Old Vines: Contrada Rampante, Sicily

WWC21 Bray S - Etna lava

For JancisRobinson.com.

Etna is a fascinating place, at once feral and majestic, old and new. Large swaths of blackened, rocky earth scar its surface, reminders of the devastation that can come from an eruption. It is the highest active volcano in Europe, its magmatic activity the result of the meeting of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates far beneath the glimmering seas that surround the island of Sicily. The last eruption to reach Catania and the sea was in 1669, but she’s still quite active (yes, the locals refer to her in the feminine). Craters can form at any elevation, so when they burst like little pustules, rivers of lava can easily reach the small buildings and towns that ring its lower third. Driving along the Etna wine route from the town of Passopisciaro to neighboring Randazzo, one passes through the flow from 1981, still as starkly rugged as the day it first enveloped 200 hectares of land. Continue reading

Contrada Guardiola Comparative Tasting

IMG_1993After a fantastic tour around Etna today with my friends at Tenuta delle Terre Nere, we wrapped with a tasting of wines from the Guardiola vines from both Terre Nere and Passopisciaro: Same alcohol, same vintage, different expressions of the same Contrada. Sitting across the road from one another, the terroir was evident – both share an amarena cherry nose, balsamic notes; bright acidity from this high altitude; and structure from this lava spill. Picked October 20th, the Terre Nere has more structured and drying tannins, leathery and peppery notes on the palate, while the Passopisciaro, picked November 2nd, showed sweeter fruit and more supple tannins, alongside more pronounced acidity. A tasting from two stars of Etna I’ve wanted to explore for awhile, and I thank my friends for obliging.