When Nerello Mascalese is on, it can be such a pleasure to drink. Outstanding value. Smokey cherries, sweet brown spices and rosemary. Generous but fine tannins, good cut. It’s probably at peak, with no risk of impending decline. I wish I’d bought more.
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Thanks for the note. We drink the basic Etna Rosso pretty frequently - it’s an outstanding QPR. Need to try some of the higher end Terre Nere bottlings. How long do these typically need to sit?
Thanks for the note Warren. I was able to get a reasonable stash of '08 Santo Spirito. Have one left. I found the wine to be pretty tannic early on, but a bottle about a year ago showed more refinement and resolution. I will likely drink the last one within the year.
The Santo Spirito was so surprising the first time I tried it (2015 vintage). This is a serious wine. Made me rethink the whole etna rosso category as more than just “pizza wine.” Amazing QPR
I bought a bunch of '07 and '08 Terre Nere’s (Feudo di Mezzo and Calderara Sottana) in 2013-15, and they evolved nicely. I found they needed ten years or so, and they really need food because the tannins can be pretty tenacious, even with age.
Sometimes I had varying experiences with the same wine, probably because of the accompanying foods. The tannins seemed excessively hard sometimes, at least at first. And one or two bottles showed a marked caramel mote that I assume was from the new oak.
But I liked the wines with the right, rich foods.
I find the single-vineyard bottlings a huge step from the basic Etna Rosso.
Wally’s blew the 08’s out in the Roy Welland sale about 10 years ago at $20 each and I stocked up. Must have bought a case. A few of each type they had. Recently went through the last of them. Ya, great stuff.