2022 Franchetti Rosso
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Tasting notes
This wine always stands apart in a tasting of Etna reds. Made with a blend of 70% Petit Verdot and 30% Cesanese d'Affile (a grape found mostly in the Lazio region of central Italy), this wine has been the focus of some controversy in the past because no indigenous grapes are used, but it has come into its own in recent years. With a production history that spans two decades, it is also one of the first red wines from the Sicilian volcano to emerge with international interest. The Passopisciaro 2022 Franchetti (with just 3,800 bottles made) reveals a blackish color and thick concentration with aromas of blackcurrant, spice and tobacco. There is ample meat on these bones in terms of succulence, fruit weight and a 15% alcohol content, but the wine does gracefully hold back from feeling too over-extracted or heavy. It shows velvety tannins. It ferments in stainless steel and starts off in barrique for six months, followed by 12 months of aging in large oak casks. These are 21-year-old vines planted by the late Andrea Franchetti in double guyot at 820 to 850 meters above sea level.
Critic scores
Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Petit Verdot and Cesanese d’Affile (indigenous variety from Lazio) from volcanic rock and ash soils. The vines were planted in the early 2000s, after Andrea Franchetti purchased the estate in the Contrada Guardiola, with a high density of vines 90 cm x 90 cm apart and at 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level. Very low yields and the wine goes through MLF and is aged in new French oak. Impenetrable crimson. Great purity of blackberry and blueberry fruit on the nose with hints of cassis. Succulent and surprisingly light of touch, yet very long and intense and with unexpectedly modest impact from the oak. These, at first sight strange, bedfellows make for an incredible combination. Crushed blackberry fruit with hints of fresh mint and fine but dramatic tannins on the finish. Will be interesting to see how this evolves in the coming years. (WS)
The 2022 Franchetti is dark and brooding in the glass as mentholated herbs and white smoke give way to dried blackberries, earth tones and a hint of white pepper. This is velvety and supple, enveloping the palate with a cloak of ripe red and black fruits as a growing tension develops beneath the surface, mixing salty minerals with fine tannins. Brilliant acidity maintains fantastic balance as the 2022 finishes spicy and long. There’s a classic feel to its structural components, closing with an air of violet inner florals. In 2022, the Franchetti is a blend of 70% Petit Verdot and 30% Cesanese d’Affile. Tasted from barrel.
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.