TN: Tenuta delle Terre Nere

TENUTA DELLE TERRE NERE - CAVE SA, Switzerland (11/22/2018)

Presented by the owner Marco de Grazia
MdG came to making wine in the slope of Etna when visiting a potential domain. He was a wine distributor in Florence back then.
He fell in love with the place and started buying parcels when local peasants (who were growing olive trees, apples, and grapes in the same parcel) deceased.
First harvest was in 2002 for the reds (nerello mascalese and pucino).
He started harvesting white (carricante) in 2014 in the Santo Spirito vineyard.

  • 2016 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco Santo Spirito - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
    Some reduction on the nose, later blowing off. Here you do get notes of butter (the whites go through full malolactic fermentation). Some notes of honey and ripe apples
    There is a bit more balance than the 17s, less tension though and hence feels a bit flabby. (88 pts.)




  • 2014 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco Santo Spirito - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
    Very Elegant nose, floral notes.
    On the palate, this is the best whites so far and yet it’s first harvest (a case of beginner’s luck?).
    Excellent concentration, acidity/fruit/alcohol are all in balance and long. Maybe a little weak in the mid-palate. Excellent wine. (90 pts.)




  • 2016 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
    Charming nose of strawberry. On the palate it is good but I find it a bit short in lenght and complexity. Really good simple wine. (87 pts.)

  • 2016 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Guardiola - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
    Rather more discreet on the nose with a smoky character, less exhuberantly fruity but so much more elegant. Some menthol too.
    Plenty of matter in this wine, concentrated and you get notes of elevage. Good wine, the tannins are not resolved just yet (slight astringency). (90 pts.)

  • 2016 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Santo Spirito - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
    Finding some flashy red fruits on the nose (strawberry), this wine is open for business.
    Tannins are softer (riper due to the lower elevation of Santo Spirito vs Guardiola). Dark cherry, and rose on the palate. Med+ of everything, long and developing complexity. (89 pts.)




  • 2016 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso San Lorenzo - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
    Full on intensity of aromas on the nose (bacon, tar, black cherries). Magnificent on the palate, huge wine, it’s long and complex and weighty and balanced. Ample and wide [Horizontal vs the Carderara (that was tasted stright after in the same flight) that is more vertical]. Excellent wine. (93 pts.)

  • 2016 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Calderara Sottana - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
    This is equally as good as the San Lorenzo but way more discreet and sophisticated. They make a magnificent pair of wines, so different and yet so good.
    Terroir in very different between these 2 vineyards: San Lorenzo is richer while it is 100% volcanic stones in Calderara. (92 pts.)




  • 2007 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
    Fine nose of pot pourri (rose in particular), very Barolo in a sense.
    Massive concentration, wonderful balance. Lots of everything (alcohol, tannins, aromas, body, acidity) everywhere.
    This is the 2nd vintage of that wine whose name come from the man who sold the vineyard to Marco de Grazia. These are 140 yr-old vines, ungrafted. (93 pts.)




  • 2012 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
    Lovely nose (blood orange, pomegranate), very delicate.
    Bright acidity, outstanding balance really. This is a wine to contemplate and take the time to sip it.
    At maturity but really no hurry to drink up those. In this flight (with 13s and 14s), the most complete. 93+ (94 pts.)




  • 2015 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
    I am lost for words now, this is simply SENSATIONNAL !! so glad I hold a couple of these beauties. Extraordinarily delicate and refined, and yet it is strong and vibrant. Out of this world complexity, in all fairness reminded me of the only la Tache I have ever tasted (the 09s). Truly, an incredible showing. (96 pts.)

The reds were very good to simply outstanding, the whites were fine but not up to the level.
Great tasting with Marco de Grazia who couldn’t remember tasting all these wines at once. A privilege to having attended really.
Posted from CellarTracker

awesome … thanks for sharing your perspective.

[cheers.gif]

Thanks! Its good to see a nice set of comprehensive notes.

Fantastic, a producer that I wish I had more experience with. Thanks for sharing.

Great wines. I think the whites are more suited in the eastern slopes from Milo. The reds from Terre Nere are incredible.

Yes, thanks for the notes, Olivier.

Another thanks here. Plus, I never did get around to trying the whites and you don’t make me feel too bad about neglecting them.

Thanks

Thanks for the notes. Big fan of the range but aging is still the open question to me on these wines. I opened a 2013 Feudo di Mezzo the other night and I have to say the tannins had overwhelmed the fruit. 2013 is a lighter vintage, but still, I was disappointed with how it showed and I’m not sure there is enough fruit to come out the other side.

I would expect a '13 to still be tannic. The wines can be almost nebbiolo-like at times, and I think they need some decanting or time in the glass.

Four bottles of the '08 Feudo di Mezzo I drank between 2013 and 2017 generally showed very well, although the tannins showed as fairly hard a couple of times. Not sure if that was the particular bottles or the food or too little breathing time. (Here are notes I posted on a bottle of the Feudo subvineyard Il Quadro delle Rose in 2013.)

Several of the Terre Nere '07s were in a nice place as of a year or two ago, with quite nicely softened tannins.

Nice to see notes on verticals of Etna wines, including the whites! Thanks!

Thanks for the notes. I really like this producer and enjoy their range of wines. [cheers.gif]

these notes gave me all sorts of warm and fuzzies. thanks a ton for sharing!

How do you feel the 07 will hold up going forward? I’ve been wondering what the timeline on these may be given how new they are

Based on a bottle of 06 Don Peppino that I had earlier this year, those wines will age beautifully. I wish I had more! The problem is they are pretty tasty young (yes, very tannic, but so fresh and fruit-forward that it’s balanced), so it is hard to keep your hands off of them!

The couple of '07s I’ve had in the last couple years seemed to have less concentration and grip than the '08s, and the alcohol showed a bit more because of that. My sense was to drink them up. But that’s not based on any experience aging them longer. It’s just a hunch based on the structure and balance.