Tenuta delle Terre Nere Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso 2023
Tenuta delle Terre Nere Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso 2023
96+ pts Vinous
Drinking Window 2027 - 2036
The 2023 Etna Rosso Calderara Sottana is dreamy, with a perfumed bouquet of rose, violet, smoke and sour citrus. This is wildly energetic and spry, with crisp red berry fruits and crunchy mineral tones that create an amazing tactile feel as sweet spice tones resonate throughout. The 2023 closes down hard through the finish, as expected in its youthful state. A saturation of crushed wild blueberry and lavender fades slowly. - By Eric Guido on May 2025
Appellation: Etna Rosso D.O.C.
Production area: Communes of Randazzo.
Grapes: Nerello Mascalese.
Production: 5 tons per hectare.
Vineyard extension: 15 hectares.
Soil: volcanic, very stony, pumice and basalt with little ash.
Exposure: north side of Etna, from 600-650 meters above sea level
Age of the vineyards: from 60 to 100 years
Leave it to Marco de Grazia of Tenuta delle Terre Nere to take what many consider a difficult, lower-quality vintage and turn out a lineup of wines that exceeded expectations—and left this taster in awe. Interestingly, when I asked many producers how they adapted their winemaking in a challenging year like 2023, the most common answer was: “We didn’t change anything.” That’s a disappointing reality at many estates, but not here. De Grazia described 2023 as the most difficult vintage he’s experienced on Etna. Spring rains totaling around 400 millimeters triggered a devastating outbreak of downy mildew, cutting yields by up to 70% on the northern slopes. The eastern side was largely spared, which helps explain the strength of Terre Nere’s whites. The wet spring gave way to a hot, drought-stricken summer, leading to thicker skins and uneven ripening, as many vines shut down under hydric stress. Fortunately, light rains in September and ideal conditions through October helped save the harvest. The team responded with intense selection in both vineyard and cellar, followed by shorter macerations and minimal pumpovers. The resulting 2023s in bottle are some of the most exotic, finessed and elegant wines Terre Nere has ever produced. They deliver immense pleasure, but in some cases, such as the San Lorenzo, they reach a new level of depth and texture.
The soils of Calderara Sottana are easily recognizable, even at a glance. Of all the crus of the Etna DOC they are certainly the stoniest. So much so that in some areas you can’t see the ground from the stones that cover it. Fist-size, light, a mix of black pumice and basalt.
The word itself, Calderara, recalls heat, probably born from the warmth that the black stones retain and transmit back to the earth on cold nights.
The terroir of the Contrada Calderara was originated from lava flows and volcano-clastic deposits related to the effusive and explosive activity of the Elliptic volcano, approximately between 60,000 and 15,000 years ago. Although very young in geological terms, the Elliptic soil is the oldest surface layer where it is possible to plant in the appellation. The reason is simple: millennia of lava flows have buried the oldest soils, leaving, in fact, only small and rare portions of the soil of the Elliptic. On the north side of Etna there are five or six Contradas that have “elliptical terroir”. Three of them, however, are spurious, as the igneous nature of the Elliptic is mixed with alluvial soils of a sedimentary nature due to the overflow of the Alcantara river. On the north side of Etna only three Contradas are “pure” elliptical terroir: Bocca d’Orzo, Calderara and San Lorenzo.
The altitude varies from 600 to 700 meters. The harvest takes place in the second ten days of October. Locally Calderara and its wines enjoy an extraordinary reputation. Our Calderara Sottana is the result of very old vineyards, from 60 to 100 years of age. Of all our crus it is perhaps the most complete: just as a wide-angle lens includes the widest panorama, so our Calderara seems to contain and exhibit the widest spectrum of flavors, aromas and nuances. Distinctly autumnal, spicy, it is aromatic and austere at the same time. It gives a wonderful sensation of fullness on the palate, but ineffably light.
Don Peppino, whose devotion to Calderara drove him to cultivate its vines for 70 years, describes Calderara’s wines well: “creamy”, he called them. And he was right. Noble poultry, white meat ragù, pork loin, pork in milk, rabbit in white wine, lamb in the oven.
