WTN: Etna Bianco

Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2016 Etna Bianco “Santo Spirito.” One of the two most compelling Etna whites I’ve had, along with the Benanti Pietradolce. This has an absolutely perfect balance between richness and structure, with enough ripe citrus fruit to be unmistakably southern, but also an intense salinity and minerality that makes all that fruit into muscle rather than fat. This also seems likely to age gracefully for several years, though it doesn’t need to. Delicious.

Patchen,
I had this years ago (2007, from my notes) and thought it very good, but not quite as interesting as ones that utilize a higher percentage of carricante in them (I think Terre Nerre has about the 60% minimum).

Hi Mark — that’s true of Terre Nere’s basic Etna Bianco, but this Santo Spirito bottling is apparently 100 percent Carricante — and I think it’s a more recent addition to the lineup. Also more expensive (this was at a restaurant, but I see that the Cellar d’Or in Ithaca has it for $33, according to winesearcher — which I think it’s certainly worth!).

Hi Mark — that’s true of Terre Nere’s basic Etna Bianco, but this Santo Spirito bottling is apparently 100 percent Carricante — and I think it’s a more recent addition to the lineup.

Probably 'newish', as the only 'Santo Spirito' I knew of was the red. I thought perhaps they simply renamed the basic white (which was the only bianco in their lineup). Sounds like good stuff!

Now that I'm on my laptop instead of my phone it's easier to navigate the Terre Nere website. It looks like he started doing a 100% Carricante under the name "Cuvée delle Vigne Niche" in 2007; there are now two of these with Contrada-specific labels, one from Santo Spirito and one from Calderara Sottana.