Passopisciaro Pasobianco 2018

Passopisciaro Passorosso is understated with notes of sweet white flowers, ripe pear and hints of almond paste. It’s silky in texture, round in feel and rich, filled with aromas of dried peaches and vanilla bean. A subtle addition of minerality penetrates the experience, along with a hint of sour melon. 

100% Chardonnay. The fruit comes from 18 years-old vines with different altitudes (800–1,000 metres) in contrada Guardiola, in very loose, deep, powder-like lava that is rich in minerals. The wine was first made in 2007, and it is formerly known as Guardiola bianco. Vinification of the wine in steel vats for 20 days at 23°C. Followed by aging for 10 months in cement vats and large oak barrels, followed by an additional 6 months in bottle.

2018 was one of the rainiest and most tropical vintages we’ve seen on Etna in the last eight years, especially at the end of the summer. This year, the team has to increase the number of times they had to passthrough the vineyards to remove leaves mindfully, avoiding any burning but allowing air to pass through the canopy to mitigate the effects of this wet and humid climate. Disease was countered effected with natural products like clay and propolis as well. With immense effort, the team was nonetheless able to harvest and produce a great wine this vintage.
 

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

 - 92 POINTS

A pure expression of Chardonnay, the Passopisciaro Vini Franchetti 2018 Passobianco is a generous wine with lots of honey, dried apricot and apple baked in butter. Ultimately, this expression from the volcanic soils of Etna stands apart from other great renditions of this versatile grape thanks to those dusty or ashy mineral notes as well as those slightly exotic hints of saffron and ground cumin. It is aged in oak casks and cement for 10 months. The wine's appearance is golden and bright, and the palate carries generous fruit weight and concentrated flavors. Grapes come from high-density vineyards at an impressive 850 to 1,000 meters in elevation from the terraces of Contrada Guardiola and Monte Dolce.

 - 90 POINTS

- 89POINTS

Grown on the slopes of Mount Etna, this linear Chardonnay has subtle aromas of toasted nut, eucalyptus and white stone fruit. Fermented in steel and aged partly in cement and large oak barrels, the racy palate offers yellow apple, roasted almond and lemon notes alongside firm acidity