Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso San Lorenzo 2016
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Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James - Decanter
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Dunnuck
Jeb
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#9 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2018
The Etna Rosso San Lorenzo comes from 10 acres of vineyards in the town of Randazzo. The vines are more than 70 years old growing on almost pure volcanic sand at an altitude of 2500 feet above sea level. The wine from this cru is particularly rich, fruity and has very soft tannins, making it velvety and voluptuous on the palate.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Ripe black cherry and raspberry fruit meets tarry mineral and accents of licorice, spiced orange peel and herb in this chewy, medium-bodied red. The bold flavor and structure are deftly knit into a graceful and harmonious package, with the spice and mineral character lingering on the finish. Best from 2020 through 2030.
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James Suckling
The purity and freshness of fruit on the nose here is impressive. Full-bodied, chewy and, at the same time, tangy with walnuts, cedar and dark-berry undertones. Flavorful and driven. Drink or hold.
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Decanter
Merchant Marc de Grazia was one of the first outsiders to help revive the Etna vineyards. He favours a full-bodied style, and San Lorenzo comes from old vines on the northern slopes. The nose is quite exotic, with dense clove aromas. It’s rich and suave, with seamless, fine-grained tannins and good acidity keeping it lively and peppery.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Etna Rosso San Lorenzo is another thrilling wine from this producer, offering a liqueur of rocks-like minerality as well as beautiful cherry and currant fruits, notes of dried earth and spice, medium body, and a savory, layered profile. It has plenty of underlying structure and tannic grip, yet still offers ample pleasure today.
Rating: 92+
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Tenuta delle Terre Nere is the fruit of over 30 years of passion and work in the world of fine wine.
And an extraordinary location, as well - this "island within an island" that is the Etna. A place where nature is prodigal but also severe. And here they try with all their heart to express as purely as possible the refined and multifaceted microcosm of this ancient volcanic land. With respect, care and hard farm work, always in organic balance.
The estate's philosophy is simple. Given an extreme climate, in order to obtain the best and most consistent ripening, our attention must focus on vineyard management. The finest workmanship in all aspects of viticulture is the first thing that sets them apart. And what enables them, bringing home exceptionally fine grapes, not to be invasive in their cellar work. A work best described as aimed above all at expressing the character of their varieties in their specific terroir.
A great team, a delicate hand and a heightened sensibility, as well. And their ideals, that drive them to give the best of ourselves in quest, not of perfection, but of the ideal bond between what nature gives us and that which our sensitivity, experience and imagination suggests.
All this sets them apart.
Extending across the variable volcanic soils of the slopes of Mt. Etna at some of the highest vineyard altitudes in all of Europe—up to 3,300 feet—Nerello Mascalese is one of Sicily’s most noble red varieties. It makes a beautifully aromatic, firm, cellar-worthy but pale-hued red often comparable to a fine Burgundy or Barbaresco. Somm Secret—Nerello Mascalese takes its name from the black color of its grapes, nerello, and the Mascali plain between Mt. Etna and the coast where it is believed to have originated.
A large, geographically and climatically diverse island, just off the toe of Italy, Sicily has long been recognized for its fortified Marsala wines. But it is also a wonderful source of diverse, high quality red and white wines. Steadily increasing in popularity over the past few decades, Italy’s fourth largest wine-producing region is finally receiving the accolades it deserves and shining in today's global market.
Though most think of the climate here as simply hot and dry, variations on this sun-drenched island range from cool Mediterranean along the coastlines to more extreme in its inland zones. Of particular note are the various microclimates of Europe's largest volcano, Mount Etna, where vineyards grow on drastically steep hillsides and varying aspects to the Ionian Sea. The more noteworthy red and white Sicilian wines that come from the volcanic soils of Mount Etna include Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio (reds) and Carricante (whites). All share a racy streak of minerality and, at their best, bear resemblance to their respective red and white Burgundies.
Nero d’Avola is the most widely planted red variety, and is great either as single varietal bottling or in blends with other indigenous varieties or even with international ones. For example, Nero d'Avola is blended with the lighter and floral, Frappato grape, to create the elegant, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, one of the more traditional and respected Sicilian wines of the island.
Grillo and Inzolia, the grapes of Marsala, are also used to produce aromatic, crisp dry Sicilian white. Pantelleria, a subtropical island belonging to the province of Sicily, specializes in Moscato di Pantelleria, made from the variety locally known as Zibibbo.