Passopisciaro
About Passopisciaro
Andrea Franchetti does not like to take the easy route when it comes to winemaking. Founding the Tuscan estate Tenuta di Trinoro from essentially nothing, the incredibly diligent and ambitious winemaker planted entirely new vineyards and built terraces amongst the rolling hills. Following a similar pattern of monumental hard work, Franchetti put as much effort into his remarkable estate high on the slopes of Mount Etna.
A project of total resurrection as opposed to starting from scratch, Tenuta di Passopisciaro resides in the ominous, and frankly precarious, shadow of the mighty Mount Etna volcano – and yet, it is this very situation which makes its wines all the more astounding. At the very top of the property, there is a large hump of black gravel where a lava spill courtesy of a large eruption in 1947 stopped flowing, just before engulfing the vines, terraces and winery. This is winemaking on the edge!
Passopisciaro's volcanic soils add a minerality which, combined with the high-altitude, imparts a distinctive personality and complexity to its wines. Franchetti's 2018 releases available today are a “revelation” in the words of Eric Guido (Vinous) and are without a doubt some of the best wines from Sicily. Monica Larner (Wine Advocate) believes that “no other vintner, not even his frenemy Marco De Grazia, can boast such a collection of wines”.
Read More
Photo
AI Chat
-
HK$3,590.00 -
HK$3,590.00
-
HK$3,590.00
-
Vinous (96)
The 2009 Franchetti is another stunning wine. The blend is Cesanese d'Affile (80%) and Petit Verdot (20%) that are the result of massal selections from Lazio and Franchetti's own Tenuta di Trinoro respectively. It is a fabulously ripe, exotic wine that envelops the palate with layers of dark fruit. Refined tannins support the fruit, while intense inner perfume adds sweetness and elegance, especially on the layered finish.HK$4,460.00 -
Wine Advocate (95+)
Violets, tar, asphalt, black cherries and plums all come alive in the 2010 Franchetti. Wonderfully alive and vibrant in the glass, the 2010 shows an unusual level of ripeness and juiciness for the year. Ideally, the 2010 needs a few years to shed some of its baby fat, as it is almost too intense today. Still, it is impossible to miss the wine’s detail, nuance and transparency. This blend of Cesanese and Petit Verdot should be a stunner in another few years’ time. The flagship Franchetti remains one of the most distinctive wines of the Etna, although in spirit and interpretation it is quite far from every other wine I have tasted. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2025.HK$4,460.00 -
Vinous (92)
(15.5% alcohol): Inky ruby. Superripe aromas and flavors of black cherry syrup, red cherry jam, chocolate and minerals. Spicy, peppery tannins and bright acidity provide plenty of backbone to this opulent, ultra-suave wine, which tastes like it was made with air-dried grapes. Extremely long on the finish, closing with a strong note of sweet pipe tobacco and a hint of volcanic ash. In fact, the smoky note was so evident that I couldn’t help thinking that this is what it must be like to drink a cigar.HK$3,980.00 -
HK$4,920.00 -
Vinous (98+)
Fully saturated, impenetrable inky-ruby color. Smells very concentrated but offers pristine herbal and mineral nuances to the ripe red and black fruit aromas and flavors. Much more refined in the mouth than the powerful nose indicates, with lively acidity nicely extending flavors similar to the aromas on the long rich and very dense finish. A marvelous wine that is both rich and concentrated and yet light on its feet. Finishes with an enticing, spicy juicy note. This blend of 60% Petit Verdot and 40% Cesanese d’Affile is an absolutely superb wine; well done. I’m curious to see how this develops over the next few years and if it will one day merit a perfect score or not.HK$6,125.00 -
HK$4,920.00 -
HK$2,065.00 -
HK$2,065.00
-
HK$2,065.00
-
Vinous (94)
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.HK$3,690.00 -
Vinous (93+)
Bright full red. Deep pure aromas of raspberry, herbs and iron. Suave in texture and nicely sweet but not yet fully expressive in the mouth, with a reticent quality to the brooding red/blue fruit flavors. There’s plenty of flesh and concentration here, so all this needs is a good five or six years to enter a more optimal drinking phase than the one it is living through currently. Finishes extremely long and clean, spreading out all over the palate while building on the back end, closing with polished tannins, a refined texture and a steely quality. Passopisciaro first started bottling this wine separately with the 2011 vintage, using some of the oldest Nerello Mascalese vines the estate owns in Guardiola, right on the edge of the lava flow dating back to 1947. I always love this wine and so cannot be anything but happy Franchetti decided to go ahead and make a single area wine with these grapes.HK$3,690.00 -
HK$3,690.00 -
Vinous (91)
The 2018 Contrada Passochianche (PC) opens up slowly, both rich and fresh, offering notes of crushed hazelnuts, smoke, hints of custard and raw honey evolving into ripe yellow apple and sweet nuanced florals. This is silky and pliant, balanced by brisk acids and tart stone fruits, while salty minerals and hints of almond add further savory depths. Its concentration and persistence are admirable, as the Passochianche seems to slowly melt away from the palate, leaving a sense of structure along with hints of candied citrus. This is the first rendition of the PC, a single-vineyard Chardonnay that is fermented in neutral 20-hectoliter barrels and then spends six months refining on the lees.HK$3,980.00 -
HK$3,980.00 -
HK$2,065.00 -
HK$2,065.00 -
HK$2,065.00 -
HK$2,065.00 -
HK$2,065.00 -
Vinous (89)
Bright dark red. Very ripe aromas of sweet spices, quinine and red cherry. Similar flavors of aromatic red cherry and botanical herbs on the palate, with a fleshy tactile texture and a low acid mouthfeel. Finishes broad and ripe, with very good length. A bigger richer wine than Franchetti’s other Contrada wines, but less well-delineated currently with a trace of alcoholic heat at the back. The P in the wine’s name stands for Porcaria, an Etna Contrada; Franchetti’s vines grow at about 650 meters above sea level. (14.5% alcohol)HK$3,980.00 -
Vinous (92+)
Moderately saturated ruby; this is much deeper in color than the Contrada G from Franchetti. Licorice and tar dominate on the nose and in the mouth, with a more herbal quality to the luscious, showy red/blue fruit aromas and flavors. Rich and round on entry, then ripely tannic and powerful as wines from the Porcaria contrada tend to be. This finishes taut, massive and long. Another beautiful red from Franchetti.HK$3,980.00 -
HK$3,980.00 -
Vinous (92)
The 2020 Contrada Porcaria (P) is dark and inward, as crushed rocks and camphor blow off to reveal spiced cherries and hints of shaved cedar. It’s silky and robust in feel, with bright acidity that adds thrust to its sour red berry fruits, as the 2020 displays an abundance of energy. Fine tannins saturate through the finale under an air inner florals, as a flourish of saline-minerality slowly fades.HK$3,980.00 -
HK$4,350.00 -
Vinous (94)
Deep red. Very spicy, sweet red fruit and minerals on the captivating nose and the luscious mouth. Multilayered and complex, boasting a brooding youthful quality but also a polished texture. Finishes long, rich and sweet with enticing minerality and youthfully chewy tannins. A lovely wine that surprises me this year; I normally prefer Franchetti’s Contrada G or Contrada R.HK$3,500.00 -
HK$3,500.00 -
HK$3,115.00
