2018 Contrada Chiappemacine
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Tasting notes
From the Contrada Chiappemacine that is lower on the Etna elevation scale at just 550 meters above sea level, the 2018 Contrada C offers a fine and floral interpretation of Nerello Mascalese. This delicate and graceful wine has underlined aromas of wild rose and pressed violet. There are plenty of earthy and ashy aromas as well that frame a core of sour cherry and tart cassis. But like these other Franchetti wines from the challenging 2018 vintage, the mouthfeel is leaner, lighter and ultimately shorter in this edition of 3,990 bottles.
Critic scores
Average Score
Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
100% Nerello Mascalese from a 90-year-old vineyard at 550 m above sea level in Contrada Chiappemacine. Fermentation in stainless steel and aged for 18 months in large oak casks. Palish ruby. Deep brooding and sweetly perfumed with hints of cracked pepper and oatmeal. With aeration, distinct stony minerally notes emerge. Really juicy and yet elegant with a layer of finely grained tannins. A pretty, elegant wine with an attractive tannic bite. (WS)
The 2018 Contrada Chiappemacine (C) is incredibly pretty and flashy in the glass. Sweet florals, cherries, strawberries and spices find balance through a grounding note of grilled herbs. It’s silky and pliant in feel, almost creamy, but contrasted by tart red and black berries, and a mineral thrust that creates a more tactile feel toward the close. Inner rose and salted licorice linger along with a hint of savory herbs, all over a nuanced layer of round tannins. The Chiappemacine, hailing from one of the warmer and lower-elevation vineyards in the Passopisciaro portfolio, is already very easy to like.
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.