2020 Terre Nere Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso DOC

The Calderara Sottana Contrada is home to some of Etna's oldest volcanic soils from the Ellittico eruptive epoch, more than 15,000 years ago. The tension and nerve in these wines is very much apparent, especially when tasted against wines from other areas of the Volcano. 

Terre Nere, spearheaded my Marc de Grazia, was one of the first wineries on Etna to start bottling according to vineyard and contrada. In a time when Etna wines were first coming to the US market, the folks at Terre Nere already understood the value in respecting the Etna zone's diverse volcanic terrain.

The estate is located on the northern slopes of Etna, within the hilly belt that extends between Solicchiata and Randazzo, historically the area historically recognized as the finest in the appellation for fine red wines. The estate consists of approximately 45 hectares divided into 29 plots and in nine Contradas (crus).

The soils differ very much from cru to cru, and even within the crus themselves. The same is true of the altitudes, our vineyards ranging between 600 and 1000 metres above sea level. With the exception of about 7 recently planted hectares, the rest are between 50 and 100 years old. Less than one hectare has reached the venerable age of over 140 years, surviving the phylloxera, and is therefore ungrafted.