2013 Contrada Guardiola
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Tasting notes
The cool-vintage 2013 Etna Rosso Contrada Guardiola opens with a cascade of rosy florals, sage and lavender, giving way to crushed blackberries. This is pure elegance on the palate, silken and polished, with a subtle core of tactile minerals and bright acidity motivating its crunchy wild berry fruits. The 2019 tapers off with a spicy edginess, leaving the mouth watering for more as a resonance of tart cranberry lingers. Lovely.
Critic scores
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Walter Speller, jancisrobinson.com
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
A cold and rainy year with a week of warm weather at the end of October, which helped the grapes to reach maturity. Fermented in stainless-steel tanks and aged for 18 months in large oak casks. Fuller, more concentrated than the 2014 with raspberry and touches of exotic spice and hints of cigar case and thyme and stones. The same elegant lightness of touch as the 2014 and with more concentration, but perhaps a little less complexity. Racy acidity and finely ground yet prominent tannins on the finish. (WS)
The G stands for Guardiola, one of Etna's most prized and coveted vineyard sites. Passopisciaro's 2013 Contrada G shows some age in terms of its appearance. The wine opens to a dark garnet color with shadings of brown and copper at the rim. On the nose, this red wine from Etna delivers ripe fruit tones with dried cherry and plum. The tannins are dry and delineated. Only 2,700 bottles were produced.
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.