Vinopolis Newsletter 8-30-24

Arriving Friday
 
 
Tenuta Delle Terre Nere

 

 

“The Etna is the Burgundy of the Mediterranean,” says the man whose career as an importer of fine Italian wines is legendary. Marc De Grazia is one of the original ‘Barolo Boys,’ and his beloved Tenuta delle Terre Nere was more than 20 years in the making. Today, he farms 29 parcels on the northern flank, and his portfolio of wines is the gold standard for Etna wine.” -Wine Advocate
 
Really, the fact that Etna is a wine producing region at all is miraculous. So dramatic and imposing was the oft-smoking, lava spewing, village destroying active volcano that towers above their vineyards that ancient Greeks thought it home of the fire god Hephaestus. But as unfortunate as the volcano has been for generations of Sicilians, it has been an absolute boon to their wine industry.
 
In fact, Etna’s unique terroir, combining volcanic soils, a Mediterranean climate, and vineyards up to 3,000 feet above sea level, result in high-toned wines with punchy minerality and an elegant balance that is the envy of wine producers the world over.
 
Thanks to Marc De Grazia, we don’t even need to brave the danger of Mount Etna to experience its beauty. We can tour the region through Terre Nere’s ultra-expressive and transportive wines. De Grazia was the first Etna winemaker to offer single-vineyard bottlings, and the hyper-focused nature of these parcels, leads me to believe I would love to visit Caldera Sottana or San Lorenzo, for example, any time of the year. I’ve grown pretty attached to them over time. That may sound strange, but if you’ve been drinking these wines for a while, you’ll understand what I mean.
 
Let’s dig in to these soon-to-be arrivals, offered today at the lowest prices on the West Coast:
 
Terre Nere Calderara Sottana Rosso Etna, Sicily, Italy 2022 750ml $69 Special, 12 Bottles Available
Vinous 95 Points “The 2022 Etna Rosso Calderara Sottana is intense and spicy in the glass. Crushed ashen stones and grilled herbs give way to dried black cherries and spiced orange peels. Luxuriously smooth up front, this finds a lovely lift through a core of tantalizing acidity as saline minerals and the onset of grippy tannins firm up its ripe wild berry fruits. This tapers off with tremendous length and concentration, leaving a youthfully structured feel and a pleasantly tart sensation that lingers on and on.”
 
Terre Nere ‘Dagala di Bocca d’Orzo’ Etna Rosso, Sicily, Italy 2022 750ml $138 special, 5 bottles available
Vinous 95 Points “The 2022 Etna Rosso Dagala di Bocca d’Orzo elicits an official “wow” from the first tilt of the glass, smoldering up with a blend of plum sauce, grilled herbs, violet-laced blackberries and hints of dark chocolate. This is nearly velvety in feel, with a burst of sweet spice up front complementing a core of ripe wild berries as candied citrus tones resonate toward the close.”
 
Terre Nere ‘Feudo di Mezzo’ Etna Rosso, Sicily, Italy 2022 750ml $49 special, 15 bottles available
Vinous 93 Points “Rosy and perfumed, the 2022 Etna Rosso Feudo di Mezzo opens with a lovely bouquet that blends dried flowers with crushed strawberries and hints of lavender. This displays textures of pure silk with a lifted and finessed feel. Tart wild berry fruits add a lovely inner tension.”
 
Terre Nere ‘Moganazzi’ Etna Rosso, Sicily, Italy 2022 750ml $49 special, 6 bottles available
Vinous 94 Points The 2022 Etna Rosso Moganazzi is dusty, floral and lifted, with an air of confectionery spices and chalk dust that gives way to dried black cherries. This is round and supple, with a lavender-laced blend of red and blue fruits that swirl across a stream of brisk acidity. Grippy tannins come forward through the finale as the 2022 tapers off long and perfumed. A dusting of violet candies punctuates the experience beautifully.
 
Terre Nere Prephylloxera ‘La Vigna di Don Peppino’ Rosso, Sicily, Italy 2022 750ml $165 special, 12 bottles available
Vinous 96 Points “Darkly alluring and youthfully background, the 2022 Prephylloxera ‘La Vigna di Don Peppino’ Calderara Sottana smolders up with a blend of with a spices, dusty violat and ash, giving way to dried black cherries, sage and cloves. This is velvety yet finssed, with a polished wave of ripe red and blue fruitthat flows across a juicy steam of acidity. Hints of sour citrus add contrast toward the close. It finishes remarkably fresh and energetic, still tanic but lively as crunchy tannis resonate and an air of lavender slowly fades. This an elegent and genuinely harmonious edition of this cuvee. Simply stunning.”
 
Terre Nere ‘San Lorenzo’ Etna Rosso, Sicily, Italy 2022 750ml $49 special, 10 bottles available
Vinous 95 Points “Remarkably pretty, the 2022 Etna Rosso San Lorenzo wafts up with an array of dried flowers, cloves and lavender. Lifted and finessed, this opens with a hint of candied orange that enlivens its core of tart wild berries. Brisk acidity keeps the experience fresh throughout. Staining the palate in concentration, the San Lorenzo tapers off gently tannic and crunchy in feel, leaving gorgeous floral perfumes to linger on. This is the understated darling of the Terre Nere portfolio, and I expect that cellaring will bring even more complexity.”

 

 

 
 

South American Edition 
 

 

Last week we took a look at some of North America’s highest altitude wineries and vineyards. We topped out at 1800 feet above sea level. In Mendoza Argentina, however, where vineyards are planted at the foothills of the Andes mountains, grapes can be found thriving at up to 4,500 feet above sea level. It’s pretty incredible to comprehend.
 
Argentina
 

With a focus on minimalist winemaking, Altos Las Hormigas, a winery built on the idea (revolutionary in 1995) that Argentine Malbec could be just as important for terroir exploration as Pinot Noir in Burgundy.  Pulling grapes for this wine from biodynamic vineyards in Gaultallary, at the foothills of the Andes, these wines are taken from vineyards up to 4,300 feet above sea-level. A standout sub-region of the Uco Valley, Gualtallary’s limestone soils and harsh climate create focused, high-toned, and precise reds.
 
Altos Las Hormigas Malbec, Argentina 2021 750ml $41.90 special, 12 bottles available
Patricio Tapia-Guida Descorchados 96 Points “Appellation comes from a small parcel of just under a hectare planted on soils rich in limestone … And what they’ve obtained is a vibrant floral red wine marked by acidity and sharp tannins that’s clearly a much more austere, more controlled approach in comparison with the exuberance of other wines from the area.”
 

Lowest Price on the West Coast

 
 

 
The family behind Bordeaux’s Grand Cru Classe winery Leoville-Poyferre and Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnal Château Le Crock travelled to the top of the world to produce this bio-dynamic red blend. Harvested from Vista Flores in the Uco Valley, the estate’s vineyards grow at 3,300 feet above sea-level, near the Chilean Border.
 
Bodega Cuvelier Los Andes Grand Vin, Vista Flores, Argentina 2016 750ml $36 special, 36+ bottles available
Steven Tanzer-Vinous Points 91+ “Bright medium ruby Blackberry, cassis, licorice, herbs and complementary oak spices on the nose, plus a violet high note. Densely packed and smooth, with its brooding flavors of crushed dark berries currently carrying strong oak notes of licorice and bitter chocolate, not to mention the firm herbal edge of the vintage. Quite pungent–even peppery–after the 2015 Colección, finishing with dusty tannins and a penetrating quality that augurs well for improvement in bottle. This blend will need at least a couple years to reveal its full personality.”
Winery Notes “Grand Vin is our “First Label”. We like to introduce our Grand Vin as the Argentinean cousin of Château Léoville-Poyferré, 2nd Grand Cru Classé from Saint-Julien, our family’s most renowned Estate in Bordeaux, France. Grand Vin is an exceptional Bordeaux-style blend, with an impressive tannic structure from our best Malbec, rounded, balanced and completed with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot.”
 

Lowest Price in the United States

 
 

 
Tupungato, one of the tallest mountains in South America, is home to the highest elevation winery in the Mendoza region of Argentina (at 4,500 feet). Although situated at a proximity to the equator that would normally prohibit fine wine grape production due to excessive heat, the Mendoza region lies at such an extreme elevation that it remains cool enough to do so.
 
Zorzal Eggo Blanc de Cal, Tupungato, Argentina 2019 750ml $24 special, 14 bottles available
Luis Gutierrez-Wine Advocate 94 Points “This wine is never about the grape variety, and it’s like liquid chalk, even more so in 2019. It matured in concrete eggs for 10 months. This is always produced from a limestone-rich plot in the Tupungato Winelands. Half of the wine fermented with the skins, but it doesn’t have any “orange” characteristics. It’s sharp and super tasty. Amazing value.“
 
Zorzal Eggo Tinto de Tiza, Tupungato, Argentina 2017 750ml $24 special, 37 bottles available
Luis Gutierrez-Wine Advocate 94 Points “The mouthfeel of the 2017 Eggo Tinto de Tiza was like biting into a piece of chalk (“tiza” is the Spanish word for chalk), the texture provided by the limestone-rich soils from Gualtallary, especially in the higher part of this large region. This wine is not about the varieties (it’s a blend to start with) but about the place, the soils, the local vegetation, the austerity and the wilderness.”

 

 
 
Ok, so we had some weather in Portland recently. Within the space of a few hours, we witnessed a sunny PNW afternoon turn cold, dark, and foreboding… it was like a scene from one of those Scandinavian murder mystery shows. Rain and hail pelted the windows near me and a volley of thunderclaps sent my animals under the bed. As for me, I had not a care in the world. My secret, you ask? A bottle of Fullerton’s Rocks District Syrah to keep me warm.
 
This scrumptious Syrah opens with savory notes of black pepper and fresh roasted coffee. Swirl it in the glass a little bit and whiffs of dusty, iron enriched earth and wet river bank emerge, with high-toned black cherry on the palette as well.
 
This is a very giving and complex wine, nurturing through the darkest of winter nights and lithe enough to pair with seared steelhead, roasted lamb, and rich tomato sauces. The fact that we have this wine, a Rock’s district Syrah, for under 25 dollars is an absolute coup… you will not find this wine for under 50 dollars elsewhere. Stock up while you still can, this will be a rewarding bottle for many dark days and storms ahead.
 
Fullerton Rocks District Syrah, Walla Walla, USA 2020 750ml $21.90 special, 35 bottles available
Audrey Frick-Jebdunnuck.com 93 Points “Pouring a deep but transparent purple, the 2020 Syrah Rocks District Of Milton-Freewater is elegant with balanced aromas of primary blackberry fruit, pencil shavings, toasted black pepper, and fresh violets. Supple and full-bodied, though weightless and elegant, it delivers a silky, chocolaty texture, sweet tannins, and a hint of charcuterie. It is in a great spot now, and I like where this is going over the next 6-8 years.”