90+ 2007 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso 3/30/12 ($34)
Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio 14% alc
Color: Medium red cherry and red brick with slight brown at rim. (3.0) Bouquet: Interesting intense herbs, floor wax and slight beeswax with a touch of cedar. Flowery, somewhat candied fruit and some earth. (3.0) Body: Excellent austere acidity and tannins with good fruit. Elegant light heavyweight with a silky mouthfeel that coats. (3.5) Flavor: Ripe black plum with fierce youthful acidity and tart minerals. (3.0) Finish: Dry tannins linger in the mouth. The complex wax and herb nuances have excellent length along with some bitterness. (3.0)
Overall: A very distinctive wine with intense and interesting complexity combined with minerals, outstanding structure and elegance. Stylistically it's somewhere in between a red Burgundy and a lean mean Barolo, yet the fruit is candied like one might find in a Zinfandel. Paradoxical. The amount of black plum fruit is sufficient, but this takes a backseat to the complexity, minerality and structure. It's a little awkward at this point and needs a few years of bottle age for all the different flavors to integrate and the structure to calm down a bit. (15.5)
Copyright © 2006 - 2012, Paul DeRose , WineOutpost.com