Vini Franchetti
Tenuta Di Trinoro Vintage 2018 After the sweltering summer of 2017, they welcomed the cooler, more even temperatures of 2018 in the valley. As they neared the end of August, they were looking at larger than usual clusters, not too sweet for the period, and unusually soft in their early fruit. Because of these cooler temperatures, the vineyards were able to ripen the fruit and tannins earlier; all of that is usually kept back because of heat in August. The skins, thin as they were, were incredibly forward in color – they stained the fingers! Usually, that happens in mid-October. A strange wind and drop in temperature arrived in the valley between the merlot and the harvest of the rest of the grapes – they had huge clusters for the first time in their history, but the fruit began to lose its swelling, and the berries began to get softer. With this situation, they couldn’t yet pick the grapes — they’re too flat yet full of sweetness — so they misted the fields to give the grapes the final push, followed by a real rain. Then the sun a bit far in the season, low, orange, saving again until this very last new moon. Everything again became profound and ripe, and they picked. Mysterious for now, fascinating. This vintage will be an original one. Passopisciaro Vintage 2018 2018 was one of the rainiest and most tropical vintages they’ve seen on Etna, especially at the end of the summer. This year, they had to increase the number of times they passed through 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. They countered effects of disease with natural products like clay and propolis as well. The Cesanese stood up well to the vintage’s difficult nature, although they picked it slightly earlier than usual. It gives more pronounced aromas of orange blossom this vintage, while maintaining its typical acidity. The Petit Verdot was picked 10 days later, with the second quarter of the waxing moon, allowing them to bring in perfectly healthy grapes with a classical structure alongside the Mediterranean richness that growing here on Etna brings to this Bordeaux variety. Franchetti 2018 will be a long-lived wine, a quiet wine in its youth that will crescendo with years in bottle.