing for 18 months in large oak casks. Palish ruby. Exotic spice nose with bags of minerals and iron and with a meaty undertow. Ripe cherry fruit lurking underneath. Sappy, lively and elegant red-berry palate balanced by a layer of powdery tannins. Ends a little racy. Long yet light. (WS)
The 2018 Contrada Rampante (R) reminds me more of food than wine, putting on a savory and smoky display of air-dried beef, crushed stone and black currants. It’s initially soft in texture and focused on purity, showing mineral-tinged red fruits and rosy inner florals, but it gains considerable grip toward the close. Tension builds as a layer of hulking tannin makes itself known through the finale, partly balanced by residual acids, yet still creating an achingly youthful impression. Give this at least a few years of cellaring to flesh out and open up. Tasted twice with consistent results.
About the producer
Tenuta di Passopisciaro is the Etna estate owned by Andrea Franchetti, one of Italy’s pioneering winemakers who founded the Super Tuscan estate Tenuta di Trinoro, before becoming instrumental in Mount Etna’s wine renaissance with his Passopisciaro estate.