Passopisciaro Passorosso Nerello Mascelese 2024

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

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Formerly Passopisciaro, Passorosso is made from the grapes of Nerello Mascalese, blending across different altitudes and soil types.

These wines are spectacular, loaded with personality, a true expression of extreme sites, they have an amazing perfume and despite their almost translucent colour have incredible depth and length of flavour. There’s a real tension between tannins that can be very supple yet a little edgy. They are always layered with so many flavours that it’s had to pull them apart. My tip, don’t, harmony should just be enjoyed without over thinking it!

About Passopisciaro

Read all about our extensive tastings of Passopisciaro wines in our Wine Bites Mag article “Passopisciaro the Jurasic Park of Wine! Ancient Vines Revived to Create the Liquid Essence of Etna!”

The article includes a look at all the Contrade from both 2012 and 2013.

Explore Etna with our primer “Getting Your Head Around Sicily’s Mount Etna”

Listen 🎧to Andrea Franchetti’s Podcast with Levi Dalton

Passopisciaro is at once both a fossil and a piece of modern art! Vines aged from 70-120 years old grow on the slopes of a volcano at altitudes that make noses bleed. Less than 20 years ago these wines were unknown, the Grandfathers of today’s revolutionists made simple wine from overcropped vineyards.

Today the next generations are pushing the boundaries making wines from 100% Nerello Mascalese. Often referred to as a hybrid of the great Nebbiolo’s from Barolo and Pinot Noir’s from Burgundy, Nerello Mascalese is capable of making wines with real personality! They’ve taken something incredibly ancient, gone back to the DNA and started again. In under a decade the evolution of these wines have accelerated through a millennia.

Vines have been nurtured back to balance, tended by hand on terraced vineyards that one in every  3 years find themselves under ash clouds hurled into the sky from the very mountain they are planted on, a volcano, Mt Etna!

The 2024 Vintage at Passopisciaro

The year 2023 left us without the slightest hint of the very cold winter that would reach us a bit later, and it really did! Until the end of February, clear, bright and cold winter days allowed us to work in the vineyards without losing a single hour of productivity.

Spring unfolded in the most classic and positive way as the warm days lengthened and the cool nights left us free from the fear of late frosts . Then came the flowering of our both abundant and beautifully formed clusters between late May and early June. Everything was wonderful. The fear of downy mildew from the previous year lingered, but the vineyards, well cared for, continued their vegetative cycle undisturbed. Everything seemed to shine emerald green before our eyes!

Then came the hot season, with scorching, intense, and unrelenting heat, both day and night. It forced us, where possible, to irrigate during the warm, starry nights. In early August, a restorative rain arrived, accompanied by some hailstones that inflicted serious damage to the grape clusters in the lower vineyards. While monitoring the vineyards to plan the thinning process, we even recorded instances of plants which had no made it due to the prolonged drought.
 
On the 3rd of October we were ready to harvest the red grapes, which, particularly in the higher-altitude vineyards, gifted us with rich and generous clusters. These grapes give us hope for wines that will achieve a perfect balance of body, tannins, acidity and alcohol. The last grapes for Passorosso 2024 were brought to the cellar on 11th of October.

Passopisciaro

Where in the World is Passopisciaro?

Passopisciaro is located in the village of Passopisciaro with the Cantina in Contrada Guardiola on the northern slopes of Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy.