When Andrea Franchetti settled in Sicily, he aimed to create unique wines in a very special area, the northern slope of the Etna volcano. With Franchetti 2019 the winemaker achieves his most exceptional cuvée. A red wine made from a blend of petit verdot and cesanese d´affile varieties, which captivates with its juicy fresh fruit aromas, exceptional freshness on the palate, and surprising spicy touch.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
General features
Type of wine
Region
Grape variety
Barrel aging time
14 months
Capacity (cl)
75
Alcohol content (% vol.)
14
General Information
Franchetti 2019 is an intriguing Sicilian red wine led by the French variety petit verdot (97%) with a small contribution from the native cesanese d´affile (3%), from a vineyard cultivated in the contrada Guardiola (Lecce) at 820 meters above sea level. The lava and volcanic smoke emanating from Mount Etna inspired Andrea Franchetti to craft a completely unique and concentrated wine, starting with a manual harvest during the last week of October. The must fermented in steel tanks for 15 days, and the resulting wine aged for 4 months in new barrels, followed by another 14 months in large oak barrels and cement vats, before being bottled during the waning moon of May 2021.
The Tuscan Andrea Franchetti fell in love with the volcanic landscape of Mount Etna in Sicily and began dreaming of the region's potential. Thus, in the year 2000, he founded the winery Passopisciaro. Franchetti 2019 is an example of his ambition to produce the most remarkable wines of the region. The winery encompasses 26 hectares with various vineyards cultivated on volcanic soil, fertile and rich in minerals. Its most commonly used variety is nerello mascalese, but it also works with chardonnay, petit verdot, and cesanese d'Affile.
This red wine classified under the IGT Terre Siciliane is the perfect pairing for all kinds of veal and lamb dishes.
Tasting notes
On the nose, its intense aromas of fresh fruit (cherries, Fuji apple) stand out, with a subtle presence of barrel aging, great mineral richness, and a hint of smokiness.
On the palate, it stands out for its pleasant freshness, accompanied by a spicy note and tannins that will soften with oak aging. It has a delightful mouthfeel with a touch of gunpowder on the finish.
The winery
Winery
Andrea Franchetti creates his first estate from scratch, with the acquisition of a farm and a forest in the most remote area of the southwest of Tuscany. On this estate with virgin soil, Andrea planted exclusively traditional Bordeaux grapes, with cabernet franc being the standout variety. This marks the origin of the Tenuta di Trinoro winery, founded in 1990.
The secluded estate, part of the IGP Rosso Toscana, spans 200 hectares, of which 22 are dedicated to vineyards. It is located in the Val d’Orcia, at an altitude of 450 to 600 meters above sea level, a place where the mountain rock is eroded, revealing the limestone and clay soil of an ancient seabed. These characteristics create unique Tuscan wines in the region, reflecting the highly distinctive conditions of such a high-altitude inland valley.
Sharing its name, Tenuta di Trinoro is the most emblematic wine of the Tuscan winery, with several hundred cases produced each vintage, making it highly sought after by great wine enthusiasts. The quintessential blend varies depending on the vintage, but it is predominantly cabernet franc and merlot, along with some cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot. The winery also produces other distinctive red wines focused on individual varieties, including Palazzi, a 100% merlot selection; the Campi, three single-vineyard wines made from 100% cabernet franc; and Le Cupole, the second wine of Tenuta di Trinoro.