Verona, Italy
Tasted Wednesday, March 25, 2015 by Rezy13 with 882 views
Beautiful wines that are very fresh and Burgundian. Definitely an elegance here that leads the way in the region.
Fun tasting the individual vineyards at different elevations as it really brings up notions of terroir like Burgundy.
Their white was probably the best Italian white from the whole trip.
Have had some wines of his before, but now I have a much better understanding.
Tasting with Salvatore's son, either Giovanni or Giuseppe. He looks just like his dad.
He spoke no English, but the Campania building had very nice translators available for us.
Mr. Molettieri very friendly and very generous pouring so many wines. I really enjoyed doing the mini verticals of each wine.
Some impressive stuff. Given the right age I feel their wines could be some of the top in their region.
A tremendous lineup. Probably my favorite wines of VinItaly.
Beautiful color to elegant perfumed noses and silky noble tannin. They were awesome.
Also, they may have had the best wine of the entire trip in their Vin Santo. So rich and viscous the only thing that may come close is a Tokaji Essenzia. Roughly 3x the sugar content of d'Yquem. Special stuff.
Rarely see their wines especially in GA, but I will be adding them to my short list.
Great reputation but limited experience with the wines. They have always been hit or miss.
The use of French barrique is prominent in all of the wines.
The wines seemed very awkward at this phase I feel because of the oak.
I am not sure whether time will correct all of this, but I know time will be necessary for them to improve.
Tasting with mama. Very sweet but very little English spoken. Don't believe she poured the whole lineup but very generous none the less.
The wines were truly Burgundy in the Piedmont. Light color and extraction, floral and fresh noses, sappy mid palates, and rounder tannin.
Really brilliant stuff that I need to seek out.
Tasting with Paolo (son) Grasso.
The wines were slightly rustic. The refinement that is expected from French oak wasn't quite there.
A lot of variability in the wines and not really a sense of style.
Some of the wines are highly encouraging, though.
Will probably stock up on some of their Barolos.
Tasting with daughter, Elena.
The wines showed great beauty. It has to be a huge advantage when you have vineyards like these.
Our neighbor 2 doors down when we travelled to Barolo.
Cool wines that I will seek out more often.
My one complaint would be they use more neutral oak. There was such great purity beneath the wood tannin.
Tasting with Claudia Cigliuti.
She was very nice but you could tell she had been doing this for 4 days and was ready to leave.
The wines were much darker and less clean than I typically prefer. Lots of character though.
Tasting with Elisa Scavino.
Wines were tremendous. Had a feel like Vietti in the fact they are great ambassadors of the region.
Different varietals from different vineyards all showing differing characteristics.
Tremendous quality and joy to drink.
In the same booth as Paolo Scavino. Tasting with Ferruccio Grimaldi and Elisa Scavino. Elisa was very generous with her family's wines and she encouraged me to taste her brother-in-law's. Ferruccio is married to Enrica.
I felt a little sorry as Elisa's wines commanded almost all of the attention. Ferruccio has very nice wine and his family has great vineyard holdings south of Barolo proper.
I wasn't that familiar with his wines, but this was very enlightening. Thank you.
2014 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco
Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
80% Carricante, 20% Catarratto; bottled one week ago; strong sulfur, mint, tart green fruit; crisp, nice mineral; tasty.
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2014 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosato
Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
10 days of skin contact; pale copper; faint strawberry, floral, crisp, clean, subtle; ok.
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2013 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco Cuvée delle Vigne Niche
Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
100% Carricante; light yellow green; musky melon, strong chalky mineral, tons of character, crisp apple, lime/grapefruit pith, some malo and leesy richness; medium plus body, good focus and richness; like a grand cru Chablis; yum, probably best Italian white from trip.
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2014 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso
Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
Bright neon maroon, see through; bright nose, candied, red and pink fruit; cherry and strawberry on the palate with nice mineral on finish; was told 2014 was a good vintage; good now and should improve.
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2013 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Feudo di Mezzo Il Quadro delle Rose
Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
600m in elevation; more crimson at core but very bright; meaty cherry, ripe strawberry, strong, powerful nose, almost leather, volcanic influence in back; meaty cherry continues on the palate, sweet creamy strawberry, Burg-like on the finish, fine powdered tannin; very good.
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2013 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Santo Spirito
Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
800m in elevation; bright rose ruby; the nose leads with more white rock, meaty strawberry, red cherry behind; some brimstone on the palate, sweet tangy red fruit, strong saliva inducing acidity with higher tannin on the finish; very good.
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2013 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Guardiola
Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
1,000m in elevation; bright rose with paler rim; lots of brimstone on the nose, sulfur, rose petals, light strawberry; palate is much softer, fullness, good mid palate; tasty.
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2013 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso Calderara Sottana
Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
600m in elevation; bright rose with paler rim; really perfumed and sexy nose, everything seems nicely integrated; very soft and tasty.
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2013 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso PrePhylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino
Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
140 year old vines!, 600m in elevation within Calderara Sottano vineyard; deep bright crimson; deep rose and sour cherry, some volcanic, you can smell the nobility; rich and full, floral, palate reminds me of a beautiful Nebbiolo with more minerality; great wine but I am not sure how many decades this has before peak, '06 I popped a year or so ago was still an infant.
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