The 2024 Etna Rosso Moganazzi lifts from the glass with a bouquet of mentholated blackberries, dusty sage, autumnal spices and violet pastille. This is a wine of contrasts, revealing velvety textures and polished red and black fruits offset toward the close by brisk acidity and edgy tannins. Structured yet juicy, the 2024 finishes with staining length, concentration and hints of licorice.

The 2024s from Tenuta delle Terre Nere are nearly hedonistic in character yet remain expertly balanced. They are a fascinating follow-up to the 2023s, which were all about finesse and energy. The contrast speaks to Marco de Grazia’s ability to let the growing season come through without sacrificing balance.

Among the single-vineyard releases, the Etna Rosso Bocca d’Orzo continues to impress with each passing vintage, followed closely by the San Lorenzo. The Etna Rosso Prephylloxera, typically the most tightly wound bottling upon release, was highly expressive this year. The 2024 vintage also marks the inaugural release of a new Etna Bianco Superiore from Caselle, a cru on the eastern slopes in Milo. The crystalline, powerful 2024 highlights why this sector continues to grow in popularity.

Beginning with the 2026 vintage, updated DOC regulations will finally permit producers to include a wine’s specific township (comune) of origin on its label. This is a bureaucratic victory de Grazia has championed for a long time in an effort to better distinguish Etna’s various terroirs. As de Grazia commented, “I see it as my responsibility to help pave the path for Etna.” The current system simply falls short, as terroir can change drastically even within the boundaries of a single contrada. Tenuta delle Terre Nere remains both a benchmark on the volcano and an important force shaping its next generation. - Eric Guido September 2026 

Winery:
“Moganazzi and Guardiola, with Santo Spirito closely following, have always been considered the best terroirs of the Municipality of Castiglione, the largest of the northern slopes of Etna. Consequently, in 2007, when I discovered a very small plot of Moganazzi for sale, I grabbed it without hesitation. But it was so tiny that I decided to dedicate its splendid wine – three barriques! – to a charity project linked to the Meyer pediatric hospital in Florence. The labels, I decided, would be designed by my daughter, (which she made since the first two years of age!) Three years ago we managed to buy an adjacent parcel and rent another piece immediately next to it. So, with the 2017 harvest I began to bottle the Moganazzi cru also for Terre Nere”. Marco de Grazia

Aesthetically splendid, the vineyard stands at 700 meters on steep terraces covered with sapling vines of about eighty years. The entire production is around 3,000 bottles. The wine is “sparkling”: of dense texture and luminous character, with a captivating attack and the discreet beauty of a Greek sculpture. Over time, his refined drive makes room for a soft resilience, combined with a nervous and intimate richness sustained by a twilight.

Appellation: Etna Rosso D.O.C.
Production area: Moganazzi, Municipality of Castiglione di Sicilia.
Grapes: 100% Nerello mascalese
Vineyard extension: 1,5 hectares.
Production: 5 tons per hectare.
Soil: volcanic, medium depth, topsoil rich of ashes and then layers of stones
Exposure: north side of Etna at 700-750 meters above sea level
Age of the vineyards: from 70 to 90 years
Annual production: 3,000 bottles.