Passopisciaro is the actual name of this 100 acre estate which Franchetti has painstakingly been returning to its former glory. The 35+ acres of old vineyard terraces remained so it was easy enough for him to follow the map and replant them according to his vision. But those vines are still too young so in the meantime Andrea did what any self-respecting nutty winery owner would do and proceeded to buy some of the best grapes available on the whole mountain to bridge the gap until his vines are old enough to produce world-class wine. This bottling is 100% Nerello Mascalese from 60-80 year old vines and, like DeGrazia’s Terre Nere project, is quickly re-defining Sicilian wine. There are gorgeous, soaring aromatics here and an intensely fruity yet powerfully mineral palate. Tough to believe something could be so elegant, yet so dense and complex at the same time? The whole Burgundy on steroids thing runs true here as well with a grape that is fast becoming one of our favorites. Truly spellbinding wine.
