2011 Tenuta Delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco
A Proprietary Blend Dry White Table wine from Etna, Sicily, Italy,
Review by Antonio Galloni
WA # , #205 (Feb 2013)
Rating: 93
Drink 2013 – 2017
Cost: $20

The 2011 Etna Bianco opens with an extraordinary bouquet laced with the incense, smoke, gunflint, lime and crushed rocks. Taut and marvelously pure, the 2011 is endowed with superb energy throughout. Quite simply, the Bianco is one of the very finest Italian whites I have tasted in some time. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2017. The Etna boasts two reference point producers and a number of emerging growers. Along with Andrea Franchetti, proprietor Marco de Grazia continues to make compelling wines that set the standard for the Etna. De Grazia’s 2010s are a bit more ethereal than the 2009s, which have a little more mid-palate depth, but also a bit less finesse in my view. Both vintages have their strengths. I followed these wines over the greater part of a day and can report they perform best with 4-6 hours of aeration. A Marc de Grazia Selection, various American importers, including: de Grazia Imports; tel. (417) 732-4200; Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; (516) 677-9300, Estate Wines Ltd., San Rafael CA; (415) 492-9411, Robert Houde Wines, Elk Grove Village, IL; tel. (847) 430-3887