The 2007 Etna Bianco is made from 50% Carricante, 25% Catarratto, 15% Grecanico and 10% Inzolia, all native varieties, and aged in steel. Amazingly, the vines were sixty years old in this vintage. The wine is made in a ripe style, with notes of smoke and earthiness that gradually emerge with time in the glass. Still, it remains reticent, backward and difficult to fully assess. In time it might merit a higher score, but I am not fully convinced of the balance here. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2010.
Tenuta delle Terre Nere is one of the new, emerging properties making compelling wines on Sicily’s Mount Etna. Proprietors Marco and Iano de Grazia may be best known for the extensive portfolio their company represents but they are also proving to be very talented winemakers as well.
A Marc de Grazia Selection, various American importers, including Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300, Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700, and Estate Wines, Ltd., San Rafael, CA; tel. (415) 492-9411