Calderara Sottana remains my favourite Terre Nere cuvee. Drinking perfectly at this age with the right balance of fruit, ash and sous bois. Sadly I think this was my last bottle as it is much more complete than the Guardiolas and Feudo di Mezzos that I still have. Looking forward to the few more recent vintages incoming from auction (although pricing was unfortunately not as ridiculous as the frankly mispriced $55 SGD for this).
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This showed far better than my last magnum over 2 years ago - at the time I feared it was going over the hill, but I was wrong - this bottle had really nice fruit and impeccable balance.
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From magnum. Color is starting to turn fairly tawny. The wine is lively but starting to lose a lot of primary fruit. Once our food came out, the wine started to shine. Very reminiscent of burgundy.
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Appearance - Clear but A duller dark ruby. More of a brown tinge to it. Rim is clear.
Nose - getting dark fruit but definitely noticing alcohol. Nose hair singe rubbing alcohol. Black licorice. The bottle has been open for a few hours and I suspect the fruit has fallen off a bit. Initially the nose was more enticing.
Palate - black fruits. Getting plums, BlackBerry, compote. Acidity is medium. Alcohol feels medium plus. Palate tingles. Tannins are medium maybe even medium plus and they linger. There is an ashiness lingering on palate. Body is medium plus. I feel like it’s the acidity that keeps it going. The fruit is there, not old, but not vibrant. I wouldn’t call this youthful, but I can’t really pick out notes that tell me it’s developing. I do feel like the wine has seen better days, it’s on the decline, but it’s still very drinkable, tastes better with food, even cheese, than just sipping on its own. Peppery on finish. It doesn’t exactly feel balanced to me, alcohol predominating.
Still interesting but I suspect it’s time for younger versions.
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Nose - medium minus intensity. Getting floral notes. Red fruit. Some red cherry but more raspberry and strawberry. The wine is cold but the aromas are fairly muted.
Palate - medium plus to high intensity on palate (especially as compared to nose). Fruit and black pepper. That’s what I get. Ripe red and black fruits. Getting blackberry and some plum. Feels alive and tingly on mid palate. Tannins come out after you take your swallow. And you feel the cedar tingle on your gums. Tastes refreshing and juicy. Alchohol feels medium. Minerality. Feels crisp on palate. Acidity is medium. Body is medium. There is a bitterness on finish that I’m not loving right now. Not really stemminess but not sure what it is?
Nose is opening up somewhat. There is a sour cherry vs sweet cherry I’m getting. Picking up some vanilla extract and the usual baking spices.
Enjoying it but maybe not as memorable as prior bottle.
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Nose - clean. Ripe red cherry. Medium/medium plus intensity. A little floral. Getting some vanilla extract, along with the slight burn.
Palate - wow flavor. Tastes fresh and lively. I would not guess an '07. Would assume younger but the flavors and structure are integrated. Makes me think this wine can go on well past the stated drinking window so will adjust outwards :). Well balanced, pop of acidity - medium plus. Red cherry fruit, black pepper, ripe and medium. Tannins start to appear - medium. Body is medium, finish is medium plus. Alcohol is medium. After you swallow, the tannins dance a bit on the inside of your gums, acidity keeps working, beckoning you for the next sip. Cherry and cranberry. Little bit of cinnamon. The spice flavors are on palate vs nose.
Wine is drinking very well right now. Glad I have another bottle.
I enjoy the Etna wines in that they are made (IMHO) for both meat and seafood. There is a lovely lightness (for the flavor intensity and profile) and burst of acidity that keeps it fresh. Nothing old or stale about this one.
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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.
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Decanted for around 30 minutes. Dark ruby color. Powerful nose of dried cherry, licorice, cherry cough drop, sweet baking spices and a little bit of heat coming through. Sweet, almost reductive red fruits on the palate with a good amount of oak coming through as well. Medium+ to high acid and tannins with a drying finish. Drank better with food and the last few sips were the most integrated. If I had more in the cellar, I would probably hold for another couple of years.
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Quite funky at first, on nose & palate. Improved with air (& got somewhat less funky) over the course of a few hours. Eventually had a oaky/cedar nose with strong licorice & spice notes on palate. Definitely a food wine.
Not much fruit compared to their 2011 entry-level bottling, which we tasted side-by-side. Not sure if this was past its prime or if it will continue to improve. Depends on taste, I suppose.
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structure:gd;texture:gd;intensisity:gd;acdity:above average;depth:gd:complexity:above average:energy of friuits:gd
conclusion:i pretty like tis bttl in the beginning which show nice integration.tis bttl was blinded.i make a gues tat tis was somehow a aged barolo.it was floral,tar(smoke)n red fruits in the beginning.with more air,it start to reveal sweetness,liqourice which somehow remind me spain n states.i strongly believe tis bttl stil has a long way to go.wud like tp c hw it perform in 4-6 yrs time
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Southern Italy Night (Extra Space): Pop and poured. Appearance is clear, medium intensity, garnet colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium intensity, with aromas of toasted vanilla oak, earth, red plums. Developed. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium+ alcohol, medium+ tannins, medium+ body. Medium flavour intensity, with flavours of vanilla, red plums, earth, licorice, and leather with more air. Medium+ finish. Acceptable quality. Maybe this could have been better younger? Doesn't feel like it should be aged any longer. Drink up.
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Tasted blind with four Produttori 2001 and a Taurasi 01. This was the second pirate. Opened at 12 and slow-oxed until the evening. What a nose! Beef stock screamed out of the glass, but also ash and earthy notes. Very complex palate, earthy, savoury, interesting, but also juicy and with a very strong structure. And balanced at the same time. Close to being the wine of the evening. ****
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Same take as my note on 10/6/12, except a lot more of a funky nose, which I like and appreciate. Very nice and my last bottle. I have been hesitant to hold my Terre Nere cru's as they seem to show better younger.
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Terre Nere has a rep for modern wines and while it may be modern for Sicily, not overtly modern. My take is they are just modern enough for my taste to not go overboard. I always enjoy TN's wines, including the entry level Rosso's, but the single vineyard wines are always a significant jump in quality.
Red berries/cherries/plums, earthiness/mineral/stones, herbs, and a bit of spice. Well balanced and very enjoyable. It could hold and maybe improve a bit, but also very drinkable fight now. I may hold my remaining bottle a year or two.
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Decanted and poured, this did not show as well as previous bottles. This seems reserved and unyielding on the bouquet and palate. Airing coaxes out some favorable attributes but this never becomes friendly and open.
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Brick oven and dark cherry fruit notes. Earth and ash. Tangy and firmly acidic. Lighter bodied, at least in the fruit structure, with a fine tannic backbone that emerges to become more dominant with time. Some alcohol evident. Will benefit from some age, and actually delivers quite well for the price. Very nice.
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Thought this wine was quite good. Red fruit, along with black dirt, wet rock and mossy tree trunk on both nose and palate, and a good bit of minerality on the medium length finish. Contrary to the previous review, we actually found the nose to open up and gain in complexity after aerating. Another great wine from Etna, which we're loving at the moment. Drank at Babbo in NYC, and paired great with beef cheek ravioli and bolognese.
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Transparent ruby (looks more like a Pinot or Nebbiolo); complex, fairly big nose out of the bottle, that simplifies for a period after aereating; on palate a dense, but buffered tannin core gives way to a large, tightly focused flavor profile; lively acidity but surprising heat for a high altitude wine (listed at 14.0%). Not as complex as my previous wines from this maker. 50/5/12/16/8
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Opened and poured, this wine showed stunning aromatics of candied red cherry, black volcano ash, raspberry and spice notes. The bouquet is elegant and nuanced. The color is a medium ruby that merits the comparison often made to red Burgundy or Barolo. This is not a wine about extraction and color density. The medium bodied palate shows good fruit components coupled with the acidity and tannins. This shows well now and should develop nicely with an additional year or two of bottle age.
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Explosively aromatic when first opened and incredibly lively on the palate, but I preferred this on nights 2 and 3, as it settled down and was allowed to better show its fine minerality. The aroma is deep and gorgeous, showing slightly cooked pie cherries, truffle, and clean, crumbly, black soil. The same show on the medium palate, and they're joined by elegant, cherry-driven acidity, fine tannins, touches of espresso and spice, and a simultaneously airy and deep concentration of both red fruit and black minerals held in suspension; the texture is gorgeous and the balance is impeccable.
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3/23/2024 - geraldsng wrote:
Calderara Sottana remains my favourite Terre Nere cuvee. Drinking perfectly at this age with the right balance of fruit, ash and sous bois. Sadly I think this was my last bottle as it is much more complete than the Guardiolas and Feudo di Mezzos that I still have. Looking forward to the few more recent vintages incoming from auction (although pricing was unfortunately not as ridiculous as the frankly mispriced $55 SGD for this).
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2/4/2024 - wirelesswine wrote: 93 Points
This showed far better than my last magnum over 2 years ago - at the time I feared it was going over the hill, but I was wrong - this bottle had really nice fruit and impeccable balance.
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8/29/2021 - wirelesswine wrote: 91 Points
From magnum. Color is starting to turn fairly tawny. The wine is lively but starting to lose a lot of primary fruit. Once our food came out, the wine started to shine. Very reminiscent of burgundy.
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3/21/2018 - Ellen5181 Likes this wine: 88 Points
My last bottle.
Appearance - Clear but A duller dark ruby. More of a brown tinge to it. Rim is clear.
Nose - getting dark fruit but definitely noticing alcohol. Nose hair singe rubbing alcohol. Black licorice. The bottle has been open for a few hours and I suspect the fruit has fallen off a bit. Initially the nose was more enticing.
Palate - black fruits. Getting plums, BlackBerry, compote. Acidity is medium. Alcohol feels medium plus. Palate tingles. Tannins are medium maybe even medium plus and they linger. There is an ashiness lingering on palate. Body is medium plus. I feel like it’s the acidity that keeps it going. The fruit is there, not old, but not vibrant. I wouldn’t call this youthful, but I can’t really pick out notes that tell me it’s developing. I do feel like the wine has seen better days, it’s on the decline, but it’s still very drinkable, tastes better with food, even cheese, than just sipping on its own. Peppery on finish. It doesn’t exactly feel balanced to me, alcohol predominating.
Still interesting but I suspect it’s time for younger versions.
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12/31/2017 - Ellen5181 Likes this wine: 87 Points
Appearance - clear, vibrant medium ruby.
Nose - medium minus intensity. Getting floral notes. Red fruit. Some red cherry but more raspberry and strawberry. The wine is cold but the aromas are fairly muted.
Palate - medium plus to high intensity on palate (especially as compared to nose). Fruit and black pepper. That’s what I get. Ripe red and black fruits. Getting blackberry and some plum. Feels alive and tingly on mid palate. Tannins come out after you take your swallow. And you feel the cedar tingle on your gums. Tastes refreshing and juicy. Alchohol feels medium. Minerality. Feels crisp on palate. Acidity is medium. Body is medium. There is a bitterness on finish that I’m not loving right now. Not really stemminess but not sure what it is?
Nose is opening up somewhat. There is a sour cherry vs sweet cherry I’m getting. Picking up some vanilla extract and the usual baking spices.
Enjoying it but maybe not as memorable as prior bottle.
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2/24/2017 - Ellen5181 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Appearance - clear, bright, rich ruby.
Nose - clean. Ripe red cherry. Medium/medium plus intensity. A little floral. Getting some vanilla extract, along with the slight burn.
Palate - wow flavor. Tastes fresh and lively. I would not guess an '07. Would assume younger but the flavors and structure are integrated. Makes me think this wine can go on well past the stated drinking window so will adjust outwards :). Well balanced, pop of acidity - medium plus. Red cherry fruit, black pepper, ripe and medium. Tannins start to appear - medium. Body is medium, finish is medium plus. Alcohol is medium. After you swallow, the tannins dance a bit on the inside of your gums, acidity keeps working, beckoning you for the next sip. Cherry and cranberry. Little bit of cinnamon. The spice flavors are on palate vs nose.
Wine is drinking very well right now. Glad I have another bottle.
I enjoy the Etna wines in that they are made (IMHO) for both meat and seafood. There is a lovely lightness (for the flavor intensity and profile) and burst of acidity that keeps it fresh. Nothing old or stale about this one.
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5/15/2016 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 95 Points
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.
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2/28/2016 - Rich S Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted for around 30 minutes. Dark ruby color. Powerful nose of dried cherry, licorice, cherry cough drop, sweet baking spices and a little bit of heat coming through. Sweet, almost reductive red fruits on the palate with a good amount of oak coming through as well. Medium+ to high acid and tannins with a drying finish. Drank better with food and the last few sips were the most integrated. If I had more in the cellar, I would probably hold for another couple of years.
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10/30/2014 - Sijan Likes this wine:
Quite funky at first, on nose & palate. Improved with air (& got somewhat less funky) over the course of a few hours. Eventually had a oaky/cedar nose with strong licorice & spice notes on palate. Definitely a food wine.
Not much fruit compared to their 2011 entry-level bottling, which we tasted side-by-side. Not sure if this was past its prime or if it will continue to improve. Depends on taste, I suppose.
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10/9/2014 - clairenclarence wrote: 90 Points
pop n pour
nice nose.toast,earth,plum n sign go red plum
structure:gd;texture:gd;intensisity:gd;acdity:above average;depth:gd:complexity:above average:energy of friuits:gd
conclusion:i pretty like tis bttl in the beginning which show nice integration.tis bttl was blinded.i make a gues tat tis was somehow a aged barolo.it was floral,tar(smoke)n red fruits in the beginning.with more air,it start to reveal sweetness,liqourice which somehow remind me spain n states.i strongly believe tis bttl stil has a long way to go.wud like tp c hw it perform in 4-6 yrs time
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10/7/2014 - Derek Darth Taster wrote: 88 Points
Southern Italy Night (Extra Space): Pop and poured.
Appearance is clear, medium intensity, garnet colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium intensity, with aromas of toasted vanilla oak, earth, red plums. Developed.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium+ alcohol, medium+ tannins, medium+ body. Medium flavour intensity, with flavours of vanilla, red plums, earth, licorice, and leather with more air. Medium+ finish.
Acceptable quality. Maybe this could have been better younger? Doesn't feel like it should be aged any longer. Drink up.
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11/9/2013 - gilrbo Likes this wine:
Tasted blind with four Produttori 2001 and a Taurasi 01. This was the second pirate. Opened at 12 and slow-oxed until the evening.
What a nose! Beef stock screamed out of the glass, but also ash and earthy notes. Very complex palate, earthy, savoury, interesting, but also juicy and with a very strong structure. And balanced at the same time.
Close to being the wine of the evening.
****
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8/30/2013 - MJHDC wrote:
This was not bad, but I also prefer the Terre Nere bottlings younger
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4/6/2013 - Al Ehrhardt wrote:
Same take as my note on 10/6/12, except a lot more of a funky nose, which I like and appreciate. Very nice and my last bottle. I have been hesitant to hold my Terre Nere cru's as they seem to show better younger.
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10/6/2012 - Al Ehrhardt wrote:
Terre Nere has a rep for modern wines and while it may be modern for Sicily, not overtly modern. My take is they are just modern enough for my taste to not go overboard. I always enjoy TN's wines, including the entry level Rosso's, but the single vineyard wines are always a significant jump in quality.
Red berries/cherries/plums, earthiness/mineral/stones, herbs, and a bit of spice. Well balanced and very enjoyable. It could hold and maybe improve a bit, but also very drinkable fight now. I may hold my remaining bottle a year or two.
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11/24/2011 - sehill wrote: 88 Points
Decanted and poured, this did not show as well as previous bottles. This seems reserved and unyielding on the bouquet and palate. Airing coaxes out some favorable attributes but this never becomes friendly and open.
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11/20/2011 - psmith wrote: 89 Points
Brick oven and dark cherry fruit notes. Earth and ash. Tangy and firmly acidic. Lighter bodied, at least in the fruit structure, with a fine tannic backbone that emerges to become more dominant with time. Some alcohol evident. Will benefit from some age, and actually delivers quite well for the price. Very nice.
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3/3/2011 - Jack O'Brien wrote: 95 Points
This wine is to die for - richly complex and unlike anything else out there. Very unique.
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1/25/2011 - studleytrey wrote: 92 Points
Thought this wine was quite good. Red fruit, along with black dirt, wet rock and mossy tree trunk on both nose and palate, and a good bit of minerality on the medium length finish. Contrary to the previous review, we actually found the nose to open up and gain in complexity after aerating. Another great wine from Etna, which we're loving at the moment. Drank at Babbo in NYC, and paired great with beef cheek ravioli and bolognese.
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12/4/2010 - Johnny C NYC wrote: 91 Points
Transparent ruby (looks more like a Pinot or Nebbiolo); complex, fairly big nose out of the bottle, that simplifies for a period after aereating; on palate a dense, but buffered tannin core gives way to a large, tightly focused flavor profile; lively acidity but surprising heat for a high altitude wine (listed at 14.0%). Not as complex as my previous wines from this maker. 50/5/12/16/8
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7/30/2010 - sehill Likes this wine: 92 Points
Similar to previous bottle.
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7/30/2010 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
Adventures in Wine Pairing Part II: Haute Cuisine by Chef Scott (Chez Scott and Kate): Medium dark red color; tart red fruit, green herb nose; tart red fruit, green herb, mineral, tart cherry palate; medium-plus finish
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7/25/2010 - sehill Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened and poured, this wine showed stunning aromatics of candied red cherry, black volcano ash, raspberry and spice notes. The bouquet is elegant and nuanced. The color is a medium ruby that merits the comparison often made to red Burgundy or Barolo. This is not a wine about extraction and color density. The medium bodied palate shows good fruit components coupled with the acidity and tannins. This shows well now and should develop nicely with an additional year or two of bottle age.
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5/10/2010 - Wicker Parker wrote:
Explosively aromatic when first opened and incredibly lively on the palate, but I preferred this on nights 2 and 3, as it settled down and was allowed to better show its fine minerality. The aroma is deep and gorgeous, showing slightly cooked pie cherries, truffle, and clean, crumbly, black soil. The same show on the medium palate, and they're joined by elegant, cherry-driven acidity, fine tannins, touches of espresso and spice, and a simultaneously airy and deep concentration of both red fruit and black minerals held in suspension; the texture is gorgeous and the balance is impeccable.
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