Tenuta delle Terre Nere releases 2017 vintage
08 April 2019

The 2017 was a vintage characterised by two extremes. Firstly a frost on the 20th April severely damaged younger vines, particularly in their new cru Moganazzi. The second and most important characteristic of 2017 was the hot, dry summer that followed. The scorched soils of Etna finally received some respite as temperatures gradually lowered throughout September and October. Despite these challenges Terre Nere’s Marco de Grazia affirms “particularly in the old vines of the highest altitudes we would hazard saying that 2017 reds will rival those of the finest vintages we’ve had at Tenuta delle Terre Nere.” Old vines and high elevation, two of Terre Nere’s trump cards, really made the difference in 2017. Harvest saw Mistral winds blow persistently meaning humidity stayed low. In fact Marco goes as far to say that the resulting health conditions that had very few precedents. The Terre Nere team seized the opportunity that such a good quality of fruit presented and first the first time in their history decided to fermented the bunches without any Sulphur dioxide addition. These are powerful structured wines but also some of the most aromatically alluring and complex the estate have produced.