The fruit in this release of 2,165 bottles is drawn from the Contrada Sciaranuova, located in the village of Randazzo, known for its excellent vineyards and pistachio groves. We're climbing up the volcano here with vineyards at 850 meters in elevation and planted in much newer soils created with a lava flow that occurred two centuries ago. In fact, "Sciaranuova" means "new lava flow." These vineyards are positioned toward the northern side of the volcano and are associated with delicate and elegant expressions, which is definitely the case with this Nerello Mascalese. The Passopisciaro Vini Franchetti 2018 Contrada S reveals tight cherries and berry fruits framed by ash, smoke and tarry spice. It is streamlined and lean to the palate with very finely polished tannins. This wine should flesh out nicely with more time in bottle.