The World of Terre Nere with Marc di Grazia

(The following write-up and reviews are the result of two days’ worth of focused tastings with Marc di Grazia.)

When asked if I would be interested in attending a ten-year retrospective of Terre Nere, my response was a resounding YES! For me, Terre Nere represents something more than just the sum of its already-impressive parts. Those parts being the location, winemaker, and pioneering methodologies. What Terre Nere represents to me is coming full circle with Sicilian wine and the impetus behind Mount Etna’s rise to the world’s stage.

When I think back to over ten years ago, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone willing to put an Etna wine against the world's top regions. In fact, the general consensus about Sicily as a whole wa
s that they were trying hard--but failing. That all changed because of Terre Nere. Yes, there were many great wineries before them, and a number of pioneers placed stakes and made moves on Etna. However, Terre Nere was the property that broke out of the Sicilian wine category and put Mount Etna on the map.

Much of this is the result of its owner, Marc di Grazia, whose unrelenting passion for Italian wine guided him to become one of the most famous exporters and innovators in the world. You see, Marc didn’t just discover producers to propel to international fame; he literally guided them to create a product that the world’s wine consumers wanted at the time. The list of Italian properties whose names are staples in the industry today may never have arrived if it wasn’t for this man.

So you can imagine that, when the time came that he wanted to buy vineyards and start his own winery, the entire industry waited with bated breath to hear where Marc di Grazia’s new project would be started. When the news came that it was on Mount Etna, an unproven and volatile region of Sicily, many people scratched the heads in wonder. What did he see in this region? Why would someone want to make wine on the side of an active volcano? Little did they know the level of success that would follow.

In truth, what Marc had done in creating Terre Nere was use the same skill set that helped him succeed as an exporter; he literally saw the potential in something that others missed. On Mount Etna, he found vineyards filled with ancient vines, complex soils, diverse climates and a myriad of possible expressions from a native variety that had the potential to make great wine: Nerello Macalase.

Instead of creating one wine, the choice was made to separate each vineyard parcel to express the diverse terroir of the region. With the majority of his holdings on the Northern side of Mount Etna, Terre Nere began its production with the 2002 vintage. In the grand scheme of things, success came quickly, as my first introduction to the brand was with the 2005 vintage, and already the industry was buzzing about the amazing wines then coming from Mount Etna.

So here I was, over ten years later, and in front me stood a ten-year retrospective, which was followed by a focused tasting of the ‘12 and ‘13 vintages. What was even more amazing was when Marc explained that he had never had the opportunity to taste so many vintages back-to-back, hence it would be an exploration for all of us.

A few of my general impressions:

Two of the questions I had always had regarding Terre Nere was how well they would age and what the drinking window would be on the average bottle. One of the best descriptions I can give to explain these wines and the variety to a newcomer is that they fall somewhere between the expressions and structures of Barolo and Burgundy. Each time I’ve tasted them through the years, I would wonder how the tannin would resolve and what would be waiting on the other side of the aging curve.

Vintage variations aside, I would say that a general guideline would be to wait between 6 - 8 years before they enter their early maturity. This was seen with the ‘08, ‘07 and ‘05 vintages (with 2006 still needing some time to soften).

As for the different vineyard designations, three now stand out to me the most. First is the Santo Spirito, for its early appeal, allure and elegance. Then there’s Calderara Sottana, with its layers of dark fruit, earth and classic structure. Lastly, the Prephylloxera, as it is a wine of such balance and elegance while remaining wild and savage. These three designations have formed my holy trinity of Terre Nere, but don’t sleep of the rest of the lineup. Guardiola, a vineyard at a steep, 30-degree incline, which sits adjacent to Santo Spirito but at higher elevation, is something of a perfect marriage between elegance and structure, while Feudo di Mezzo seems to be the most balanced and consistent wine of the group.

My thoughts on vintages after hearing Marc’s commentary:

• 2014 was an unusual vintage of ups and down, yet with excellent results and producing alluring yet perfectly balanced and structured wines.
• 2013 was difficult as it was wet and unusually cool through the fall. The wines are enjoyable today, but they lack the stamina found in better vintages.
• 2012 was a dry, warm vintage that produced tiny grapes with thick skins. However, these wines showed enough structure to hold their ripe fruit firmly. They show beautifully with plenty of cellar potential.
• 2011 was considered a classic, near-perfect vintage. Dry winter, mild spring, warm summer and perfectly timed rain in September led to an ideal harvest. Classic is the word here, as the wines I’ve tasted are of excellent quality with cellar potential.
• 2010 was off to a good start with an equally beneficial summer, but ups and downs into the fall disturbed ripening. My only example to go by was the Prepylloxera, which show ethereal weightlessness. The jury is still out.
• 2009 was a difficult vintage defined by a harsh winter, short summer and rainy harvest. The Guardiola was a prime example, being my least favorite of the flight with lean fruit and over-accentuated tannin.
• 2008 had some irregular weather, including hail, yet resulted in a late ripening and ultimately beautiful vintage. Warm weather into the fall pushed ripeness to the limits, yet the Santo Spirito still showed very balanced. Past experiences have also been very positive, and I’d keep my eyes out for well-stored bottles to snatch up.
• 2007 (Limited comments from Marco)--I would say this was a riper vintage, and the wine is ready now. I admit to checking wine-searcher for more 2007s immediately after this tasting.
• 2006 (Limited comments from Marco)--Still structured but with the fruit to carry it for many more years.
• 2005 (Limited comments from Marco)--Balanced, pretty, elegant and ready to drink today. Keep an eye out for well-stored ‘05s.

On to the tasting notes (by vintage):

2014 Terre Nere Calderara Sottana Bianco - This had a rich and robust nose, with ripe apple, peach, smoke, hints of tropical fruits, even banana. It was then freshened by minerals and florals with a hint of lemon zest. On the palate, a silky veil of ripe stone fruit covered the senses, providing a pleasing feel, as hints of minerals and inner floral tones set in. This finish displayed a buzz of vibrant acidity with hints of lime and stone lingering long. (93 points)

2014 Terre Nere Prephylloxera Vigna di Don Peppino - This showed an intense, exotic and deeply-layered nose, as savory cherry gave way to notes of charred meat and Indian spice before it turned fresh and invigorating with spiced citrus and wild herbs. On the palate, I found rich, intense yet silky textures, with savory cherry and spice giving way to sweet herbs and a hint of citrus. Is it grapefruit and brown spices or dried orange? It’s hard to tell, but the results are stunning. The finish was lifted and long with sweet tannin coating the senses, as notes of sour cherry and orange peel lingered long. This is drop-dead gorgeous--a truly wild yet elegant wine. (97 points)

2013 Terre Nere Prephylloxera Vigna di Don Peppino - This was a wine of beautiful contrasts, as intense spiced cherry was offset by soaring floral aromatics, smoke and black earth, in an exotic yet nuanced expression. On the palate, it was lifted and ethereal while saturating the senses with sweet tannin-wrapped black cherry, sweet tobacco and herbs. The finish was floral with fresh red fruit and minerals, yet its tannic clout lingered on. The '14 may be a step up, but the '13 is pure class. (94 points)

2013 Terre Nere Santo Spirito - The nose displayed dusty cherry and spice, with smoke-tinged minerality giving way to sweet tea and floral tones. On the palate, vibrant acidity mixed with silky tannin, providing a grippy sensation, as notes of cherry and sweet tea permeated the senses. It finished with dried red fruits and inner floral tones. The 2013 is remarkably youthful, feminine and perfumed. (91 points)

2013 Terre Nere Calderara Sottana - What a tremendous bouquet, showing olive and earth up front, followed by rich and massive wave of black cherry, currant and spice with hints of undergrowth. On the palate, it was soft and caressing, displaying ripe cherry and strawberry in a pliant and positively satiating experience. It finished with medium length, as its fruit tapered off and left the mouth watering. This wine was a gentle giant. (92 points)

2013 Terre Nere Feudo di Mezzo - The nose was rich, showing black cherry and herbs with crushed stone minerality. On the palate, I found a mix of tart cherry and strawberry, which seemed to morph into an intense and saturating note of pomegranate, yet through it all a wave of brisk acidity provided a liveliness and mouthwatering experience. It finished with medium-length, displaying hints of wild berry and a twang of lively acidity. (92 points)

2012 Terre Nere Feudo di Mezzo - What a gorgeous wine. The nose was dark and brooding with crushed stone and black earth up front. Dried raspberry came forward with time in the glass, along with dry cocoa and flowers. On the palate, it was silky with acid-driven vibrancy to its tart cherry and spice. It turned floral and mineral-like through the finish with a long and lingering note of sweet tea and smoke. This is so enjoyable today for its pliancy and richness on the palate, yet there’s a lurking structure beneath that is sure to carry it for many years (like Volnay). (93 points)

2012 Terre Nere Calderara Sottana - If I had to pick one wine from these recent tastings to put in my cellar today, this would be it. The 2012 Calderara Sottana was deep, rich, and vibrant. On the nose, I found dark earth, ripe black cherry, crushed raspberry, sweet herbs, dusty spice and minerals. On the palate, silky textures were contrasted by sweet tannin-laced black cherry, spice, cocoa and saline-minerality. It coated the senses throughout the finish with concentrated cherry and pomegranate, while hints of tannin lingered on. Wow! (95 points)

2012 Terre Nere Santo Spirito - The nose was intense and alluring, displaying crushed stone up front, then opening to reveal spiced cherry, dusty floral tones, a hint of herbs and green olive. On the palate, I found soft textures, which were contrasted by a core of spice and tannin-wrapped cherry fruit. Like a freight train speeding along a track, the fruit component seemed unstoppable and center-focused, saturating the senses. It finished on lingering spice, sweet tannin and a coating of concentrated dried cherry. I can only imagine that the future is very bright for the 2012 Santo Spirito. (94 points)

2011 Terre Nere Calderara Sottana - The nose was tense and deeply pitched, showing red currant and brown spice, contrasted by pretty floral tones and crushed stone. On the palate, silky textures were contrasted by a mix of minerals, spice, and tart cherry, then seemingly turning to ripe strawberry. It finished remarkably long on sweat tea leaves, spice and a hint of citrus. The ‘11 Calderara Sottana is a pleasure on the palate for its remarkably silky yet refined and elegant expression (all stone and rock soil mixed with black pumice). (95 points)

2010 Terre Nere Prephylloxera Vigna di Don Peppino - The nose was intense, giving and remarkably pretty, displaying sweet herbs and spice up front, giving way to rosy floral tones, a hint of red pepper, and bright cherry. On the palate, it was finessed and pretty with light cherry and inner floral tones This relies on beauty over power and comes across as quite classic. The mouth watered throughout the finish, as a coating of sweet tannin lingered along with citrus-tinged spice. (93 points)

2009 Terre Nere Guardiola - The nose showed dark fruits with hints of dried cherry and crushed raspberry, giving way to saline minerality and savory herbs. It was tense on the palate, as vibrant acid provided a buzz on the palate that resolved into saturating cherry fruit and herbal tones. Savory cherry remained through the finish, along with a coating of gruff tannin. (90 points)

2008 Terre Nere Santo Spirito - The nose started restrained, showing dried cherry and minerals, yet it opened dramatically in the glass, as hints of potpourri and exotic spice filled the glass. On the palate, I found silky textures with intense, densely-concentrated red fruit, which seemed to be wrapped in a mix of spice and sweet tannin. It finished on finesse and was quite pretty with dried red fruits and inner floral tones. (94 points)

2007 Terre Nere Calderara Sottana - The nose showed dark, brooding fruit with savory herbs and brown autumn spice, ultimately very pretty and finessed while adding a note of dried flowers. On the palate, I found silky, alluring textures with black cherry, strawberry fruit and sweet spice that seemed to coat the senses. It finished long, long, long on fresh cherry pits and minerality. This is so beautiful today, both focused and intense, yet ready to enjoy. There may be the slightest hint of heat on the finish, but it is an undeniably beautiful wine. (95 points)

2006 Terre Nere Guardiola - The nose was dark yet quite closed, showing plums, dark spice, crushed stone, black earth, and wax. It was angular on the palate yet still fresh, with notes of bright cherry and softening textures over time. It finished long on candied cherry, inner floral tones, and minerals. This still needs a few more years to truly come together, but it is already enjoyable. (92 points)

2005 Terre Nere Feudo di Mezzo - The nose was pretty and finessed, showing spice-tinged cherry and minerals, along with dusty dried flowers. On the palate, I found a finessed and lifted wine with notes of dried cherry and inner floral tones. It was very pretty on the finish with a mix of tart cherry and minerals. This is ready to enjoy today. It’s vibrant through balanced acidity with perfectly resolved tannin and beautifully pure fruit. (93 points)

Article, Photos and Tasting Notes by: Eric Guido
Originally posted at: The Cellar Table

Caponata: A Stunning Sicilian Specialty

Recipe and Wine Pairing by: Eric Guido

It was the fifth day of a heat wave as I sat contemplating a menu that I had to present only a day later. No matter how good your air conditioner or how little time it takes you to move from the cool confines of your home to the blasting AC of your car, the heat manages to wear you down. I sat there looking at the plants that had shriveled up in the neighbor’s garden, even though they were watered each day, and I felt a sort of empathy for them. What to serve to a party that just wandered in from this heat? Caponata.

As a child, my neighborhood would have been considered Italian to an outsider, but the fact is that its inhabitants did not think of it as Italian. You see, I grew up in a Sicilian neighborhood. The Italian part of my family had come from the central part of the boot and so, even with my Italian roots, my neighbors still managed to surprise me with a cuisine that was not quite like my grandmother’s, yet Italian all the same. On an afternoon, in this summer heat, my neighbors would be making caponata.

Caponata is a vegetarian dish that’s centered on eggplant and fresh harvested vegetables. It’s a celebration of produce and on the palate obtains a melding of fresh, salty and sweet flavors that truly makes it a celebration to your taste buds as well. It is, all at once, satisfying, refreshing and delicious. It’s a dish that can be served cold, room temperature or warm, and it can be an appetizer, side dish or main course. It’s difficult for me to think of another dish that is as versatile as caponata, especially since it can thrill you on a paper plate in the yard as well as served on fine china at the table.

My favorite way to serve caponata is at room temperature as an appetizer. When served at this neutral temperature, the medley of flavors in this dish is on full display. Each ingredient still bears its unique flavors while contributing to the whole.

See below for my tasting note.

As for a wine pairing, I like to go with a wine that can stand up to the vibrant acidity of caponata. Remember that this dish has a sweet and sour profile and could be overwhelming next to a new world-styled wine. However, it’s also a dish that showcases the finessed yet sometimes fragile flavors of fresh vegetables, so it wouldn’t stand up well to a heavy-handed red. Lastly, I want a wine that will augment the flavors of the caponata.  I want Riesling, and the one I'm recommending here will knock your socks off.


Caponata

Serves Four

The most important thing is to use the best quality ingredients. This dish doesn’t mask a thing. Instead, it amplifies the flavors of each ingredient, and that’s part of its magic. Many recipes will tell you to peel the tomatoes, but in this case we’re using grape tomatoes for visual appeal and their bittersweet flavor. You could also use plum or vine tomatoes, in which case you should blanch and peel them.

3 - 4 Italian eggplants, about 2 pounds (or look for a mix of colors; smaller is better)
1 large yellow onion, small dice
4 –5 stalks of celery, large dice
1 pound of grape tomatoes, sliced in half with seeds removed
1 cup green Italian olives, sliced in half with pits removed
2 tbls of capers, rinsed
7 tbls of red wine vinegar
2 tbls of sugar
1 bunch fresh basil
4 tbls Extra Virgin olive oil
salt and pepper as needed
1 loaf Italian bread
grape seed oil (for frying)

Slice the eggplant crosswise into ¾ inch slices. Line a sheet pan with paper towels and a cookie rack. Coat both sides of each eggplant slice generously with salt and place on the rack. The salt will pull the bitter flavors out of the eggplant. Allow the eggplant to sit like this for one hour. Then rinse the eggplant well and dry.

Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. At the same time, place a large sauté pan over a medium flame and pour enough grape seed oil in to coat the bottom of the pan. Once the oil is hot, place the eggplant into the sauté pan. (Be careful not to overcrowd the pan. You may need to fry the eggplant in two batches.) Fry the eggplant on one side until golden brown and then flip to achieve the same sear on the other side. Once both sides have been cooked, remove from the pan and to drain on paper towels.

Set up a small ice bath. Now place the large dice of celery into the salted boiling water. Blanch for three to four minutes or until the color becomes a deep vibrant green. Pull the celery from the pot and place into the ice bath for no more than one minute. Then drain and set aside.

Cut the eggplant slices into a large dice with a very sharp knife, remember they are soft from being fried and make sure to keep the skin on the eggplant.

At this time you are ready to begin the final assembly of the dish.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan. Once hot, add the onions and season with a pinch of salt. Allow the onions to cook for three minutes. Now add the olives, tomatoes and celery and stir together. Allow to cook for another five minutes.

Now add the eggplant, capers, vinegar and sugar. Stir the contents of the pan together well and allow to cook for ten minutes.

Taste for seasoning and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Move the entire contents of the pan to a serving dish.

If you are looking for room temperature, allow the dish to sit for up to an hour before serving. For hot temp, allow only ten minutes. Or for cold, place under refrigeration for two to three hours.

No matter what temperature you are aiming for, when ready to serve, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice the Italian bread into ¼ inch slices, brush both sides with Extra Virgin olive oil and place on a parchment-lined baking dish. Put in the oven for five minutes to toast slightly. Chop the fresh basil and add to the caponata; stir to combine.

You can plate this with the toasts on the plate and the caponata. Or serve family style.

2011 Stein St. Aldegunder Palmberg-Terrassen Riesling Spätlese feinherb - Aromas jumped from the glass of this young Riesling, showing ripe pear, peach skins, wet mineral laden stone and hints of lemon. On the palate, there was a yin yang of fruit, acidity and minerality. Grapefruit was foremost with an equal doses of acidity as expected from a bite, note the sprinkle of sugar on top. Ripe peach flavor and weight added balance, along with gorgeous saline minerals, which poured out as the mouth began to water. The finish made the cheeks pucker with slight lemon pith, hints of fresh honeycomb and inner floral notes. To say i enjoyed this wine would be an understatement. (92 points) Find it on Wine-Searcher!

Demystifying Mushroom Marsala

By: Eric Guido

Sometimes things are much easier than they seem. Take Mushroom Marsala sauce, for example. When thinking of the many Marsala sauces I’ve had in my life, I’m dumbfounded by how many of them were lackluster, watery and improperly seasoned. It’s almost as if the heights, which this preparation can reach, have been forgotten by the majority of culinary professionals. To the uninitiated, a preparation like this may seem like an intimidating and drawn out process, but the reality is that a Marsala sauce is a simple preparation, which results in one of the most complex and delicious sauces imaginable.

A Mushroom Marsala sauce carries a weight in the mouth that would lead you to believe it had been cooking for hours. It’s rich and velvety while flaunting its spicy herbal flavors. The mushrooms take on the sweet woody notes of the Marsala wine, along with a hint of the butter they’re cooked in, to create a layering of intense flavors on a smooth meaty canvas. Don’t be surprised when your guests clean their plates of every last drop.



Mushroom Marsala

The first thing you must understand is the culinary principle of only adding a wine to your food that you wouldn’t mind drinking on its own. Marsala is wine, after all, even though it's fortified and the sauce takes a healthy does that truly affects the end result.

Make sure to have your hardware ready when you begin. I like to use a large roasting pan spanned across two burners for this preparation. Also have a sheet pan with drying rack, to put the scaloppini on, after they are cooked.

Serves 4

2 shallots (fine dice)
1 Tbls. Fresh sage (fine dice)
1-pound cremini mushrooms (washed and sliced)
1 ½ cups Dry Marsala (look for a good brand)
1-¼ cups chicken stock
1 ½ Tbls. fresh parsley (minced)
Salt and pepper for seasoning
2-½ pounds pork tenderloin, chicken breast or veal (cut and tenderized into scaloppini about ¼ inch thick)
1 cup all purpose flour
4 Tbls. butter
6 Tbls. olive oil

Prepare the scaloppini. No matter which meat you’ve chosen to use the process, it’s nearly identical. If using pork tenderloin, trim most of the fat from around the loin and slice into ½ inch cutlets. For chicken, one breast should yield about five - six cutlets.

Season the cutlets lightly, on both sides, with salt and pepper. Then coat them in flour. Make sure to shake off any excess flour.

In a roasting pan (spanned across two burners on medium heat) add 4 Tbls. of olive oil and 2 Tbls. of butter. Allow the butter and olive oil to come up to temperature. Watch as the butter begins to foam. Once the foaming has settled (that’s the water cooking out), you can begin to add the cutlets, one at a time. If you can’t fit all the cutlets comfortably into this pan then cook off the second batch separately. Turn the cutlets once they have formed a good sear on one side. When both sides have been seared, remove the culets from the oil and rest them on a sheet pan.

Drain all the fat from the roasting pan and add 2 Tbls. olive oil and 2 Tbls. of butter. As the oil and butter come up to temperature, scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the cooked on bits from the cutlets (the fond).

Now add the shallots and stir to coat them in the oil. Then add the sage leaves and the mushrooms with a healthy pinch of salt. If the pan looks dry, you can add a little more butter or olive oil, but remember that the mushrooms will begin to let out some of their water while cooking.

Cook the mushrooms and stir regularly for about five minutes. The mushrooms should begin to shrink, and the liquid they release will cook off.

Now raise the heat to medium-high and add the Marsala. Bring it up to a boil and let it reduce for about a minute.

Next add the chicken stock and stir. Bring this mixture back up to a boil and reduce until the sauce begins to thicken (about 5 minutes).

Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Lastly, add the cutlets back into the pan and allow them to warm in the sauce as it continues to reduce. Flip them after a minute and, once you see that they are taking on a slight glaze from the sauce, turn off the heat. Add about half of your chopped, fresh parsley and stir it into the sauce.

Plate onto warmed plates. Try to place the cutlets onto the plate first, leaving as much of the sauce as possible in the pan. Once you are happy with the arrangement on the plates, stir the remaining sauce in the pan and spoon it over the cutlets on each plate. Make sure to evenly distribute the mushrooms. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley, clean the rims of the plates and serve.

Terre Nere: Wines of Earth, Wind and Fire

I think back five years, when I was just starting to get into Italian wine. I was a new chef that had just finished paying my school bills and I was working at T.H.O.R on the lower east side of Manhattan. I had money in my pocket for what seemed like the first time in many years, and I was determined to understand Italian wine. At that time it was Italian Wine Merchant (the authority on Italian wine in NY on E. 16th Street) that was filling my cellar and I would spend hours there each week, talking wine and Italian culture. However, with time, I began to realize that there was something missing from their inventory. IWM had all the big wines of Italy and many obscure gems from cult producers, but what they didn't have were the wines of the south and especially Sicily. Their inventory literally seemed to stop short at Campania. I even posed the question to my trusted cellar consultant, "What about Southern wines?", and the response was dismissive–not of me but of the wines themselves.

The reason for this is that, up until recently, the wines of Sicily were still recovering from decades of being nothing more than a production of concentrated, sweet and uninteresting bulk wines that would be shipped north for blending or sold as table wine. There were only a handful of producers who were working to invigorate the Sicilian wine industry. However, something has been brewing in Sicily; a winemaking revolution of sorts. The problem is that it takes time to change a vineyard over from producing bulk to beauty.

Fast forward only a few years, and now we are reaping the benefits. If Sicily is not on your map, then you owe it to yourself to put it there. Tread carefully, though. While there are many quality producers making serious wine, there are still many who are pushing plunk. I've been exploring for over six months now, and have found a number of great wineries to recommend, (Frank Cornelissen and Occhipinti come to mind) but there's one that has truly stood out: Terre Nere.

The wines of Terre Nere hail from the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna–that's right, on the side of an active volcano. It's here that many believe Sicily will show that it can make wines of elegance, depth and refinement. I can honestly say that I'm a believer.

What makes Terre Nere so special? A number of things, such as vineyards that sit at some of the highest elevations for red wine grapes in Europe, about 800 - 900 meters above sea level. Between the three Crus that Terre Nere sources from, there is a diverse mix of soils due to volcanic eruptions over thousands of years. The vines, primarily Nerello Mascalese, are between 40 - 50 years old–60 - 80 years old in the Feudo di Mezzo cru–and are in some cases pre-phylloxera (not grafted onto American root stock). Lastly, the production is all organic. What this all adds up to are characterful wines of amazing finesse, haunting aromatics, and complexities that have often been compared to Barolo and Burgundy. When I first read this, it immediately brought to mind the number of times this kind of hype was used to describe a new winery–but in this case it's for real.

Over the last month, I've been able to taste through three wines, from their $15 rosso to two of their vineyard classified bottles in the $30 -$35 range, and to say I'm impressed is putting it lightly. These are wines that can be enjoyed today with proper decanting or put away for a decade and, for the price, can't be beat. If you seek earth, air, minerals, smoke, spice and rich fruit with vibrant acidity and structure in your wines, Terre Nere must be on your short list.

On to the notes:

2007 Terre Nere Guardiola - The Guardiola opened on the nose with eucalyptus, olives, crushed wild berries and hint of raw beef. On the palate, this showed a lush mouth feel with a pop of zesty acidity, as cool mint swept across the tongue, followed by sour blackberry and herbs. The medium-long finish was fresh with bitter cherry pits. (92 points)

Find it on Wine-Searcher!

2008 Terre Nere Etna Rosso - After a half hour in decanter, this wine showed wild berries, top soil and rosemary on the nose. On the palate this showed juicy blueberry that turned to sour cherry, cinnamon and granite. It was elegant and dazzled the senses as it started sweet, turned dry and then left you with a finish of spicy, sour fruit. (89 Points)

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2007 Terre Nere Feudo di Mezzo - The nose drew me in and evolved with time in the glass. At first it showed cherry with dusted sugar, cinnamon spice tea and hints of forest floor. Notes of menthol came forward as I swirled, and the fruit continued to gain volume and depth. The palate was very lean with a tannic bite at the end. The fruit that came to mind was fresh cranberries with a sour, dry finish and leather strap with a slight bitterness. There was a lot going on in the glass with the fruit gaining richness over time and verging on cherry, but the structure was massive and closed the wine down as tannin coated the palate. This bottle has many years ahead of it and has earned a place in my cellar. (92 Points)

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