Passopisciaro’s founder, Andrea Franchetti, was instrumental in promoting the idea of single-vineyard red wines from Etna’s slopes. In 2008, he established Contrade dell’Etna, a celebration of the winemakers trying to restore Etna’s reputation. It came in a time when the local wine industry desperately needed promotion, but at the same time, Franchetti was looking to further an idea rooted in Bourgogne. He had begun to separate out his Passorosso entry-level Etna Rosso into individual single-vineyard wines of distinction, beginning with Contrada S, P, C and R wines (2008), and eventually, Contrada G (2011). (Note: Today, the contrade are front-and-center in Etna terminology — a sort of hybrid between village and cru. Each contrada is, in fact, a community, and there can be multiple vineyards within one. However, when you see a contrada wine on Etna, you can have faith that it is a single-vineyard wine by that producer. In large part, we have Franchetti to thank for this ideal).
There is quite a bit of rock-n-roll in the wines of Passopisciaro. Frankly, they are not for everyone, but they are — however — for most people.
Franchetti passed away in 2021, and the leadership of Passopisciaro is now in the hands of his long-time collaborator, Vincenzo Lo Mauro (pictured at right), who indicated to me a desire to preserve Franchetti’s legacy as much as possible both in the operations of the winery, and the style of the wines. The 2022 vintage is his first attempt in doing just that.
There has always been quite a bit of rock-n-roll in the wines of Passopisciaro. Frankly, they are not for everyone, but they are — however — for most people. They growl, they swagger, they beat their chest and yet, they can also be tender with a sotto voce, particularly through the mid-palate.
Because the volcanic wines of Mount Etna are so multi-faceted, I would recommend a taste of Passopisciaro’s Contrada wines to any would-be connoisseur of this place. They anchor one end of the spectrum that says “you can have Nerello Mascalese’s elegance and volcanic power at the same time.” (Notably, Graci, Tenuta delle Terre Nere and Benanti [red wines] reside on this end of the spectrum as well, while at the other end — promoting the elegance with finesse and delicacy — are the likes of Monteleone, Federico Curtaz, Barone di Villagrande and Azienda Agricola Biondi).
Passopisciaro does not dabble in Carricante, nor will they any time soon, according to Lo Mauro. Instead, they work with Chardonnay, and work well with it. However, I would not see the estate’s white wines as analogous to Etna Bianco. Yes, volcanic terroir can override grape variety very easily, but to me, a more appropriate side-by-side tasting here is to other Chardonnay from outside the zone.
2022 Passopisciaro “Passobianco” Terre Siciliane
Sharp and refined on the nose, the 2022 “Passobianco” (★★★★ 1/2) wine immediately presents its Chardonnay bonafides with apples, Meyer lemon and herbs. It is fiercely mineral, and at times those traits feel a bit amplified on the palate. In fact, I think this wine might benefit from another year in bottle, even though they already age it nearly two years before release.
2022 Passopisciaro “Contrada PC” Terre Siciliane
Coming from a small north-slope plot of Chardonnay called Passochianche — which is planted between 870 and 950 meters above sea level (roughly 2,850 to 3,100 feet) — the 2022 Contrada PC (★★★★ 3/4) has a refined nose and exceptional detail. But it seemed like it needed some coaxing, at least on the day of this tasting. There is exceptional focus here, with inviting savory details and a strong evocation of the volcano’s minerality. It is rounder and creamier than the Passobianco, thanks to the allowance of malolactic fermentation and six months of lees aging. This would be a fun wine to cellar for three or four years.
2022 Passopisciaro “Passorosso” Etna Rosso
While engrained in the Etna winemaking community, Passopisciaro only has one wine sanctioned by the Etna DOC — this blend of multiple vineyard plots across the contrade of Malpasso, Guardiola, Santo Spirito, Favazza and Arcuria. The 2022 Passorosso Etna Rosso ( ★★★★ 3/4) comes at you like a smoky Burgundian Pinot Noir. It is strong, ambitious and detailed, offering equal amounts of fruit and botanical evocations. While the initial palate feel is silky, those recognizable Nerello Mascalese tannins show up here with an energetic, cotton-like coarseness. A beautifully balanced wine with citrus and mint elements.
2022 Passopisciaro “Contrada C” Terre Siciliane
This tasting only included three of the five contrada wines by Passopisciaro. Contrada Chiappemacine, was the first up, as the lowest in elevation of Passopisciaro’s plots. Later in my visit, I drove down past this vineyard en route to Monteleone, and it feels like a transition zone — where the Etna landscape starts to bleed back over to that of Sicily’s mountains. As with Monteleone’s wines, limestone comes into play down here, for we are some distance from the summit and the potential for lava flows. Nonetheless, one slow-moving lava flow reached all the way down here in 1911, lending a thin layer of volcanic topsoil.
Anytime I participate in a tasting of such closely comparable wines, I prefer to document the aromas one after the other, before they even hit my palate. Contrada C struck me as more peppery, compared to the savory notes in Contrada R and the more minty-citric elements in Contrada G.
The 2022 Contrada C (★★★★ 3/4) is a classic expression of Nerello Mascalese on the palate, with everything in its proper place, but it also has elements that reminded me of alpine wines: a briskness that you can feel, partnered with bright red pomegrante fruit tones. The supple acidity carries coarse tannins that need a year or two to polish. The most accessible of the Contrada wines tasted on this day.
2022 Passopisciaro “Contrada R” Terre Siciliane – Top Wine
From the lowest to the highest vineyard. Contrada Rampante is another world altogether (pictured at right). It sits astride Strada Regionale Mareneve, a lonely two-lane circuit road that rings the volcano’s upper reaches. Above this line, there is only forest, a ski resort and many, many lava flows. In fact, if the vineyard was on the other side of the road, it would be within the Etna DOC. But then it wouldn’t have the drama of these stone terraces. Walking into this vineyard, I could feel how precarious its climate is. It’s small, steep, layered and facing away from the sun for the most part. Lo Mauro confirmed that viticulture up here has its struggles, and they’re significant, but when it all comes together — which it does more often than not for this savvy estate — the results are astounding.
As noted above, the 2022 Contrada R (★★★★★) has a pure line of meatiness through its aromas: salty, smoky, savory all at once. But it carries this dimension with amazing elegance while maintaining what I think is Etna’s most prized virtue: a wild unpredictability. This is a wine that is going places, and while you might be unsure where, you won’t mind joining the ride.
On the palate, Contrada R is quick-footed, massively mineral, even charmingly so, and the savory-smoky edges detected on the nose carry through to the flavors. The tannins have an incredible energy to them: they feel raw and newborn, in many ways, as though that severe angle away from the sun never allowed them to get lazy. At this stage, they still seem tight, yet they come together beautifully on the finish. This is a wine with tremendous promise for cellaring.
2022 Passopisciaro “Contrada G” Terre Siciliane
The last of the Contrada wines tasted was from Contrada Guardiola, which surrounds the estate and resides just downhill of Contrada Rampante. If Contrada C was about limestone, and Contrada R was about elevation and heroic viticulture, then the headline for Contrada G may very well be vine age. While the average is between 70 and 100 years old — in line with the other contrada vineyards — many of them in Contrada Guardiola are 140 years old. What is more, the volcanic story of this vineyard includes some pyroclastic elements from 15,000 years ago … an interesting visual to contemplate while tasting downhill of the volcano’s summit!
The 2022 Contrada G (★★★★ 3/4) feels like an amalgamation of the other contrada, and as a result, it feels like it plays to the broadest audience. What it lacks in audacity compared to Contrada R it makes up for with supreme balance: it is lightly fruity, savory, mineral and brisk with its acidity, and the tannins feel eager and sharp — perhaps in need of one more year in the bottle. This is also the biggest of the Nerello Mascalese wines, which is what made one of the next two wines in the tasting so intriguing: a 2011 Contrada G (★★★★★). With the advanced age, the wine seemed to land softly on the palate, a display of remarkable grace and poise. The fruit had a dried, leathery trait to it but it had not lost its juicy momentum. What is more, the flinty and mint-driven aromas seemed more heightened. It was a preview of what one can expect if they hold 2022 for 10 to 15 years.
2022 Passopisciaro “Franchetti” Terre Siciliane
Coming from around the estate, this blend of Petit Verdot (70%) and Cesanese d’Affile (30%) is so iconoclastic it could only be called “Franchetti.” It is an outlandish combination: an under-appreciated Bordeaux grape selected for its late-ripening cycle (to match the volcano’s climate) and Lazio’s largely forgotten but now resurgent red grape of elegance. In the early 2000s, when the vineyards were planted, Andrea Franchetti was looking to make a statement about Etna in much the same way that Tenuta San Guido and Antinori “announced” Tuscany’s potential in the 1970s with their Super Tuscans. In the end, he was smart to choose the grapes he did rather than Cabernet or Merlot, which would have struggled mightily in this mountain clime. However, by the mid-2000s when “Franchetti” debuted, the world did not need as much convincing on the potential of Italy’s native grapes, and the story of Nerello Mascalese would soon superseded everything, leaving this wine in an interesting place largely by itself.
Given the Super Tuscan angle, one might expect this wine to taste like a pop song, but to revisit my rock-n-roll analogy from earlier, if the first seven wines were a set list, then the eighth was actually a punk-rock curtain call. The plushness and alcohol of the 2022 Franchetti (★★★★ 1/2) felt like power chords, but its flavors were unlike anything I’ve tasted before: purple-fruited, decked in peppercorns and simultaneously floral and smoky in an unexpected way. Despite Nerello Mascalese’s reputation for transmitting volcanic elements, this wine conjured the most imagination of a volcanic mood with that smoky element.
Still, Petit Verdot brings considerable volume to a blend, and even with 30% Cesanese, Franchetti is a big, towering wine that needs the right occasion and accompaniment to make the most sense of its dimensions.
About the Ratings
★★★★★ – The Top Tier
★★★★ 3/4 – A Thrilling Wine
★★★★ 1/2 – Solid and Recommended
★★★★ 1/4 – Average
★★★★ – Indistinctive
< ★★★★ – No Point in Writing About It
Learn more about the philosophy behind these ratings.
Vintage Note: 2022 on Etna
Marked by dryness and an earlier than average harvest across Etna, the vintage was fairly unremarkable compared to the disastrous 2023 that followed, which saw a perfect storm of excessive rain followed by excessive heat in May and June, which prompted downy mildew to decimate a majority of the mountain’s vineyards on the north slope. Almost every producer was deeply impacted by this event.
So, keep that in mind. Next year’s releases will be in shorter supply, so find these 2022s now and maybe stock up a bit if you are a fan of Etna or Passopisciaro.
Note: My visit to Passopisciaro was part of the Etna Days annual event hosted by the Etna DOC consortium. I was a guest in attendance, and my travel expenses were covered. See my editorial policy to learn more. A 2016 of the “Contrada G” was also tasted, but is not included here because it appeared to have prematurely aged, and was no longer a good bellwether of the vintage. As often happens with a press tour such as this, time was short to pull another bottle.
