# Contrada P (Porcaria) (2019)

- **Producer:** Vini Franchetti (Passopisciaro)
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Nerello Mascalese
- **Region:** Sicilia, Italy
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.5%
- **Average price:** €75
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 16–18 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, plum, raspberry, strawberry, redcurrant, violet, rose, black pepper, herbaceous, vanilla, cedar, smoke, leather, tobacco, forest floor, wet leaves, tar

## About this wine

Contrada P (Porcaria) is a remarkable single-vineyard Etna red produced by the visionary Andrea Franchetti of Passopisciaro. Located on the northern slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, the Porcaria contrada sits at 650 meters above sea level on thin, lava-rich soils. This site is renowned for producing some of the most robust, complex, and dramatic expressions of Nerello Mascalese on the volcano. The 2019 vintage highlights the estate's commitment to capturing the distinct terroir of individual lava flows, resulting in a wine of profound depth and character.

## Interesting facts

- Contrada P comes from the Porcaria vineyard, widely considered one of the 'Grand Crus' of Mount Etna due to its rich, dark volcanic soil.
- The vines used for this wine are up to 80 years old, trained in the traditional Sicilian 'alberello' (bush-vine) system.
- Founder Andrea Franchetti was a pioneer who helped revitalize the Etna wine region in the early 2000s by focusing on single-contrada bottlings.

## Food pairing

The high acidity and firm, fine-grained tannins of Nerello Mascalese cut beautifully through rich, fatty meats like duck and lamb. Its earthy, volcanic minerality harmonizes wonderfully with forest-floor flavors such as mushrooms and truffles, while its elegant structure requires savory, umami-rich dishes rather than overly sweet or intensely spicy foods.

## Wine making process

The grapes for Contrada P are harvested by hand from ancient, bush-trained (alberello) vines, some over 80 years old. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats using indigenous yeasts, with about 15 days of skin contact to extract fine tannins and color. The wine is then aged for 18 months in large, neutral oak casks (botti) to preserve the pure, mineral-driven character of the Nerello Mascalese grape and the unique volcanic terroir, followed by bottling without filtration.