Contrada Guardiola IGP Tenuta di Passopisciaro 2016
"100% Nerello Mascalese. 100 year old vines at 800m altitude, planted upon a lava flow from Etna’s 1947 eruption. A slightly deeper hue of ruby, this has an intriguing nose of crystallised raspberries, roses, grapefruit and a meatiness suggestive of Syrah. The palate is insinuating, almost plush on the entry, before grippy tannins reveal themselves and the firm body grabs you, yet somehow avoids dominating. About as far from formulaic wine as it is possible to be, this is thrillingly uncompromising – analyse it too much and you’ll probably conclude that it shouldn’t work, but somehow it does!"
It is hard to imagine a more exciting or varied wine-producing country than Italy. With a vibrant winemaking history spanning over 2,000 years, and vineyards stretching from the Alps through the Appenine mountains to Sicily, the Italian peninsula is home to an enormous range of climates, topographies and soil typeshosting hundreds of distinctive grapes unique to Italy.
